Top 10 Largest Island In The World
There are so many islands in the world that no one knows exactly how many there are. There are also many different types of islands. Islands come in many shapes and sizes. There are islands that are so small they don’t even have a name. There are also islands that are so large that several countries would fit in them. Some major islands even contain two or more countries. These are the 10 largest islands in the world, based on land area.
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10. Ellesmere Island – 183,965 km²
Source: Paul Gierszewski | CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
Ellesmere Island is Canada’s northernmost island. The total land area is 183,965 km². Like Victoria Island, Ellesmere Island is located entirely in the Arctic Circle. Only 146 people live on the island. Most of the island consists of a mountain range called the Arctic Cordillera. This feature makes Ellesmere Island the most mountainous island in the entire Canadian Arctic.
9. Great Britain – 209,331 km²
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Great Britain is the largest island in Europe, and of course the most important territory of the United Kingdom. The total land area is 209,331 km². While it is common to refer to Great Britain simply as England, England is only one of three countries on the island. Scotland and Wales are the other two. Out of a total population of about 67 million people, about 64 million of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom live on the island of Great Britain. On the west coast of Great Britain is the Irish Sea, on the opposite side of which is the island of Ireland. To the east is the North Sea. An undersea tunnel, called the Channel Tunnel or “Chunnel”, connects Britain to France, across the Channel to the south.
8. Victoria Island – 217,291 km²
Source: Andrew Harvey | CC BY 3.0 Unported
Victoria Island is another northern Canadian island. The island is divided between the Canadian territories of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Mainland Nunavut is located south of Victoria Island. The island is larger than 36 of the 50 US states. The total land area is 217,291 km². Despite its size, just under 2000 people live on the island. In fact, there are far more caribou and musk oxen on the island than there are people.
7. Honshu – 225,800 km²
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Honshu is the largest island in the archipelago of the country called Japan. It has a total land area of 225,800 km² and an estimated population of 103 million, meaning it is home to the majority of Japan’s total population. Tokyo, the most populous city in the world and capital of Japan, is located on the south side of Honshu. In addition, all of Japan’s highest peaks, including Fuji (volcano), are located on Honshu, as is the country’s largest lake, Lake Biwa.
6. Sumatra – 443,066 km²
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Sumatra is the westernmost of the large islands of Indonesia. To the north lies the Andaman Sea, and to the south and west the Indian Ocean. East of the northern tip of Sumatra is the Strait of Malacca, across from which is Malaysia. To the east is also the island of Borneo, as well as the Sea of Java. Southeast Sumatra borders the narrow Sunda Strait, across from which lies the island of Java. The total land area of Sumatra is 443,066 km². About 40 million people live on the island, which is also home to an abundance of wildlife, including monkeys, Sumatran tigers, rhinoceroses and elephants.
5. Baffin Island – 507,451 km²
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Baffin Island is located in northern Canada. It is part of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, whose capital Iqaluit is on the southern end of the island. Iqaluit is home to about half of Baffin Island’s total estimated population of 11,000. The total land area of Baffin Island is 507,451 km², making it the largest island in Canada. The island’s fauna includes snowy owls, narwhals, polar bears and beluga whales. Baffin Island also offers spectacular views of the Northern Lights.
4. Madagascar – 587,713 km²
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Madagascar, which is also the name of the country on it, is an East African island in the Indian Ocean. The west coast borders the Mozambique Strait, across from which the African mainland lies. Madagascar has a total land area of 587,713 km², making it the largest island in Africa and the largest in the Indian Ocean. The island has a population of approximately 28 million people. Madagascar contains 0.5% of all known plant and animal species in the world.
3. Borneo – 743,330 km²
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Borneo is a large island in Southeast Asia. Three countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, share the island. Indonesia controls 73% of Borneo’s territory, while Malaysia controls 24%, in the north of the island, including most of the island’s north coast, which faces the South China Sea. The remaining 1% of Borneo is controlled by the small sultanate of Brunei, which is also located on the island’s north coast. Borneo has a total land area of 743,330 km². The indigenous people of the island are known as the Dayaks. They are divided into 50 ethnic groups and have 140 different languages and dialects.
2. New Guinea – 785,753 km²
Source: Vladimir Lysenko (I.) | CC BY-SA 4.0 International
New Guinea is the second largest island in the world, with an area of 785,753 km². It is located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Australia and the Coral Sea, west of the Solomon Islands, east of the Banda Sea, and south of the Philippine Sea. The island crosses two continents, Asia and Oceania. The Asia-Oceania border is generally considered to be the border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Papua New Guinea, on the eastern side of the island, is considered part of Oceania, while the western, Indonesian part is considered part of Asia. New Guinea is very multilingual. In fact, Papua New Guinea alone is the country with the greatest linguistic diversity in the world, where more than 700 languages are spoken.
1. Greenland – 2,166,086 km²
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Greenland is the largest island in the world. The total land area of Greenland is 2.16 million km², but this figure also includes some small offshore islands. The island is located in the far north, east of Baffin Bay, across from which lies Canada’s north. Greenland traverses the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Most of the island is covered by a massive 1.8 million km² ice sheet. Greenland has a population of approximately 57,000 people, most of which are Inuit. The island is under Danish sovereignty, but does have autonomy to manage its own internal affairs.
