List of countries by number of islands

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This is a list of countries by number of islands, with figures given for the numbers of islands within their territories. In some cases, this figure is approximate and may vary slightly between sources depending on which islands are counted. The criteria for inclusion appear to differ considerably between the countries so they are not necessarily directly comparable. Different languages use different words for islands depending on size and or shape and elevation. For example, in English, a smaller island can be referred to as an islet, skerry, cay, or eyot, leading to confusion over classification as an island in some circumstances. This can influence which islands are counted or not. Some islands are fully submerged by the tides at times, and those may also not be counted by some countries while others do. Where counts vary, this article uses the highest reliably sourced figure.

Contents

For the purposes of this article, the top 50 countries will have their islands determined by the following definition: “An island is a land mass permanently above sea level either in an inland waterway or in the open sea. It is completely surrounded by water, but must not be a continent.” [1]

List

CountryNo. of
islands		No. of inhabited
islands		NotesList linkSource(s)
Algeria 24032 islands and 208 islets; coastal islands/islets only. List [2]
Antigua and Barbuda 542Three main islands (Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda) and 51 offshore islands List [3] [4]
Australia 8,222 List [5]
Azerbaijan 161 List [6]
Bangladesh 23
Barbados 41There are currently two islands and two banks in Barbados. An additional historical island (Pelican Island) no longer exists. List [7]
Canada 52,455Canada has several large inhabited islands, including Prince Edward Island, a founding province, Vancouver Island, with British Columbia's capital of Victoria, Montreal, and Manitoulin Island. List [1]
Cape Verde 15910 islands and 5 islets List [8]
Chile 43,4712,3243,739 islands (above 9,000 m2 (97,000 sq ft)) and 2180 islets (above 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft)) List [9] [10]
China 6,961433500 m2 (5,400 sq ft) only. Excludes Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. List [11]
Croatia 1,24648 List [12]
Cuba 4,195 List [13]
Denmark 40670 List [14]
Dominica 31The island nation of Dominica with a total area of 750 km2 (290 sq mi) includes two small, off-shore islands and one disputed island: List [15] [16]
Estonia 2,35522 List [17] [18]
Fiji 330110 List
Finland 178,947780 List [19]
France 1,900+109 List [20]
Greece 6,000227Depending on inclusion criteria counts vary from 1,200 [21] to 6,000. [22] The number inhabited is variously cited as between 166 [23] and 227. [22] List [22]
Hong Kong 263>500 m2 (5,400 sq ft) only. "Many" or "most" are inhabited. List [24]
Iceland 3141 large and "about 30 smaller islands, and thousands of rocks and skerries." List [25]
India 1,38247"Off-shore identified islands". The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise 572 islands, 37 of which are inhabited. [26] Lakshadweep has 32 islands, 10 of which are inhabited. [27] List [28]
Indonesia 17,5086,000Largest archipelagic state. 5 major islands and about 30 smaller groups, about 6,000 are inhabited. By name
By area
By population
By extremities 		[29]
Italy 80877 List
Japan 120,72943014,125 islands with a circumference of at least 0.1 km. By area
By location 		[30] [31] [32]
Kiribati 332132 atolls and 1 limestone island; 21 islands are inhabited. List [33]
Malaysia 878The largest island, Borneo is shared with Brunei and Indonesia. List [ citation needed ]
Maldives 1,1921871,192 islands in total of 10 atolls; 187 islands are inhabited. List [34]
Malta 2133 inhabited (Malta, Gozo and Comino), 3 islets and 12 "large rocks"— [35]
Marshall Islands 342429 atolls and 5 isolated islands. List [36] [37]
Mexico 1,356131 List [38]
Micronesia 60765Four major island groups List [39] [40]
Nauru 11— [41]
New Zealand 600Approximate number within about 50 km (31 mi) of the two main islands; excludes associated states and Antarctic islands. List [42]
Netherlands 3415
North Macedonia 30013 larger than 0.01 km2 (2.5 acres), 6 on lakes, the rest on rivers. List [43]
Norway 320,24960+There are a total of 320,249 islands and islets along much-indented coastline, according to Kartverket. 239,057 of which are considered proper islands, with the rest being islets. However by the definition in this list all 320,249 fall under the definition islands. An older source gives 53,789 islands, which may be the figure for coastal islands only. [44] List [45]
Pakistan 127Pakistan's largest island, Astola List [46]
Palau 2008Eight permanently inhabited List [47]
Peru 2338Approximate there are 94.36 km (58.63 mi)[ clarification needed ][ Is this intended to be an area, or what? ] in maritime islands and islets, and 39.04 km (24.26 mi) inside lakes List [48]
Philippines 7,6412,000Thousands of islands are unnamed, and tiny. List [49] [50]
Poland 203 Usedom (shared with Germany) and Wolin are barrier islands; the rest are either lagoon, lake or river islands. List [51]
Portugal 2323All of their 23 islands are inhabited. List
Russia 1,338 List [52]
Samoa 124 List [53]
Senegal 35 List
Serbia 351–3 Ostrovo is permanently populated, while Ada and Great War Island are occasionally inhabited. Most islands are on the Danube and Sava. List
Singapore 64These include Sentosa, Pulau Ubin, St John's Island and Sisters' Islands. [54]
South Korea 3,3582,876 List [55]
Spain 6021 List
Sri Lanka 613Most of the islands are situated in the north and eastern parts of the from the main land. The most prominent islets are west of the Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Province. List
Sweden 267,570984Slightly more than 8,000 islands had some form of buildings in 2013, most uninhabited. More than 1.6 million (17% of population) people lived on an island in 2013. This figure is high because there are densely populated islands in the larger cities of Sweden. List [56]
Scotland
See United Kingdom.		900118More than 900 islands, of which 118 are inhabited. List
Thailand 1,430
Tonga 16936The total surface area of the archipelago is about 750 km2 (290 sq mi), scattered over 700,000 km2 (270,000 sq mi) of the southern Pacific Ocean. List [57]
Tuvalu 99Six atolls and 3 reef islands. List [58]
United Kingdom 6,346129Includes all offshore islands marked on Ordnance Survey maps. England, Scotland & Wales: 6289; Northern Ireland: 57. (Not included: Isle of Man: 30[ dubious – discuss ]; Bailiwick of Guernsey: 57[ dubious – discuss ]; Bailiwick of Jersey: 274[ dubious – discuss ]; overseas dependencies.)
Inhabited islands. England: 24; Scotland: 93; [59] Wales: 9; [60] Northern Ireland: 2; Britain[ clarification needed ]: 1.		 List [61]
United States 18,61710,000 List [62]
Venezuela 650350Most of them are virgin lands[ clarification needed ]and Margarita Island is the largest island of Venezuela. List

See also

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References

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