Largest Islands in the World 🗾
Largest Islands in the World List 🗾 What is an Island?
There is an endless debate about what actually constitutes an island. In theory, the continental landmasses could be considered the biggest islands on earth because they are surrounded by sea. For example, if Australia were to be counted among the largest islands in the world it would easily take first place because it’s three times bigger than Greenland which is the biggest island on earth. But it isn’t, so it’s not included in this officially recognized list of the 25 biggest islands in the world.
- ADDucation’s list of biggest islands in the world was compiled by Robert Junker and last updated 06 Apr 2021.
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| Largest islands in the world 🗾 | Size km2 | Size sq. miles | Sovereignty | Location | Population | Capital / Largest city (in bold) & facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenland | 2,166,086 | 836,326 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | North Atlantic / Arctic | 56,750 | Nuuk is home to around one third of the population of Greenland. The tallest buildings on Greenland are two residential towers at 43m (141ft). |
| New Guinea | 786,000 | 303,475 | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Pacific | 7,500,000 | Port Moresby is the capital of Papua New Guinea and largest city on the island. |
| Borneo | 752,000 | 290,347 | 🇧🇳 Brunei 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Indian Ocean | 16,500,000 | Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital of Brunei, Kuching is the state capital of Sarawak, Malaysia. |
| Madagascar | 587,041 | 226,597 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | Indian Ocean | 22,000,000 | Madagascar is an island country, the fourth biggest island in the world. The capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo, formerly Tananarive. Madagascar is biodiversity hotspot and sometimes described as the eighth continent of the world. |
| Baffin Island | 470,000 | 181,467 | 🇨🇦 Canada | Arctic / Arctic Ocean | 11,000 | Iqaluit |
| Sumatra | 425,000 | 164,093 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Indian Ocean | 51,000,000 | Medan |
| Honshu | 231,090 | 89,224 | 🇯🇵 Japan | Pacific | 100,000,000 | Tokyo is the largest city and capital of Japan BUT the island of Honshu does not have its own capital. |
| Great Britain | 219,330 | 84,683 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Atlantic / North Sea | 64,550,000 | London is the biggest city and capital of the island of Great Britain. |
| Victoria Island | 217,290 | 83,896 | 🇨🇦 Canada | Canadian Arctic / Arctic Ocean | 1900 | Cambridge Bay |
| Ellesmere Island | 196,235 | 75,766 | 🇨🇦 Canada | Arctic / Arctic Ocean | 129 | Ellesmere Island is Canada’s third largest island, just slightly smaller than Great Britain, but with a population of just over one hundred people! The only public community is in Grise Fiord. |
| Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) |
179,400 | 69,266 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Indian Ocean | 16,000,000 | Makassar is the capital of the province of South Sulawesi. |
| South Island |
153,757 | 59,366 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Pacific | 1,000,000 | Christchurch |
| Java | 126,650 | 48,900 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Indian Ocean | 130,000,000 | Jakarta |
| North Island |
114,729 | 44,297 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Pacific | 3,330,000 | Auckland is the largest city. Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is also on North island. |
| Newfoundland Island |
108,860 | 42,030 | 🇨🇦 Canada | North Atlantic | 480,000 | St. John’s is the largest city and capital of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. |
| Cuba | 109,884 | 42,426 | 🇨🇺 Cuba | Caribbean | 11,330,000 | Cuba is an island country and the largest of the Carribbean islands. Havana is the largest city and capital of Cuba. 90% of Cubans own their own homes. |
| Luzon | 108,172 | 41,765 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | West Pacific | 46,500,000 | Manila is the capital of Philippines and the largest city on the island. |
| Iceland | 103,000 | 39,770 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | North Atlantic | 318,200 | Iceland is an island country. Iceland has the lowest population density in Europe. Reykjavík is the most northerly capital city in the world. |
| Mindanao | 94,594 | 36,523 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | Pacific | 14,100,000 | Davao City |
| Ireland | 84,426 | 32,597 | 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇬🇧 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
Atlantic / North Sea | 6,200,000 | Dublin is the capital city of the Republic of Ireland and largest city in Ireland. |
| Hokkaido | 83,450 | 32,220 | 🇯🇵 Japan | Pacific | 5,500,000 | Sapporo is the largest city and capital of the prefecture of Hokkaido. |
| Hispaniola | 76,480 | 29,529 | 🇭🇹 Haiti 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic |
Caribbean / Atlantic | 19,442,012 | Port-au-Prince / Santo Domingo |
| Sakhalin | 72,492 | 27,989 | 🇷🇺 Russia | North Pacific | 580,000 | Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk |
| Banks Island | 70,028 | 27,038 | 🇨🇦 Canada | Canadian Arctic Ocean | 136 | Sachs Harbor |
| Tasmania | 68,400 | 26,409 | 🇦🇺 Australia | Pacific | 502,600 | Hobart is the largest city and the state capital of Tasmania. |
| Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) |
65,610 | 25,332 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | Indian Ocean | 21,800,000 | Sri Lanka is an island country formerly Ceylon. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (or just Kotte) is the capital but Colombo is the largest city. |
At a time when some of the world’s largest islands had not yet been discovered John Donne, an English poet and cleric, said:
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent
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