List of island countries

An island is a landmass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water.^[1] Many island countries are spread over an archipelago, as is the case with Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines—these countries consist of thousands of islands. Others consist of a single island, such as Barbados, Dominica, and Nauru; a main island and some smaller islands, such as Cuba, Iceland, and Sri Lanka; a part of an island, such as Brunei, the Dominican Republic, Timor-Leste, and the Republic of Ireland; or one main island but also sharing borders in other islands, such as the United Kingdom (Great Britain and a part of Ireland).

The list also includes two states in free association with New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Niue, as well as two states with limited diplomatic recognition which have de facto control over territories entirely on the islands, Northern Cyprus and Taiwan.^[2] In total, 50 island countries have been included in the lists.

Australia is not included as it is considered a continental country, although it was historically referred to as an island country because of its lack of land borders.^[3] Greenland is generally considered as the largest island on Earth and listed among the island territories. Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea is officially an unincorporated territory of the United States. Neither Greenland nor Puerto Rico are sovereign countries.

Indonesia is the world's largest island country by area (1,904,569 km²), and by total number of islands (17,504 islands).^[4] It is also the world's most populous island country, with a population of over 270 million (the fourth most populous country in the world, after India, China, and the United States).

South America has only one independent sovereign island nation with Trinidad and Tobago; though considered a Caribbean island country, it is located on the northern portion of the South American continental shelf just 11 kilometres (5.9 nautical miles) off Venezuela, but 130 kilometres (70 nautical miles) from Grenada, the nearest of the Antilles.^{[n 1]}^[5]

Sovereign states

UN member states and states with limited recognition

Name	ISO code	Geographic configuration	Geologic location	Area^[6]		Population^[7]	Population density		Geographical location	Establishment/ Independence
Name	ISO code	Geographic configuration	Geologic location	km²	sq mi	Population^[7]	per km²	per sq mi	Geographical location	Establishment/ Independence
UN member states
Antigua and Barbuda	AG ATG	Two main islands: Antigua Island Barbuda Island	Oceanic	442 square kilometres	171 sq mi	97,120	220 inhabitants per square kilometre	570 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles	1981 November 1
Bahamas	BS BHS	Archipelago	Various	13,939 square kilometres	5,382 sq mi	389,480	28 inhabitants per square kilometre	73 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, Lucayan Archipelago	1973 July 10
Bahrain	BH BHR	Archipelago with one main island	Continental shelf	778 square kilometres	300 sq mi	1,641,170	2,109 inhabitants per square kilometre	5,460 /sq mi	Persian Gulf	1971 December 10
Barbados	BB BRB	One main island	Oceanic	430 square kilometres	170 sq mi	287,020	667 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,730 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles	1966 November 30
Brunei	BN BRN	Part of a larger island (Borneo)	Continental shelf	5,765 square kilometres	2,226 sq mi	433,290	75 inhabitants per square kilometre	190 /sq mi	Maritime Southeast Asia	1984 January 1
Cape Verde	CV CPV	Archipelago	Oceanic	4,033 square kilometres	1,557 sq mi	549,930	136 inhabitants per square kilometre	350 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, Macaronesia	1975 July 5
Comoros	KM COM	Archipelago	Oceanic	1,861 square kilometres	719 sq mi	850,890	457 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,180 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Africa, Comoros Islands	1975 July 6
Cuba	CU CUB	One main island, and several smaller islands (Isla de la Juventud, etc.)	Various	109,884 square kilometres	42,426 sq mi	11,346,346	103 inhabitants per square kilometre	270 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Greater Antilles	1868 October 10 1902 May 20
Cyprus^{[n 2]}	CY CYP	Part of a larger island	Continental shelf	9,251 square kilometres	3,572 sq mi	888,005	96 inhabitants per square kilometre	250 /sq mi	Mediterranean Sea	1960 August 16
Dominica	DM DMA	One main island	Oceanic	754 square kilometres	291 sq mi	71,810	95 inhabitants per square kilometre	250 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles	1978 November 3
Dominican Republic	DO DOM	Part of a larger island (Hispaniola), and several smaller islands (Alto Velo, Catalina, Saona, Beata, etc.)	Oceanic	48,671 square kilometres	18,792 sq mi	10,738,960	221 inhabitants per square kilometre	570 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Greater Antilles	1821 December 1 1844 February 27
Timor-Leste	TL TLS	Part of a larger island (Timor)	Oceanic	14,919 square kilometres	5,760 sq mi	1,293,120	87 inhabitants per square kilometre	230 /sq mi	Maritime Southeast Asia, Lesser Sunda Islands	2002 May 20
Fiji	FJ FJI	Archipelago with two main islands: Viti Levu Vanua Levu	Oceanic	18,274 square kilometres	7,056 sq mi	889,950	49 inhabitants per square kilometre	130 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Melanesia	1970 October 10
Grenada	GD GRD	One main island with two island dependencies (Carriacou and Petite Martinique)	Oceanic	344 square kilometres	133 sq mi	112,000	326 inhabitants per square kilometre	840 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles	1974 February 7
Haiti	HT HTI	Part of a larger island (Hispaniola), and several smaller islands (Gonâve, Tortuga, Les Cayemites, etc.)	Oceanic	27,750 square kilometres	10,710 sq mi	11,743,017	423 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,100 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Greater Antilles	1804 January 1
Iceland	IS ISL	One main island	Various^{[n 3]}	102,775 square kilometres	39,682 sq mi	361,310	4 inhabitants per square kilometre	10 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Circle	1918 December 1 1944 June 17
Indonesia	ID IDN	Archipelago, including parts of larger islands (Borneo, New Guinea, Sebatik, and Timor)	Various^{[n 4]}	1,904,569 square kilometres	735,358 sq mi	270,625,570	142 inhabitants per square kilometre	370 /sq mi	Maritime Southeast Asia, Indian and Pacific oceans	1945 August 17
Ireland	IE IRL	Part of a larger island (Ireland), and several smaller islands	Continental shelf	70,273 square kilometres	27,133 sq mi	4,977,400	71 inhabitants per square kilometre	180 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, British Isles	1922 December 6
Jamaica	JM JAM	One main island with an archipelago of islets (inc. Morant Cays, Pedro Cays, and Port Royal Cays)	Various	10,991 square kilometres	4,244 sq mi	2,734,092	249 inhabitants per square kilometre	640 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Greater Antilles	1962 August 6
Japan	JP JPN	Four main islands and thousands of surrounding islands	Continental shelf	377,976 square kilometres	145,937 sq mi^[8]	126,264,930	334 inhabitants per square kilometre	870 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, East Asia	660 BC February 11^{[n 5]}
Kiribati	KI KIR	Several separated archipelagos	Oceanic	811 square kilometres	313 sq mi	117,610	145 inhabitants per square kilometre	380 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Micronesia	1979 July 12
Madagascar	MG MDG	One main island	Continental shelf^{[n 6]}	587,041 square kilometres	226,658 sq mi	26,969,310	46 inhabitants per square kilometre	120 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Africa	1960 June 26
Maldives	MV MDV	Archipelago	Oceanic	298 square kilometres	115 sq mi	383,976	1,289 inhabitants per square kilometre	3,340 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Laccadive Sea	1965 July 26
Malta	MT MLT	Two main islands (Malta Island and Gozo) plus other smaller islands	Continental shelf	316 square kilometres	122 sq mi	502,650	1,591 inhabitants per square kilometre	4,120 /sq mi	Mediterranean Sea	1964 September 21
Marshall Islands^{[n 7]}	MH MHL	Two archipelagos	Oceanic	181 square kilometres	70 sq mi	58,790	325 inhabitants per square kilometre	840 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Micronesia	1979 May 1
Mauritius	MU MUS	Archipelago with one main island	Oceanic	2,040 square kilometres	790 sq mi	1,265,710	620 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,600 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Africa, Mascarene Islands	1968 March 12
Micronesia^{[n 7]}	FM FSM	Archipelago	Oceanic	702 square kilometres	271 sq mi	113,810	162 inhabitants per square kilometre	420 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Micronesia	1979 May 10
Nauru	NR NRU	One main island	Oceanic	21 square kilometres	8.1 sq mi	12,580	599 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,550 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Micronesia	1968 January 31
New Zealand	NZ NZL	An archipelago around two main islands: Te Ika-a-Māui (the North Island) Te Waipounamu (the South Island)	Continental shelf^{[n 8]}	270,467 square kilometres	104,428 sq mi	5,125,451	19 inhabitants per square kilometre	49 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia	1907 September 26
Palau^{[n 7]}	PW PLW	Archipelago	Oceanic	459 square kilometres	177 sq mi	18,010	39 inhabitants per square kilometre	100 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Micronesia	1981 January 1
Papua New Guinea	PG PNG	Part of a larger island (New Guinea), and surrounding archipelago	Continental shelf	462,840 square kilometres	178,700 sq mi	8,776,110	19 inhabitants per square kilometre	49 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Melanesia	1975 September 16
Philippines	PH PHL	Archipelago	Various	300,000 square kilometres	120,000 sq mi	108,116,620	360 inhabitants per square kilometre	930 /sq mi	Maritime Southeast Asia	1898 June 12 1946 July 4
Saint Kitts and Nevis	KN KNA	Two main islands: Saint Christopher Island Nevis Island	Oceanic	261 square kilometres	101 sq mi	52,830	202 inhabitants per square kilometre	520 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles	1983 September 19
Saint Lucia	LC LCA	One main island	Oceanic	616 square kilometres	238 sq mi	182,790	297 inhabitants per square kilometre	770 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles	1979 February 22
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	VC VCT	An archipelago with one main island	Oceanic	389 square kilometres	150 sq mi	110,590	284 inhabitants per square kilometre	740 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles	1979 October 27
Samoa	WS WSM	Archipelago	Oceanic	2,842 square kilometres	1,097 sq mi	197,100	69 inhabitants per square kilometre	180 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia	1962 January 1
São Tomé and Príncipe	ST STP	Two main islands: São Tomé Island Príncipe Island)	Oceanic	1,001 square kilometres	386 sq mi	215,060	215 inhabitants per square kilometre	560 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Guinea, Africa	1975 July 12
Seychelles	SC SYC	Archipelago	Various^{[n 9]}	455 square kilometres	176 sq mi	97,630	215 inhabitants per square kilometre	560 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Africa	1976 June 29
Singapore	SG SGP	An archipelago with one main island	Continental shelf	728 square kilometres	281 sq mi	5,703,570	7,831 inhabitants per square kilometre	20,280 /sq mi	Maritime Southeast Asia	1965 August 9
Solomon Islands	SB SLB	Archipelago	Oceanic	28,400 square kilometres	11,000 sq mi	669,820	24 inhabitants per square kilometre	62 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Melanesia	1978 July 7
Sri Lanka	LK LKA	One main island, plus other small islands	Continental shelf	65,610 square kilometres	25,330 sq mi	21,803,000	332 inhabitants per square kilometre	860 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, South Asia	1948 February 4
Tonga	TO TON	Archipelago	Oceanic	748 square kilometres	289 sq mi	104,490	140 inhabitants per square kilometre	360 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia	1970 June 4
Trinidad and Tobago	TT TTO	An archipelago with two main islands: Trinidad Island Tobago Island	Various	5,131 square kilometres	1,981 sq mi	1,394,970	272 inhabitants per square kilometre	700 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles	1962 August 31
Tuvalu	TV TUV	Archipelago	Oceanic	26 square kilometres	10 sq mi	11,650	448 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,160 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia	1978 October 1
United Kingdom^{[n 10]}^[9]	GB or UK GBR	One main island, part of second island (Ireland), plus several archipelagos	Continental shelf	244,820 square kilometres	94,530 sq mi	67,886,004	277 inhabitants per square kilometre	720 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, British Isles	1707 May 1
Vanuatu	VU VUT	Archipelago	Oceanic	12,189 square kilometres	4,706 sq mi	299,880	25 inhabitants per square kilometre	65 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Melanesia	1980 July 30
States with limited recognition
Northern Cyprus^{[n 11]}	CY CYP	Part of a larger island (Cyprus)	Continental shelf	3,355 square kilometres	1,295 sq mi	313,626^[10]	93 inhabitants per square kilometre	240 /sq mi	Mediterranean Sea	1974 July 20 (unlawful usurpation of Cypriot rule by Turkish minority)
Taiwan^{[n 12]}	TW TWN	One main island and several smaller islands	Continental shelf	36,193 square kilometres	13,974 sq mi	23,603,121	652 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,690 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, East Asia	1912 January 1 1949 December 7^{[n 13]}

Associated states

Name	ISO code	Geographic configuration	Geologic location	Associated with	Area		Population	Density		Geographical location
Name	ISO code	Geographic configuration	Geologic location	Associated with	km²	sq mi	Population	per km²	per sq mi	Geographical location
Cook Islands^{[n 14]}	CK COK	Two archipelagos	Oceanic	New Zealand	236 square kilometres	91 sq mi	10,777	45.7 inhabitants per square kilometre	118 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia
Niue^{[n 14]}	NU NIU	One island	Oceanic	New Zealand	260 square kilometres	100 sq mi	1,269	4.9 inhabitants per square kilometre	13 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia

Dependencies and territories

Name	ISO code	Geographic configuration	Geologic location	Sovereign state	Area		Population	Density		Geographic location
Name	ISO code	Geographic configuration	Geologic location	Sovereign state	km²	sq mi	Population	per km²	per sq mi	Geographic location
Åland	AX AXL	Archipelago^{[n 15]}	Continental shelf	Finland	1,580 square kilometres	610 sq mi	28,355	17.9 inhabitants per square kilometre	46 /sq mi	Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia
American Samoa^{[n 16]}	AS ASM	Archipelago	Oceanic	United States	199 square kilometres	77 sq mi	54,947	276 inhabitants per square kilometre	710 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	IN IND	Two neighbouring archipelagos of the Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands	Continental shelf	India	8,249 square kilometres	3,185 sq mi	380,520	46 inhabitants per square kilometre	120 /sq mi	Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea
Anguilla	AI AIA	One main island	Oceanic	United Kingdom	91 square kilometres	35 sq mi	15,423	169 inhabitants per square kilometre	440 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Aruba	AW ABW	One main island	Continental shelf	Kingdom of the Netherlands	180 square kilometres	69 sq mi	107,635	598 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,550 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Bermuda	BM BMU	Archipelago	Oceanic	United Kingdom	53.3 square kilometres	20.6 sq mi	62,500	1,170 inhabitants per square kilometre	3,000 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, North America
Bouvet Island	BV BVT	One island	Oceanic	Norway	49 square kilometres	19 sq mi	No permanent resident	0 inhabitants per square kilometre	0 /sq mi	Southern Ocean
British Indian Ocean Territory^{[n 17]}^[11]	IO IOT	Archipelago (The Chagos Archipelago)	Oceanic	United Kingdom Mauritius^{[n 17]}	60 square kilometres	23 sq mi	3,000	50 inhabitants per square kilometre	130 /sq mi	Indian Ocean
British Virgin Islands	VG VGB	Archipelago	Oceanic	United Kingdom	151 square kilometres	58 sq mi	31,148	206 inhabitants per square kilometre	530 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Caribbean Netherlands	BQ BES	Three separate main islands: Bonaire Sint Eustatius Saba	Various	Netherlands	127 square kilometres	49 sq mi	21,133	166 inhabitants per square kilometre	430 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea
Cayman Islands	KY CYM	Three main islands	Oceanic	United Kingdom	264 square kilometres	102 sq mi	52,560	199 inhabitants per square kilometre	520 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Greater Antilles
Christmas Island	CX CXR	One main island	Oceanic	Australia	135 square kilometres	52 sq mi	1,496	11.1 inhabitants per square kilometre	29 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Australasia
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	CC CCK	Archipelago	Oceanic	Australia	14 square kilometres	5.4 sq mi	596	42.6 inhabitants per square kilometre	110 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Australasia
Curaçao	CW CUW	One main island (central island of the ABC Islands)	Continental shelf	Kingdom of the Netherlands	444 square kilometres	171 sq mi	145,834	328 inhabitants per square kilometre	850 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Easter Island	CL CHL	One main island	Oceanic	Chile	163.6 square kilometres	63.2 sq mi	6,148	37.5 inhabitants per square kilometre	97 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia
Falkland Islands	FK FLK	Archipelago with two main islands	Continental shelf	United Kingdom^{[n 18]}	12,173 square kilometres	4,700 sq mi	3,140	0.26 inhabitants per square kilometre	0.67 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, South America
Faroe Islands	FO FRO	Archipelago	Continental shelf	Denmark	1,393 square kilometres	538 sq mi	49,483	35.5 inhabitants per square kilometre	92 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean
French Polynesia	PF PYF	Five archipelagos: The Society Islands The Tuamotu Archipelago The Gambier Islands The Marquesas Islands The Austral Islands	Oceanic	France	3,827 square kilometres	1,478 sq mi	274,512	71.7 inhabitants per square kilometre	186 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia
French Southern and Antarctic Lands	TF ATF	Several scattered archipelagos — Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands and the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean — plus Adélie Land (432,000 km² claim to uninhabited territory in Antarctica)	Oceanic	France	7,747 square kilometres	2,991 sq mi	150	49.4 inhabitants per square kilometre	128 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean
Galápagos Islands	EC ECU	Archipelago	Oceanic	Ecuador	8,010 square kilometres	3,090 sq mi	33,042	4.1 inhabitants per square kilometre	11 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean
Greenland	GL GRL	One main island with several archipelagos	Continental shelf	Denmark	2,166,086 square kilometres	836,330 sq mi	57,695	0.03 inhabitants per square kilometre	0.078 /sq mi	North America
Guadeloupe	GP GLP	Archipelago	Oceanic	France	1,628 square kilometres	629 sq mi	405,500	250 inhabitants per square kilometre	650 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Guam^{[n 16]}	GU GUM	One main island	Oceanic	United States	544 square kilometres	210 sq mi	159,914	293 inhabitants per square kilometre	760 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Micronesia
Bailiwick of Guernsey^{[n 19]}^[12]	GG GGY	Three main islands: Guernsey Alderney Sark	Continental shelf	United Kingdom	78 square kilometres	30 sq mi	65,849	844 inhabitants per square kilometre	2,190 /sq mi	English Channel, Channel Islands
Heard and McDonald Islands	HM HMD	Two main islands (Heard Island and McDonald Island)	Oceanic	Australia	412 square kilometres	159 sq mi	No permanent resident	0 inhabitants per square kilometre	0 /sq mi	Southern Ocean
Isle of Man^{[n 19]}	IM IMN	One main island and a minor island (the Calf of Man)	Continental shelf	United Kingdom	572 square kilometres	221 sq mi	85,421	149 inhabitants per square kilometre	390 /sq mi	Irish Sea, British Isles
Jan Mayen	SJ SJM	One mid-Atlantic ridge volcanic seamount	Continental shelf	Norway	377 square kilometres	146 sq mi	No permanent resident	0 inhabitants per square kilometre	0 /sq mi	Arctic Ocean
Jersey^{[n 19]}^[12]	JE JEY	One main island	Continental shelf	United Kingdom	116 square kilometres	45 sq mi	94,949	819 inhabitants per square kilometre	2,120 /sq mi	English Channel, Channel Islands
Juan Fernández Islands	CL CHL	Three main islands: Robinson Crusoe Alejandro Selkirk Santa Clara	Oceanic	Chile	100 square kilometres	39 sq mi	926	9.2 inhabitants per square kilometre	24 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean
Lakshadweep	IN IND	Archipelago	Oceanic	India	32.62 square kilometres	12.59 sq mi	64,473	2,000 inhabitants per square kilometre	5,200 /sq mi	Indian Ocean
Martinique	MQ MTQ	One main island	Oceanic	France	1,128 square kilometres	436 sq mi	403,795	360 inhabitants per square kilometre	930 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Mayotte	YT MYT	One main island	Oceanic	France	374 square kilometres	144 sq mi	194,000	498.5 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,291 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Africa, Comoros Islands
Montserrat	MS MST	One main island	Oceanic	United Kingdom	102 square kilometres	39 sq mi	5,164	50.6 inhabitants per square kilometre	131 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
New Caledonia	NC NCL	Archipelago around one main island	Continental shelf^{[n 8]}	France	18,275 square kilometres	7,056 sq mi	260,166	14.2 inhabitants per square kilometre	37 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Melanesia
Norfolk Island	NF NFK	One main island	Continental shelf^{[n 8]}	Australia	36 square kilometres	14 sq mi	2,182	60.6 inhabitants per square kilometre	157 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Melanesia
Northern Mariana Islands^{[n 16]}	MP MNP	Archipelago	Oceanic	United States	464 square kilometres	179 sq mi	51,395	111 inhabitants per square kilometre	290 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Micronesia
Pitcairn Islands	PN PCN	Archipelago	Oceanic	United Kingdom	47 square kilometres	18 sq mi	48	1.0 inhabitant per square kilometre	2.6 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia
Puerto Rico^{[n 16]}	PR PRI	Archipelago around one main island	Various	United States	8,868 square kilometres	3,424 sq mi	3,203,295	361 inhabitants per square kilometre	930 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Greater Antilles
Réunion	RE REU	One main island	Oceanic	France	2,512 square kilometres	970 sq mi	893,500	330 inhabitants per square kilometre	850 /sq mi	Indian Ocean, Africa, Mascarene Islands
San Andrés and Providencia	CO COL	Two archipelagos around two main islands of San Andrés and Providencia	Oceanic	Colombia	525 square kilometres	203 sq mi	61,280	1,200 inhabitants per square kilometre	3,100 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea
Saint Barthélemy	BL BLM	Archipelago around one main island	Oceanic	France	21 square kilometres	8.1 sq mi	7,332	349 inhabitants per square kilometre	900 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha	SH SHN	Three main islands distant from each other of: Saint Helena Ascension Tristan da Cunha	Oceanic	United Kingdom	308 square kilometres	119 sq mi	7,728	25.1 inhabitants per square kilometre	65 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean
Saint Martin	MF MAF	Part of a larger island (Saint Martin)	Oceanic	France	54.4 square kilometres	21.0 sq mi	30,959	569 inhabitants per square kilometre	1,470 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	PM SPM	Two main islands	Continental shelf	France	242 square kilometres	93 sq mi	5,831	24.1 inhabitants per square kilometre	62 /sq mi	North America
Sint Maarten	SX SXM	Part of a larger island (Saint Martin)	Oceanic	Kingdom of the Netherlands	34 square kilometres	13 sq mi	39,088	1,150 inhabitants per square kilometre	3,000 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	GS SGs	One main island and neighbouring archipelago	Continental shelf	United Kingdom^{[n 18]}	3,903 square kilometres	1,507 sq mi	30	30 inhabitants per square kilometre	78 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	GB GBR	Parts of a larger island (Cyprus)	Continental shelf	United Kingdom	254 square kilometres	98 sq mi	15,700	61.8 inhabitants per square kilometre	160 /sq mi	Mediterranean Sea
Svalbard^{[n 20]}	SJ SJM	Archipelago	Continental shelf	Norway	62,045 square kilometres	23,956 sq mi	2,763	0.044 inhabitants per square kilometre	0.11 /sq mi	Arctic Ocean
Tokelau^{[n 21]}	TK TKL	Archipelago	Oceanic	New Zealand	12 square kilometres	4.6 sq mi	1,368	114 inhabitants per square kilometre	300 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia
Turks and Caicos Islands	TC TCA	Archipelago of two island groups	Continental shelf	United Kingdom	948 square kilometres	366 sq mi	46,335	48.9 inhabitants per square kilometre	127 /sq mi	Atlantic Ocean, Lucayan Archipelago
United States Minor Outlying Islands	UM UMI	Loose scattered archipelago of eight Pacific insular areas with one Caribbean (Navassa Island)	Oceanic	United States	41 square kilometres	16 sq mi	300	7.3 inhabitants per square kilometre	19 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Caribbean Sea
U.S. Virgin Islands^{[n 16]}	VI VIR	Archipelago	Oceanic	United States	346 square kilometres	134 sq mi	87,146^[13]	252 inhabitants per square kilometre	650 /sq mi	Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles
Wallis and Futuna	WF WLF	Three main islands of: Uvea (Wallis) Hoorn Islands of Futuna and Alofi Island	Oceanic	France	264 square kilometres	102 sq mi	15,289	57.9 inhabitants per square kilometre	150 /sq mi	Pacific Ocean, Polynesia

Former sovereign island nations and primarily island-based countries

Africa

State of Anjouan (1997–2008)
Sultanate of Bambao (Ngazidja, 1886–1908)
Merina Kingdom
Mohéli (1997–1998)
Mwali Sultanate
Sultanate of Ndzuwani
Sultanate of Zanzibar

Asia

Europe

Mediterranean Sea

North Europe & West Europe

North America

Republic of Anguilla
First Republic of Cuba
First Empire of Haiti
Second Empire of Haiti
Kingdom of Haiti
Republic of Spanish Haiti
Republic of the Floridas
West Indies Federation, (1958–1962)^{[n 24]}
Dominion of Newfoundland (1907–1949)

Oceania

Former colonies, possessions, protectorates, and other territories

Annobón (1474–1778), now part of Equatorial Guinea
Bay Islands, now a department of Honduras
Cape Breton Island, now part of Nova Scotia, Canada
Danish West Indies, now the United States Virgin Islands
Elobey, Annobón and Corisco (1843–1926) unified with the rest of Spanish Guinea
Fernando Po (1778–1926)
The Territory of Hawaii, now Hawaii, a state of the United States
Heligoland (1807–1890)
Hong Kong Island (1841–1860), now a part of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China^{[n 25]}
United States of the Ionian Islands, protectorate of the United Kingdom.
Septinsular Republic, protectorate in the Ionian Islands under nominal Russo-Ottoman joint sovereignty.
Labuan, briefly part of British North Borneo, the Straits Settlements and Sabah, now a federal territory of Malaysia
Mayotte, now an overseas department and region of France
Minorca (1713–1802)
Colony of Newfoundland (1583–1907)^{[n 26]}
New Hebrides, now Vanuatu
British North Borneo
Padang
Prince of Wales Island between 1786 and 1800, at that point joined by Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai). Now as the state of Penang in the Malaysian federation.
Prince Edward Island, now a province of Canada
The Providence Island colony
Queen Charlotte Islands
Réunion, now an overseas department and region of France
Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, former British overseas territory dissolved in 1983.
Socotra Archipelago, now a governorate of Yemen
Tasmania, now a state of Australia, shares a land boundary with Victoria on Boundary Islet
Vancouver Island, now a part of British Columbia, Canada
People's Republic of Zanzibar, now a member of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Island countries with man-made fixed links to continents

Bahrain to Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Causeway
Singapore to Malaysia via the Johor–Singapore Causeway since 1924, with the Tuas Second Link added in 1998
United Kingdom to France via the Channel Tunnel

References

^ "Definition of island". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012.
^ The Republic of China (commonly known as "Taiwan") only controls the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu etc. after the Chinese Civil War, but has not renounced claim on areas currently under control of the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, Tuva (a Russian republic) etc. If those territories are taken into account, the Republic of China is not an island country or a country centered with a major island. The area under ROC control is also claimed by the People's Republic of China. See: One China and Political status of Taiwan.
^ Löffler, Ernst & A.J. Rose, Anneliese Löffler & Denis Warner (1983). Australia:Portrait of a Continent. Richmond, Victoria: Hutchinson Group. p. 17. ISBN 0-09-130460-1.
^ Which Countries Have The Most Islands?
^ Island Countries
^ "Island Countries Of The World". WorldAtlas.com. Archived 2017-12-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
^ "Total Population Estimates 2015-2019". data.worldbank.org. The World Bank. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
^ "令和元年全国都道府県市区町村別面積調（１０月１日時点）2020年" (in Japanese). Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. 25 December 2020. Archived January 1, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
^ "The Overseas Territories". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. June 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
^ TRNC SPO, Economic and Social Indicators 2014, pages=2–3
^ The Guardian, 24-Dec-2024 Mauritius holds out on Chagos Islands deal over Diego Garcia lease [1]
^ "Channel Islands". Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
^ "2020 Island Areas Censuses: U.S. Virgin Islands". United States Census Bureau. United States Department of Commerce. Archived January 20, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 January 2022.

External links

Island superlatives

^ The Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are disputed island territories administered by the United Kingdom and claimed by Argentina.
^ The northern part of the island of Cyprus is the de facto independent state of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Turkey. In the south of the island are the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, controlled by the United Kingdom.
^ The largest oceanic island in the world.
^ The western portion of the country is on the continental shelf of Asia while the eastern portion of the country is on the continental shelf of Australia. The central portion of the country consists of oceanic islands in Wallacea.
^ In Japanese tradition, 11 February 660 BC is regarded as the accession date of the first Emperor of Japan in legendary, Emperor Jimmu, marking the establishment of the imperial dynasty. However, no historical evidence that Jimmu actually existed and his story was largely narrated by Japanese mythology. February 11 was also the day when the Constitution of the Empire of Japan was proclaimed in 1889. See: National Foundation Day
^ The largest microcontinent in the world.
^ The Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau are states in free association with the United States, under the Compact of Free Association.
^ A part of the submerged continent of Zealandia.
^ The Granitic Seychelles is a part of the Seychelles microcontinent. The Coralline Seychelles consists of oceanic islands.
^ The British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar is a peninsular exclave which shares a land border with Spain and can thus be regarded as a part of continental Europe, with the United Kingdom retaining the full authority for its defence and foreign relations. However, Gibraltar and other BOTs are considered to be dependent territories of the British Crown with varying degrees of self-governance, not parts of the United Kingdom proper nor of any of its four constituent countries.
^ In 1983, in a breach of international law, Northern Cyprus unilaterally declared independence from Cyprus, with direct support of its neighbour Turkey, in support of the Turkish people minority on the island. Northern Cyprus's sovereignty has been recognized by only one United Nations member state: Turkey. It retains a de facto control of this part of the island. It is not a member state of the United Nations. Most states recognize Cyprus's claim to sovereignty over the entirety of the island of Cyprus.
^ Since the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, the Republic of China (ROC) retains actual rule over the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands, all of which are collectively known as the "Free Area" (or Taiwan Area) in contrast to Mainland China being under communist rule, thus making it a de facto island nation, and has become known colloquially as simply "Taiwan" due to the island of Taiwan forming the majority of the ROC-controlled territories; nonetheless, the ROC has not officially renounced its constitutional-defined territories which include areas effectively controlled by the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, Tuva (a Russian republic) etc. If claimed territories were taken into account, the ROC would not be an island country, nor a country centred around a major island. The ROC-controlled territories are also claimed by the People's Republic of China. See: Cross-Strait relations, One China, Political status of Taiwan, and Two Chinas.
^ The Republic of China (ROC) was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which succeeded the former Qing dynasty's territories on Mainland China, while the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were under Japanese rule at the time. The ROC gained control over the latter after the Surrender of Japan in 1945, but soon lost its control of mainland to the communists due to the Chinese Civil War. The ROC government relocated to Taipei on 7 December 1949 and named the city its provisional capital. Constitutionally, the Republic of China on Taiwan still views itself as the continuation of the former Chinese republic, with legitimate sovereignty over Mainland China despite having no actual control. 7 December 1949 is listed as the date of formation of its governing authority fully established on the islands. See: Four-Stage Theory of the Republic of China, Kuomintang's retreat to Taiwan, and Political status of Taiwan.
^ The political status of the Cook Islands and Niue is defined as states in free association with New Zealand. The Cook Islands and Niue are internally self-governing, with New Zealand retaining responsibility for their defence and for some foreign affairs. However, these responsibilities confer New Zealand no rights of control and can only be exercised at the request of the Cook Islands and Niue. See: Constitution of the Cook Islands and Niue Constitution Act.
^ Finland and Sweden share a border over the small island of Märket; however, the property including the lighthouse is owned by the Finnish rather than Åland government.
^ An insular area of the United States. See Territories of the United States.
^ Since 2024, the Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute is approaching a resolution with the return of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius — deemed to have the right of sovereignty over the isles by ruling from both the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — with the United Kingdom retaining control of the airbase on Diego Garcia on the basis of a 99-year lease. The negotiations as to the details of the return and the cost of the lease and the rate of compensation are yet to be determined.
^ The Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are also claimed by Argentina.
^ The Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, and the Isle of Man are peculiars of the British Crown and not part of the United Kingdom; foreign relations and defence are provided by the UK.
^ Administered by Norway under the Svalbard Treaty.
^ Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand.
^ By 1910, the Empire of Japan was restricted to the entire Japanese archipelago, Southern Sakhalin, Kuril Islands and Taiwan, before its official annexation of Korea. The Japanese concessions in China including the Kwantung Leased Territory which acquired by Japan before 1905 were regarded as Chinese territories under foreign jurisdiction, they were not officially annexed by Japan and obliged to be returned under a fixed-term territorial lease by bilateral agreements.
^ Before the outbreak of Sicilian Vespers in 1282, the Kingdom of Sicily encompassed both the island of Sicily and south Italy; the war resulted the division of the kingdom into two parts as "Kingdom of Trinacria" (island part), and Kingdom of Naples (mainland part) which still officially called itself "Kingdom of Sicily". The two Sicilian kingdoms had since remained separate until 1816, when they remerged to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
^ Dissolved in 1962 and then divided into Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
^ The Crown Colony of Hong Kong covered only Hong Kong Island from 1841 to 1860. Kowloon, south of Boundary Street on the continent, was added in 1860, and extended to include the New Territories in 1898.
^ The colony covered the island of Newfoundland before 1809. In 1809, part of the Labrador Peninsula was transferred to Newfoundland from Lower Canada. In other words, before 1809, Newfoundland was an island colony. From 1809 onwards, the Colony of Newfoundland and, since 1907, the Dominion of Newfoundland had been an island plus Labrador (an area on the continent of North America).