The Largest Islands in the World
As big as they get (without being called a continent)
The following table lists the largest islands on earth including the name, location, political affiliation, and land area (in square miles and square kilometers). For the purposes of this list, we are not including possible continental landmasses like Australia or Antarctica. We're also only counting landmasses, so the arctic ice sheet doesn't qualify.
Greenland is the world's largest island covering 2,175,597 square kilometers. Although it's owned by Denmark rather than Canada, it has company in the many large islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Most of the other top contenders are found in the Pacific Ocean, especially in Oceania.
You might also be interested in our list of the world's largest lakes.
Or, if you're interested in photographing some of these great landscapes, check out our list of the best drone cameras of 2020.
| Area | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Island | Location and political affiliation | sq. mi. | sq. km |
| Greenland | North Atlantic (Danish) | 839,999 | 2,175,597 |
| New Guinea | Southwest Pacific (West Papua [Irian Jaya], Indonesia, western part; Papua New Guinea, eastern part) | 309,000 | 800,311 |
| Borneo | West mid-Pacific (Indonesian, south part; Brunei and Malaysian, north part) | 287,300 | 744,108 |
| Madagascar | Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa (Malagasy Republic) | 227,000 | 587,931 |
| Baffin Island | North Atlantic (Canadian) | 195,926 | 507,451 |
| Sumatra | Northeast Indian Ocean (Indonesian) | 182,859 | 473,605 |
| Honshu | Sea of Japan–Pacific (Japanese) | 89,176 | 230,966 |
| Great Britain | Off coast of NW Europe (England, Scotland, and Wales) | 88,795 | 229,979 |
| Victoria Island | Arctic Ocean (Canadian) | 83,896 | 217,291 |
| Ellesmere Island | Arctic Ocean (Canadian) | 75,767 | 196,236 |
| Sulawesi (Celebes) | West mid-Pacific (Indonesian) | 73,057 | 189,218 |
| South Island | South Pacific (New Zealand) | 58,384 | 151,215 |
| Java | Indian Ocean (Indonesian) | 51,038 | 132,189 |
| North Island | South Pacific (New Zealand) | 44,702 | 115,778 |
| Cuba | Caribbean Sea (republic) | 42,803 | 110,860 |
| Newfoundland | North Atlantic (Canadian) | 42,031 | 108,860 |
| Luzon | West mid-Pacific (Philippines) | 40,420 | 104,688 |
| Iceland | North Atlantic (republic) | 39,800 | 103,082 |
| Mindanao | West mid-Pacific (Philippines) | 36,537 | 94,631 |
| Ireland | West of Great Britain (republic, south part; United Kingdom, north part) | 32,597 | 84,426 |
| Hokkaido | Sea of Japan–Pacific (Japanese) | 32,245 | 83,515 |
| Sakhalin (Karafuto) | North of Japan (Russian) | 29,500 | 76,405 |
| Hispaniola | Caribbean Sea (Dominican Republic, east part; Haiti, west part) | 29,300 | 75,887 |
| Banks | Arctic Ocean (Canadian) | 27,038 | 70,028 |
| Tasmania | South of Australia (Australian) | 26,200 | 67,858 |
| Sri Lanka (Ceylon) | Indian Ocean (republic) | 24,900 | 64,491 |
| Devon | Arctic Ocean (Canadian) | 21,331 | 55,247 |
| Tierra del Fuego | Southern tip of South America (Argentinian, east part; Chilean, west part) | 18,605 | 48,187 |
| Axel Heiberg | Arctic Ocean (Canadian) | 16,671 | 43,178 |
| Melville | Arctic Ocean (Canadian) | 16,274 | 42,149 |
| Kyushu | Sea of Japan–Pacific (Japanese) | 16,223 | 42,018 |
| Southampton | Hudson Bay (Canadian) | 15,913 | 41,214 |
| Principal Rivers of the World | World Geography | Highest Waterfalls of the World |
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