List of island nations

This is a list of island countries. An island is a landmass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water. Many island countries are spread over an archipelago, as is the case with Indonesia and the Philippines (both countries consist of thousands of islands). Others consist of a single island, such as Barbados or Nauru, or part of an island, such as Brunei or the Dominican Republic.

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. In total, 50 island countries and 44 island territories have been included in the lists. Australia is not included as it is considered a continent, although it was historically referred to as an island because of its lack of land borders. Greenland is generally considered as the largest island on Earth and listed among the island territories.

Indonesia is the world's largest island country by area (1,904,569 km²), and by total number of islands (17,504 islands).Which Countries Have The Most Islands?
/ref> 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 China, India, and the United States).

South America is the only inhabited continent without an island country.Unless Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean island country located on the northern portion of the South American continental shelf, is considered a South American country. The Falkland Islands is a South American island territory; whereas Aruba and Curaçao, constituent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, are located on South American continental shelf as in the case of Trinidad and Tobago.

Sovereign states

UN member states and states with limited recognition

Associated states

Dependencies and other territories

Former sovereign island nations and primarily island-based countries

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Oceania

Former colonies, possessions, protectorates, and other territories

* Bay Islands
* Cape Breton Island, now part of Nova Scotia, Canada
* Danish West Indies, now the United States Virgin Islands
* 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 ChinaThe 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.
* 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) 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).
* 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
* , 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

* to via the King Fahd Causeway
* to via the Johor–Singapore Causeway since 1924, with the Tuas Second Link added in 1998
* to via the Channel Tunnel

See also

* Archipelagic state
* List of archipelagos
* List of Caribbean countries by population
* List of countries that border only one other country
* List of divided islands
* Lists of islands
* List of islands by area
* List of islands by population
* List of islands by population density
* List of Oceanian countries by population
* List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Oceania
* List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Indian Ocean
* Small Island Developing States
* Thalassocracy

Notes

References

External links

Island superlatives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Island Countries, List Of
Human geography
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Lists of countries by geography
Lists of countries by population density
Countries