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.
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]
There are 12 islands in Lebanon, 11 of which are off the coast of Tripoli, and 1 off the coast of Sidon. The biggest of which are the Palm Islands, followed by Sanani and Ramkeen, which was an inhabited island. The southern city of Tyre used to be an island up until the Siege of Tyre in 332 BC when the island was connected to mainland modern day Lebanon by Alexander the Great's forces in an attempt to capture the island.[35]
Approximate number within about 50 km (31 mi) of the two main islands; excludes associated states and Antarctic islands. Roughly 22 of Aotearoa's islands have people residing on them.
There are a total of 320,249 islands, islets, or skerries along the coast of Norway. Kartverket (The Norwegian Mapping Authority) considers islands larger than 10 m2 (110 sq ft) proper islands, amounting to 239,057, with then 81,192 being skerries; however, by the definition used in this list, all 320,249 are considered islands. An older source gives 53,789 islands, which may be the figure for coastal islands only.[47]
Most 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.
Slightly 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.
^Antigua & barbuda investment and trade laws and regulations handbook. International Business Publications USA. 2008. p. 9. ISBN978-1-4330-7538-4. OCLC946496096.
^Instituto Geográfico Militar (1998). Atlas Geográfico para la Educación (5.ª edición) (in Spanish). Santiago: Instituto Geográfico Militar. ISBN956-202-053-3.
^Kong, Zhiguo (2016). "6.3 Establishing the Tunhai Policy". The making of a maritime power : China's challenges and policy responses. Singapore: Springer. p. 159. ISBN978-981-10-1786-5. OCLC962018517.
^McSaveney, Eileen (24 September 2007). "Nearshore islands - A nation of islands". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
^Fabbri, Paolo, ed. (1989). "11. The Recreational Use of the Norwegian Coast". Recreational Uses of Coastal Areas : a Research Project of the Commission on the Coastal Environment, International Geographical Union. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. p. 128. ISBN978-94-009-2391-1. OCLC851377567.
^Thuesen, Nils Petter; Thorsnæs, Geir; Røvik, Sissel (19 April 2023), "Norge", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved 23 May 2023
^Staurset, Kjersti Baust (24 November 2011), "Lengre kyst og flere øyer", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved 23 September 2024