Largest Islands in the World

Largest Islands in the World

When compiling a list of the largest islands in the world, continents are excluded. By convention, Australia is defined as a continental landmass rather than an island because of its independent tectonic plate and massive scale.

The following table lists the top 20 largest islands by total land area, utilizing standard geographic and satellite-mapping data.

RankIsland NameArea (km²)Area (sq mi)Country / Political Sovereign
1Greenland2,166,086836,330Denmark (Self-governing territory)
2New Guinea785,753303,381Papua New Guinea & Indonesia
3Borneo748,168288,869Indonesia, Malaysia & Brunei
4Madagascar587,041226,658Madagascar
5Baffin Island507,451195,928Canada (Nunavut)
6Sumatra443,066171,069Indonesia
7Honshu227,96088,016Japan
8Victoria Island217,29183,896Canada (Northwest Territories/Nunavut)
9Great Britain209,33180,823United Kingdom
10Ellesmere Island196,23675,767Canada (Nunavut)
11Sulawesi (Celebes)180,68169,761Indonesia
12South Island145,83656,308New Zealand
13Java138,79453,589Indonesia
14North Island111,58343,082New Zealand
15Luzon109,96542,458Philippines
16Newfoundland108,86042,031Canada (Newfoundland and Labrador)
17Cuba105,80640,852Cuba
18Iceland101,82639,315Iceland
19Mindanao97,53037,657Philippines
20Ireland84,42132,595Republic of Ireland & United Kingdom