List_of_island_countries

List of island countries

List of island countries

List of the world's island countries and territories

This is a 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, East Timor, 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).

Map depicts sovereign states and a de facto state (Taiwan) (tw) fully located on islands: those with land borders shaded green, and those without shaded dark blue (Bahrain (bh) should be shaded green as it shares a small land border with Saudi Arabia on Passport Island).

Countries/territories not shown on the map: Australia (au) (continental country), the Cook Islands (ck) (free association with New Zealand), Greenland (gl) (dependent territory of the Kingdom of Denmark), Niue (nu) (free association with New Zealand), Northern Cyprus (ct.tr and nc.tr) (unrecognized country), and Puerto Rico (pr) (unincorporated U.S. territory).

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.

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).

Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea is officially an unincorporated territory of the United States.

South America is the only inhabited continent without an island country.[n 1][5]

Sovereign states

UN member states and states with limited recognition

More information Name, ISO code ...

Associated states

More information Name, ISO code ...

Dependencies and other territories

More information Name, Geographic configuration ...

Former sovereign island nations and primarily island-based countries

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Oceania

Former colonies, possessions, protectorates, and other territories

See also

Notes

  1. [n 1]
    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 and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are disputed island territories administered by the United Kingdom and claimed by Argentina.
  2. [n 2]
    A microcontinent on continental crust.
  3. [n 3]
    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.
  4. [n 4]
    The largest oceanic island in the world.
  5. [n 5]
    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.
  6. [n 6]
    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 Yamato 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
  7. [n 7]
    The largest microcontinent in the world.
  8. [n 8]
    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.
  9. [n 9]
    A part of the submerged continent of Zealandia.
  10. [N 10]
    The Granitic Seychelles is a part of the Seychelles microcontinent. The Coralline Seychelles consists of oceanic islands.
  11. [N 11]
    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.
  12. [N 12]
    In 1983, Northern Cyprus declared independence from Cyprus. Northern Cyprus' sovereignty has been recognized by only one United Nations member state (Turkey). It is not a member state of the United Nations. Most states recognize Cyprus' claim to sovereignty over Northern Cyprus.
  13. [N 13]
    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.
  14. [N 14]
    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.
  15. [N 15]
    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.
  16. [N 16]
    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.
  17. [N 17]
    An insular area of the United States. See Territories of the United States.
  18. [N 18]
    The Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are also claimed by Argentina.
  19. [N 19]
    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.
  20. [N 20]
    Administered by Norway under the Svalbard Treaty.
  21. [N 21]
    Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand.
  22. [N 22]
    By 1910, the Empire of Japan was restricted to the majority of the Japanese archipelago and Taiwan before its official annexation of Korea.
  23. [N 23]
    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.
  24. [N 24]
    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.
  25. [N 25]
    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.
  26. [N 26]
    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).

References

  1. [1]
    "Definition of island". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012.
  2. [2]
    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.
  3. [3]
    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.
  4. [4]
    Which Countries Have The Most Islands?
  5. [5]
    Island Countries
  6. [6]
    "Island Countries Of The World". WorldAtlas.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  7. [7]
    "Total Population Estimates 2015-2019". data.worldbank.org. The World Bank. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  8. [8]
    "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 from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  9. [9]
    "The Overseas Territories" (PDF). Foreign and Commonwealth Office. June 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  10. [10]
    TRNC SPO, Economic and Social Indicators 2014, pages=2–3
  11. [11]
    "Channel Islands". Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article List_of_island_countries, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.