The Largest Islands in the World (by area)

Want to know which is the world’s biggest island? Here’s a list of the largest islands in the world, ranked by their total area in square miles and square kilometers. 

Greenland

Greenland is the largest island in the world with an area of (840,004 sq. miles) (2,175,600 sq. km). It’s an arctic island, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which technically makes Denmark one of the biggest countries in the world if you include the size of Greenland.

Despite its name, it’s not very green considering that it’s covered in snow and ice most of the year. The capital city of Nuuk is home to almost 1/4 of the total population of Greenland. The majority of Greenlanders are Inuit or a mix of Danish and Inuit. 

New Guinea

The island of New Guinea is the second-largest island in the world, and it’s divided in half by Indonesia (West Papua) and Papua New Guinea.

The whole island has an area of (303,381 sq. miles) (785,753 sq. km), which makes it half the size of Greenland, although it’s still a very big island that is home to more than 11 million people. 

Borneo

Borneo is famous for being home to Orangutans, one of the closest relatives to humans. But the island is also ranked as the third-largest island in the world with an area of (288,869 sq. miles) (748,168 sq. km).

It’s shared between Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. 

Madagascar

Madagascar is the largest island in Africa and has a total area of (226,917 sq. miles) (587,713 sq. km). It’s particularly known for its incredibly biodiverse flora and fauna, which is believed to have happened because of its isolated position for millions of years. 

Madagascar is home to chameleons and the lemurs as well as the majestic Baobab trees.

Baffin Island

Baffin Island is another arctic island that is known for its big size. It belongs to Canada and the Nunavut territory in the northern part of the country.

The island has a total area of (194,574 sq. miles) (503,944 sq. km), which makes it one of the largest islands in the world!

List of the largest islands in the world

You can see the total size of the world’s biggest islands by square kilometers and square miles below. 

Rank	Island	Area (km2)	Area (sq mi)
1	Greenland	2,130,800	822,700
2	New Guinea	785,753	303,381
3	Borneo	748,168	288,869
4	Madagascar	587,041	226,658
5	Baffin Island	507,451	195,928
6	Sumatra	443,066	182,812
7	Honshu	227,960	88,020
8	Victoria Island	217,291	83,897
9	Great Britain	209,331	80,823
10	Ellesmere Island	196,236	75,767
11	Sulawesi	180,681	69,761
12	South Island	145,836	56,308
13	Java	138,794	53,589
14	North Island	111,583	43,082
15	Luzon	109,965	42,458

Australia is de facto the largest island in the world with a size of (2,966,153 sq miles) (7,682,300 sq km). However, it’s mostly defined as a continental landmass, whereas the others are defined as real islands. 

More about the Largest Islands in the World

Some of the largest islands in the world are largely uninhabited such as Greenland and Baffin Island.

But some are home to quite large populations, such as New Guinea with 11 million people, and Great Britain especially, which is home to more than 67 million people despite only being the 9th largest island in the world. 

Honshu (Japan), Java (Indonesia), and Luzon (Philippines) are other examples of the most populous islands in the world. 

Most of the largest islands in the world are located in the arctic region, Oceania, or Asia. If you look at the top 15 biggest islands, 7 of them are located on the Asian continent, whereas Africa only has 1 island on the list.  

Largest Island Countries in the world

Some of the world’s largest islands are just part of a country, like Baffin Island, Java, and Luzon, but there are also some nations in the world which are made up of one or several islands. 

1. Indonesia – (735,358 sq miles) (1,904,569 sq km)
2. Madagascar – (226,658 sq miles) (587,041 sq km)
3. Papua New Guinea – (178,704 sq miles) (462,840 sq km)
4. Japan – (145,898 sq miles) (377,873 sq km)
5. Malaysia – (127,355 sq miles) (329,847 sq km)
6. Philippines – (115,831 sq miles) (300,000 sq km)
7. New Zealand – (104,454 sq miles) (270,534 sq km)
8. Great Britain – (80,823 sq. miles) (209,331 sq. km)

Great Britain is actually part of the United Kingdom, but Northern Ireland is not part of the island of Great Britain (Scotland, England, Wales). 

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