# List of countries by number of islands

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.”

## List

| Country | No. of islands | No. of inhabited islands | Notes | List link |
| Algeria | 240 | | 32 islands and 208 islets; coastal islands/islets only. | List |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 54 | 2 | Three main islands (Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda) and 51 offshore islands | List |
| Australia | 8,222 | 19 | | List |
| Azerbaijan | 16 | 1 | | List |
| Bangladesh | 23 | | | List |
| Barbados | 4 | 1 | There are currently two islands and two banks in Barbados. An additional historical island (Pelican Island) no longer exists. | List |
| Bulgaria | 117 | | | List |
| Cambodia | 71 | 9 | | List |
| Canada | 52,455 | 260 | Canada has several large inhabited islands, including Prince Edward Island, Vancouver Island, Montreal, and Manitoulin Island. | List |
| Cape Verde | 15 | 9 | 10 islands and 5 islets | List |
| Chile | 43,471 | 2,324 | 3,739 islands (above 9,000 m$^2$ (97,000 sq ft)) and 2180 islets (above 3,000 m$^2$ (32,000 sq ft)) | List |
| China | 6,961 | 433 | 500 m$^2$ (5,400 sq ft) only. Excludes Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. | List |
| Croatia | 1,246 | 48 | | List |
| Cuba | 4,195 | 8 | | List |
| Denmark | 406 | 70 | | List |
| Dominica | 3 | 1 | The island nation of Dominica with a total area of 750 km$^2$ (290 sq mi) includes two small, off-shore islands and one disputed island: | List |
| Estonia | 2,355 | 22 | | List |
| Fiji | 330 | 110 | | List |
| Finland | 178,947 | 780 | | List |
| France | 1,900+ | 109 | | List |
| Greece | 6,000 | 227 | Depending on inclusion criteria counts vary from 1,200 to 6,000. The number inhabited is variously cited as between 166 and 227. | List |
| Hong Kong | 263 | 15 | >500 m$^2$ (5,400 sq ft) only. "Many" or "most" are inhabited. | List |
| Iceland | 31 | 4 | 1 large and "about 30 smaller islands, and thousands of rocks and skerries." | List |
| India | 1,382 | 47 | "Off-shore identified islands". The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise 572 islands, 37 of which are inhabited. Lakshadweep has 32 islands, 10 of which are inhabited. | List |
| Indonesia | 17,508 | 6,000 | Largest archipelagic state. 5 major islands and about 30 smaller groups, about 6,000 are inhabited. | By location By area By population By extremities |
| Italy | 808 | 77 | | List |
| Japan | 14,125 | 430 | 14,125 islands with a circumference of at least 0.1 km. | By area By location |
| Kiribati | 33 | 21 | 32 atolls and 1 limestone island; 21 islands are inhabited. | List |
| Lebanon | 12 | 3 | 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. | List |
| Malaysia | 878 | | The largest island, Borneo is shared with Brunei and Indonesia. | List |
| Maldives | 1,192 | 187 | 1,192 islands in total of 10 atolls; 187 islands are inhabited. | List |
| Malta | 21 | 3 | 3 inhabited (Malta, Gozo and Comino), 3 islets and 12 "large rocks" | List |
| Marshall Islands | 34 | 24 | 29 atolls and 5 isolated islands. | List |
| Mexico | 1,356 | 131 | | List |
| Micronesia | 607 | 65 | Four major island groups | List |
| Nauru | 1 | 1 | | — |
| New Zealand | 600 | 22 | 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. | List |
| Netherlands | 34 | 15 | | Of the Netherlands Of the Netherlands Antilles |
| North Macedonia | 30 | 0 | 13 larger than 0.01 km$^2$ (2.5 acres), 6 on lakes, the rest on rivers. | List |
| Norway | 239,057 | 60+ | 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 m$^2$ (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. | List |
| Pakistan | 12 | 7 | Pakistan's largest island, Astola | List |
| Palau | 200 | 8 | Eight permanently inhabited | List |
| Peru | 233 | 8 | There is approximately 94.36 km (58.63 mi) in maritime islands and islets, and 39.04 km (24.26 mi) inside lakes | List |
| Philippines | 7,641 | 2,000 | Thousands of islands are unnamed, and tiny. | List |
| Poland | 203 | | Usedom (shared with Germany) and Wolin are barrier islands; the rest are either lagoon, lake or river islands. | List |
| Portugal | 102 | 23 | 23 portuguese islands are inhabited. | List |
| Russia | 1,338 | 140 | | List |
| Samoa | 12 | 4 | | List |
| Senegal | 35 | 9 | | List |
| Serbia | 35 | 1–3 | Ostrovo is permanently populated, while Ada and Great War Island are occasionally inhabited. Most islands are on the Danube and Sava. | List |
| Singapore | 64 | 32 | These include Sentosa, Pulau Ubin, St John's Island and Sisters' Islands. | List |
| South Korea | 3,358 | 2,876 | | List |
| Spain | 60 | 21 | | List |
| Sri Lanka | 61 | 3 | 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. | List |
| Sweden | 267,570 | 984 | 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. | List |
| Scotland See United Kingdom. | 900 | 118 | More than 900 islands, of which 118 are inhabited. | List |
| Thailand | 1,430 | 47 | | List |
| Tonga | 169 | 36 | The total surface area of the archipelago is about 750 km$^2$ (290 sq mi), scattered over 700,000 km$^2$ (270,000 sq mi) of the southern Pacific Ocean. | List |
| Tuvalu | 9 | 9 | Six atolls and 3 reef islands. | List |
| United Kingdom | 6,346 | 129 | Includes all offshore islands marked on Ordnance Survey maps. England, Scotland & Wales: 6289; Northern Ireland: 57. (Not included: Isle of Man: 30; Bailiwick of Guernsey: 57; Bailiwick of Jersey: 274; overseas dependencies.) Inhabited islands. England: 24; Scotland: 93; Wales: 9; Northern Ireland: 2; Britain: 1. | List |
| United States | 18,617 | 10,000 | | List |
| Venezuela | 650 | 350 | Most of them are virgin landsand Margarita Island is the largest island of Venezuela. | List |