This list includes 329 islands in the world larger than . For size and location reference, the four continental landmasses are also included. All landmasses are arranged in descending order.
Continental landmasses Generally, the continental landmasses are not all classified as islands despite being completely surrounded by water. However, because the definition of continent varies between geographers, the Americas are sometimes defined as two separate continents while mainland Australia is sometimes defined as an island as well as a continent.
Nevertheless, for the purposes of this list, mainland Australia along with the other three major landmasses have been listed as continental landmasses for comparison. The figures are approximations and are for the four continental landmasses only.
RankContinental landmass Area Nation(s) Notes (km2) I Afro-Eurasia(Africa-Eurasia) 79,810,726 126 countries 48 countries and two de facto states on mainland Africa.78 countries and four de facto states on mainland Eurasia:- 38 countries and two de facto states on continental Asia.- 40 countries and two de facto states on continental Europe II AmericasAmerica (landmass) 37,699,623 23 countries Ten countries on mainland North America.Thirteen countries including an overseas department and region of France on mainland South America. III Antarctica 12,272,800 None Antarctica is a special case, for if its ice is considered not as land, but as water, it is not a single landmass, but several landmasses of much smaller area, since the ice-bedrock boundary is below sea level in many regions of the continent.3D visualisations of the Earth2014 SUR, BED, TBI and RET topography layers over the Southern Hemisphere, centred to Antarctica If its ice cover were to be lifted, some rocks that are currently below sea level would rise as the weight of the ice would be removed,Global warming and the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Michael Oppenheimer, 1998 (see map of Antarctica showing regions where bedrock is below sea level) although this would in part be counteracted, and in some areas of the continent overtaken, by eustatic rises in sea level. IV Mainland Australia 7,591,608 Australia Mainland Australia is more than three times the size of Greenland, the largest island. Australia is sometimes dubbed "The Island Continent" or "Earth's largest island, but its smallest continent".
Islands with areas of or greater
Other areas of note
An island, with an area of , is said to be formed by the Damietta and the Rosetta, two distributaries that flow into the Nile Delta in Egypt. At its given size it would be the 86th largest island.
The Ez Zeraf Game Reserve consists mainly of Zeraf Island, , in South Sudan. It is a river island formed by the White Nile (Bahr el Jebel River) and its anabranch, the Bahr el Zeraf. At its given size it would be the 91st largest island.
The Camargue, , in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France is sometimes listed as an island. The Camargue would be the 268th largest island.
Zhongshan Island, , is a river island in Guangdong, China. The status of the island is disputed by China. It would be 322nd largest.
See also
List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands List of countries and dependencies by area List of countries by largest island List of divided islands List of islands by highest point List of islands by name List of islands by population List of islands by population density Lists of islands Recursive islands and lakes
Notes
Continents
Islands
References
Sources
External links Global Island Network – Island Links Directory