Which countries have the most islands?
Key takeaways
- Sweden, Norway and Finland account for almost 75% of the islands in this dataset, with a total of 704,773 islands.
- The number of islands is not directly comparable because countries use different definitions, minimum sizes, and rules for including inland islands.
- Islands cover only 5% of Earth’s land area, but are home to around 20% of bird, reptile and plant species.
Indonesia and the Philippines are famous for their sprawling tropical archipelagos, but neither tops the list of countries with the most islands.
Instead, Northern Europe dominates the rankings, thanks in part to its complex coastlines, vast lake systems and countless small rocky islands.
This infographic ranks countries by reported number of islands, using data from national statistical and mapping agencies compiled in the Wikipedia list of countries by number of islands.
In total, the dataset covers 945,247 islands, although different national definitions mean it is not a standardized global census.
Three Nordic countries represent almost 75% of the islands
Sweden comes first with 267,570 islands, followed by Norway with 239,057 and Finland with 198,146. Together they represent 704,773 islands, or 74.6% of the total recorded in this ranking.
| Country | Number of islands | Share of all islands |
|---|---|---|
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 267,570 | 28.31% |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 239,057 | 25.29% |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 198 146 | 20.96% |
| 🇨🇦Canada | 52,455 | 5.55% |
| 🇨🇱 Chile | 43,471 | 4.60% |
| 🇺🇸 United States | 28,449 | 3.01% |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 17,508 | 1.85% |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 14,125 | 1.49% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 8,222 | 0.87% |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | 7,641 | 0.81% |
| 🇨🇳 China | 7,226 | 0.76% |
| 🇫🇷 United Kingdom | 6,346 | 0.67% |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 6,000 | 0.63% |
| 🇨🇺Cuba | 4,195 | 0.44% |
| 🇱🇦Laos | 4,000 | 0.42% |
| 🇰🇵 North Korea | 3,579 | 0.38% |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 3,358 | 0.36% |
| 🇻🇳Vietnam | 3,000 | 0.32% |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | 2,355 | 0.25% |
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | 2,000 | 0.21% |
| 🇫🇷France | 1,900 | 0.20% |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | 1,430 | 0.15% |
| 🇮🇳 India | 1,382 | 0.15% |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | 1,356 | 0.14% |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 1,338 | 0.14% |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 1,285 | 0.14% |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 1,246 | 0.13% |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 1,200 | 0.13% |
| 🇲🇻Maldives | 1,192 | 0.13% |
| 🇪🇬 Egypt | 1,048 | 0.11% |
| 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | 992 | 0.10% |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 878 | 0.09% |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 808 | 0.09% |
| 🇧🇸 Bahamas | 700 | 0.07% |
| 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 700 | 0.07% |
| 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 650 | 0.07% |
| 🇫🇲 Micronesia | 607 | 0.06% |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 600 | 0.06% |
| 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | 600 | 0.06% |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | 500 | 0.05% |
| 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 500 | 0.05% |
| 🇧🇿Belize | 450 | 0.05% |
| Iran | 427 | 0.05% |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 406 | 0.04% |
| 🇬🇾 Guyana | 365 | 0.04% |
| 🇫🇯 Fiji | 330 | 0.03% |
| 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 250 | 0.03% |
| 🇩🇿 Algeria | 240 | 0.03% |
| 🇵🇪 Peru | 233 | 0.02% |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 203 | 0.02% |
| 🇵🇼 Palau | 200 | 0.02% |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 179 | 0.02% |
| 🇹🇴 Tonga | 169 | 0.02% |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 168 | 0.02% |
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | 152 | 0.02% |
| 🇸🇴 Somalia | 140 | 0.01% |
| 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 120 | 0.01% |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 117 | 0.01% |
| 🇸🇨Seychelles | 115 | 0.01% |
| 🇭🇳Honduras | 102 | 0.01% |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | 102 | 0.01% |
| 🇱🇰Sri Lanka | 100 | 0.01% |
| 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | 88 | 0.01% |
| 🇺🇬 Uganda | 84 | 0.01% |
| 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | 83 | 0.01% |
| 🇨🇴 Colombia | 74 | 0.01% |
| 🇰🇭 Cambodia | 71 | 0.01% |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | 64 | 0.01% |
| 🇭🇹Haiti | 59 | 0.01% |
| 🇦🇬Antigua and Barbuda | 54 | 0.01% |
| 🇲🇺 Mauritius | 50 | 0.01% |
| 🇸🇳 Senegal | 35 | <0.01% |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | 35 | <0.01% |
| 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands | 34 | <0.01% |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 34 | <0.01% |
| 🇧🇳 Brunei | 33 | <0.01% |
| 🇰🇮 Kiribati | 33 | <0.01% |
| 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 32 | <0.01% |
| 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 30 | <0.01% |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | 21 | <0.01% |
| 🇸🇩 Sudan | 20 | <0.01% |
| 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | 19 | <0.01% |
| 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 16 | <0.01% |
| 🇨🇻 Cape Verde | 15 | <0.01% |
| 🇦🇱 Albania | 14 | <0.01% |
| 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 12 | <0.01% |
| 🇵🇰Pakistan | 12 | <0.01% |
| 🇼🇸 Samoa | 12 | <0.01% |
| 🇹🇻 Tuvalu | 9 | <0.01% |
| 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | 8 | <0.01% |
| 🇸🇾 Syria | 5 | <0.01% |
| 🇧🇧 Barbados | 4 | <0.01% |
| 🇩🇲 Dominique | 3 | <0.01% |
| 🇳🇷Nauru | 1 | <0.01% |
| Total: | 945 247 | 100% |
Scandinavia’s extraordinary number of islands is partly the result of its glacial history. During the last ice age, glaciers carved and reshaped the landscape, leaving behind countless rock outcrops, shallow coastal waters and lake systems as the ice retreated.
Sweden’s Stockholm archipelago, for example, extends to the Baltic Sea and contains around 30,000 islands, islets and reefs.
Nearby, the Finnish Archipelago Sea contains tens of thousands of islands, while Norway’s Øygarden Islands, west of Bergen, form a coastal landscape of rocky islands separated by narrow channels.
Canada and Chile lead the way outside Northern Europe
Canada ranks fourth with 52,455 islands, followed by Chile with 43,471 and the United States with 28,449.
The total reported by Canada refers to coastal islands, excluding the country’s vast freshwater island geography.
One of its largest concentrations of islands is the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, which includes more than 36,000 islands, including Baffin Island, one of the largest in the world.
Farther south, the Alexander Archipelago in southeast Alaska includes approximately 1,100 named islands, including Prince of Wales Island and Admiralty Island.
The region is known for its rugged coastline, temperate rainforests and diverse marine ecosystems.
Meanwhile, Georgian Bay, part of Lake Huron in Ontario, is home to more than 30,000 freshwater islands. This illustrates how Canada’s total number of islands could be significantly higher under a definition that includes interior islands.
Further down the ranking, Indonesia has 17,508 islands, followed by Japan with 14,125 and the Philippines with 7,641.
Why the number of islands is not directly comparable
One of the reasons Sweden and Norway rank so highly is that even extremely small islands can qualify. Sweden’s mapping approach recognizes islands as small as 9 square meters, while Norway counts islands around 10 square meters or larger. Both include inland islands.
Japan’s figure of 14,125, meanwhile, is based on naturally formed landmasses with a circumference of at least 100 meters, excluding artificial islands. The tally also excludes islands located in lakes and rivers, illustrating how different mapping criteria can shape a country’s position in the rankings.
Croatia offers another example: its total of 1,246 includes 79 islands, 525 islets and 642 flooded rocks or boulders, according to a study published in Geoadria.
Why are islands important?
Although they cover only 5% of the earth’s land area, islands are home to around 20% of the planet’s species of birds, reptiles and plants.
Their geographic isolation allows unique species to evolve, often producing plants and animals found nowhere else. A 2024 study published in Nature found that 21% of the world’s vascular plant species are endemic to the islands.
Beyond biodiversity, the islands constitute important nesting areas for seabirds and serve as resting points along migration routes.
They are also home to more than 600 million people, supporting distinct cultures and livelihoods closely linked to local ecosystems.
Learn more about the Voronoi app
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the countries with the most fresh water.
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