The flag of the country which owns the largest island. The largest islands of the Earth: descriptions. The largest island on Earth. Name

Do you know how many times the most big Island Is Russia smaller than the largest island in the world? Read the post and find out.

No. 10. Ellesmere (Canada) - 196,236 km2

Ellesmere is the most north island Canada is one of the ten largest islands in terms of area in the world. Due to the harsh climate, the population of the island is about 150 people. On the territory of Ellesmere, the remains of prehistoric animals have been repeatedly found. The first settlers were nomads from Siberia. In 1250, the Tule people, the ancestors of the Eskimos, settled on the territory. But by the middle of the 18th century, the island had become deserted. The island was discovered in 1616 by the English navigator William Buffin.

No. 9. Victoria (Canada) - 217,291 km2

Victoria Island (Canada) is in ninth place in terms of area. The island was discovered in 1838 during the expedition of the British explorer Thomas Simpson. In the 50s of the 20th century, there were several settlements on the island where meteorologists lived. By the end of the 20th century, the population has increased, and the Eskimo settlers who have taken up fishing activities here will notice.

No. 8. Honshu (Japan) - 227,970 km2

Honshu is the largest island in the Japanese archipelago and ranks 8th in the ranking of the largest islands in the world. Honshu Island has the largest Japanese cities: Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Hiroshima, etc. The island is covered with many volcanoes, some of them are active. The population of the island is more than 103 million people.

No. 7. Great Britain (Great Britain) - 229 848 km2

The UK is ranked 7th on the list of the largest islands in the world and is the largest island in the British Isles and in Europe as a whole. The history of Great Britain began with the Roman conquest in 43 BC, but the island also had an earlier history. Great Britain was inhabited by the people of Noto several hundred thousand years ago. Modern man arrived in the British Isles before the start of the last ice age, but retreated to southern Europe due to the glaciers that cover the island. According to archaeological finds, after 12,000 BC e. The British Isles were re-populated. About 4000 BC e. the island was inhabited by people of the Neolithic culture. Today, the population of the island of Great Britain is more than 61 million people, which makes it the most populous region in Europe.

No. 6. Sumatra (Indonesia) - 443,066 km2

Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the world. It is located in two hemispheres at once, since the Equator passes almost in the middle of the island. The island belongs to Indonesia and is part of the Malay Archipelago. It is located in a zone of frequent earthquakes and tsunamis. Today the population of the island of Sumatra is more than 50 million people. The main cities of Sumatra are Medan, Palembang, Padang. People of many nationalities live in Sumatra, about 90% are Muslims. About 73 thousand years ago, an explosion of the Toba volcano occurred on the island of Sumatra. This event led to an 1800 years ice age and a decline in the human population to 2000 people. The name of the island comes from the Sanskrit word samudra - "ocean" or "sea".

No. 5. Baffin's Land (Canada) - 507 451 km2

Baffin's Land is the first in area among the islands of Canada and the fifth in the world. Due to the harsh climatic conditions of the island, the population is about 11 thousand people. The largest settlement on the island is Iqaluit. The first description of the island was made by William Buffin in 1616, and the island was named after him.

No. 4. Madagascar (Madagascar) - 587 713 km2

The fourth line of the rating is occupied by the island of Madagascar. Located in Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. The island is home to the state of Madagascar (the capital of Antananarivo). Today the population of the island of Madagascar is more than 24 million people. Locals Madagascar is called the red island because of the color of the soil. More than half of the animals that live in Madagascar cannot be found on the mainland, and 90% of the plants are endemic.

No. 3. Kalimantan (Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei) - 748,168 km2

Kalimantan or Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It is divided between 3 states: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The island is located in the center of the Malay Archipelago. Kalimantan means diamond river in the local language. It was named so because of its rich resources, in particular, a large number of diamonds. The first people settled Kalimantan about 40 thousand years ago. Today the population of the island is about 20 million people. More than 300 ethnic groups live on the island.

# 2. New Guinea (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea) - 785,753 km2

New Guinea is ranked second. New Guinea is divided between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. There are still places in New Guinea where people have not been. This place attracts researchers of flora and fauna, as they can meet the rarest species of animals and plants here. More than 11 thousand species of plants, 600 unique species of birds, over 400 species of amphibians, 455 species of butterflies and about a hundred known species mammals. New Guinea bala was inhabited by humans at least 45 thousand years BC. e. from Asia. More than a thousand Papuan-Melanesian tribes originated from the first settlers. The lack of large animals suitable for domestication on the island hindered the development of agriculture and made cattle breeding impossible. This contributed to the preservation of the primitive communal system in large areas of New Guinea up to the present day. The mountainous landscape contributed to the isolation of people from each other, as a result of which a huge variety of languages ​​appeared on the island. The pioneer of New Guinea was the Portuguese don Jorge di Menezes, who landed on the island in 1526. According to legend, he gave the island the name "Papua", which translates as curly, this is due to the curly hair of the local aborigines. Today the population of the island of New Guinea is more than 9.5 million people. The ancient agricultural settlement of Cook is located in New Guinea, showing isolated development Agriculture for 7-10 millennia and included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

# 1. Greenland (Denmark) - 2,130,800 km2

The largest island in the world is Greenland. Green country, as it is also called this island, belongs to Denmark. Due to glacial cover (84% of the surface) and unfavorable climatic conditions most of the island is not inhabited. Today the population of Greenland is more than 57 thousand people. The largest settlement on the island is Nuuk (Gothob). Several thousand years before the arrival of Europeans, the Greenlandic Eskimos, who call themselves Inuit, lived on the island. Inuit have adapted extreme conditions arctic climate and feel quite comfortable. From time immemorial they have been fishing and hunting. Of the Europeans, the first to enter the island was the Norman Gunbjorn in 875. In 982, Eric Raudi settled on the island with several comrades, exiled from Iceland for his crimes. Later they were joined by the Norse Vikings. In 983, the first Norman colony was founded in Greenland. After the settlement of Greenland by Europeans, the island was repeatedly passed from hand to hand. Until 1536, the island belonged to Norway, then it began to belong to Denmark, in accordance with the union between Denmark and Norway. In 1721, a Danish colony called Gothob was officially established on the island. In 1814, after the dissolution of the union between Norway and Denmark, Greenland became completely Danish possession. The main activity of the population of Greenland is fishing. But at the end of the 20th century, the breeding of reindeer and sheep and the extraction of oil appeared. Tourism and air transport play an important role. More than 20 thousand tourists visit Greenland every year.

    Contents 1 Islands with a population of more than 10,000,000 people 2 Islands with a population of 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 people ... Wikipedia

    Below is a list of islands in the Baltic Sea with an area of ​​more than 10 square meters. km., or the population exceeds 1000 people. The Baltic Sea is considered to include its bays of Finland, Bothnia, Riga and others. Islands surrounded by the Baltic ... ... Wikipedia

    French Polynesia consists of 118 islands and atolls located in the Pacific Ocean, 67 of which are inhabited. The total land area is 3660 km² (excluding water surface area). The population is 259,596 people (2007). Below is a list ... ... Wikipedia

    Islands of Croatia. A feature of the Dalmatian coast Adriatic sea is a large number of islands, also known as the Dalmatian Islands. Most of the islands are located near the coast and have an elongated shape along the coast. ... ... Wikipedia

    New Zealand is made up of a large number of islands. The South and North islands are the two largest islands of the state, in terms of area and population several times larger than all the other islands combined. South island locals often ... ... Wikipedia

    Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands (far. Føroyar, Furyar, "Sheep Islands", Dat. Færøerne, Norwegian Færøyene, other Ill. / Iceland: Færeyjar) is a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean between Scotland (Shetland Islands) and Iceland. They ... ... Wikipedia

    Most of the islands belong to one country or none. This list includes the few islands whose territory is divided by a state border between two or more countries. Contents 1 Sea islands 2 Lake Islands ... Wikipedia

    Coast of Largo del Sur Caribbean islands consist of several groups of large and small islands, namely: from the Big and Small Antilles and the Bahamas. The surface of all islands is 244 890 ... Wikipedia

    Canada owns many islands, below are their lists. Contents 1 By area 2 By population 3 Sea islands ... Wikipedia

    The Cook Islands consists of 15 islands and atolls located in the Pacific Ocean in Polynesia between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn on an area of ​​2.2 million km², between Tonga in the west and the Society Islands in the east. The total land area is 236.7 km² ... Wikipedia

As you know, an island is considered to be any land area completely surrounded by water. However, not all land areas that are in the water can be attributed to islands. In addition to the latter, there are also continents and continents, the most famous of which is undoubtedly Australia. The total area of ​​this continent (not to be confused with the island) is approximately 7.6 million square meters. km.

The TOP-5 of the largest islands in the world presented below includes islands whose area is noticeably inferior to Australia, but at the same time is no less impressive.

The largest islands in the world: Greenland

So, the largest island on our planet, the name of which literally translates as "green country", is Greenland. Located in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, 80% covered with eternal ice, the autonomous Danish territory has a temperate climate and a total area of ​​2,131,500 km². Known for its white nights, northern lights and local Eskimos, Greenland is also famous for its large reserves of natural resources (oil, gas). The main occupation of the 57 thousand inhabitants of the island is fishing.

The largest islands in the world: New Guinea

New Guinea became the second largest island in the world in terms of area. Washed by the waters The Pacific an island located between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, in 1526 was discovered by the Portuguese. They also gave him his original name "Papua", which means "curly" in Malay. The island owes this name to the dark-skinned natives with curly, thick hair who inhabited it at that time. Today New Guinea is a tropical island with a total area of ​​786,000 km2 and real paradise for tourists. Despite a large number of the most different types of plants, birds, mammals and amphibians living on the island, scientists are still discovering in New Guinea more and more new species of various representatives of the animal and plant world. It is worth noting that most of the animals of New Guinea are not at all afraid of people, so they can be easily picked up.

The largest islands in the world: Kalimantan

It is not in vain that Kalimantan occupies an honorable third place in the TOP 5 largest islands in the world. The area of ​​this island, also known as "Borneo", is 737,000 km². Kalimantan is washed simultaneously by four seas and two straits. Unlike Greenland, 80% of the entire territory of Kalimantan is covered with tropical forests. In this connection, the forest industry of the island is extremely developed and brings a considerable income to the three states located on its territory. In addition to forests, Kalimantan is also known for large reserves of oil, gas and diamonds, which have been actively mined here for more than one century, which is clearly evidenced by the name of the island (translated from Malay, Kalimantan means "diamond river").

The largest islands in the world: Madagascar

The fourth in our ranking is the famous, recently, according to the cartoon of the same name, the island of Madagascar. The entire territory of the island (587,040 km2) is occupied by the sovereign state of the Republic of Madagascar. The island is rich in minerals, including gold and iron rocks, more than 80% of all animals living in Madagascar are exclusively representatives of the local fauna. Due to the fact that for a long time the island was inhabited by a large number of wild boars, the local natives named it "Madagascar" ("Island of wild boars").

The largest islands in the world: Baffin's Land

Canada's largest island, Baffin's Land, located west of Greenland, closes the TOP 5 largest islands in the world. And along with this, the most interesting places where you want a wedding photographer for your personal event! Due to the harsh climatic conditions, despite the vast territories - 508,000 km², the population of Baffin Land is a little over 11 thousand people. The island got its name from the famous English traveler and explorer William Buffin, who was the first to describe the island in the 17th century. An interesting fact is that, despite the ubiquitous presence of humans on the other islands, the central part of Baffin Land has not yet been fully explored, which means that there are places on the island where no human has ever gone before.

»

There are about 500 thousand islands of various sizes in the world. Among them there are very miniature islands, which can hardly fit two people. But there are also very large islands that can be compared in area with some countries. What is the largest island on earth? You will learn about this in this fascinating material.

The largest islands in the world

Ellesmere (Canada)

The third largest island in Canada, second only to Victoria Island and the Baffin Land. But despite this, Ellesmere does not at all interfere with remaining in the ten largest islands on earth. The total area of ​​the island is 196 thousand square meters. kilometers. It is difficult to imagine that only 170 people live on such a vast territory. The island is washed on all sides by the Arctic Ocean and is included in the honorary list of islands belonging to Queen Elizabeth.

Victoria (Canada)

Another Canadian "giant", which is also one of the ten most-most. The total area of ​​Victoria Island is much larger than that of Ellesmere Island and amounts to 217 thousand square meters. kilometers. This island is already much more inhabited, with 1701 people living on it, but still it is still very small for an area of ​​this size. There are only two settlements on the island: Cambridge Bay and Holman. Main feature the island is a small number of hills. There are certainly mountains on the island, but they are rather small and not at all remarkable.

Honshu (Japan)


On the territory of the Japanese archipelago, this island is considered the largest. The area of ​​this Japanese giant is 228 thousand square meters. kilometers. The most striking thing is that Honshu is slightly larger than Victoria Island, but at the same time it is inhabited by 103 million people. By the way, the island of Honshu occupies most of the territory of all of Japan, and such a densely populated land is the norm for the Land of the Rising Sun. There are a lot of volcanoes on the island, and this is not strange, because Honshu is dominated by mountainous terrain. The island also boasts the largest mountain in the world and Japan's most famous symbol, Mount Fuji.

UK Island

Great Britain needs no introduction, as it is the largest island the British Isles can boast of. The total area of ​​the island of Great Britain is 230 thousand square meters. kilometers. Moreover, the island is inhabited by 60 million people. The island of Great Britain managed to shelter in its vast territories the main part of the United Kingdom - England, Wales, Scotland.

Sumatra (Indonesia)


This island belongs entirely to Indonesia and is located in the western part of the Malay Archipelago. Sumatra is divided by the equator into two identical parts. The total area of ​​the island is 473 thousand square meters. kilometers. Only 50 million people live on such a vast territory. The coast of the island is famous for its beautiful coral reefs, which attracts holidaymakers from all over the world.

Madagascar (Africa)

This island known to everyone is located in the east of Africa. The total area of ​​Madagascar is very large - 587 thousand km. square. The nature of the island resembles a real paradise. This is due to the fact that such large territories are inhabited by only 20 million people. Therefore, a large area of ​​Madagascar is absolutely free and not touched by a person... The island is home to many different animals. Its most popular settlers are wild boars. This is why the locals call Madagascar "the island of wild boars."

Kalimantan (Asia)


The island of Kalimantan or as it is also called Malay Borneo. It is quite easy to find Kalimantan on the map, because it is located in the very center of the Malay Archipelago, in the southeast of Asia. On the simply incredible area of ​​Kalimantan, which is 743 thousand square meters. kilometers, only 16 million inhabitants live. This is despite the fact that the entire land area has long been divided by three small states - Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

New Guinea

This island is ranked second among the largest islands on earth. Its area is 786 thousand square meters. kilometers. New Guinea became home to just 7.5 million people. This island is located right in the middle of Asia and Australia, in the Pacific Ocean. Receive from Australia New Guinea separates only the Torres Strait. The territory of the island went equally to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Greenland


Finally we got to Greenland. It is the largest island on earth. Its size has reached the record high - 2 million 131 thousand square meters. kilometers. At the same time, not a record number of people live on the island - only 57 thousand. Such a small population should not be surprised, because most of the island consists of glaciers, which make living on the island almost impossible. Arctic and Atlantic oceans wash the shores of Greenland.

Every year new islands appear in the world, but the largest ones still remain in their places. Below is a list of the ten largest islands in the world by area.

Ellesmere - 196,236 km sq.

Ellesmere is the northernmost Canadian island, with a total area of ​​196,236 km2. sq. It is the third largest island in Canada and the tenth in the world. Despite the huge territory, according to data for 2006, only 146 permanent residents live on the island, in three settlements- Gris Fjord, Alert and Eureka.

Victoria Island - 217,291 km. sq.


Victoria is the second largest island in Canada and the ninth in the world (according to various sources, it is the eighth or ninth). Located in the Arctic Ocean and located in the southwestern part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The island was named after Queen Victoria of England in 1839. It is home to 1707 people (2001).

Honshu - 227,970 km. sq.


Honshu is the largest island in Japan (approximately 60% of the entire country). Located south of Hokkaido Island. Honshu has a population of about 100 million in 2010, making it the second most populous island in the world (after the Indonesian island of Java).

Great Britain - 229 848 km. sq.


Great Britain is the largest british isles extending northwest of mainland Europe. 95% of its entire territory is divided between England, Scotland and Wales, which are part of the United Kingdom. It has a population of about 63 million people and ranks third in the world in terms of population after the islands of Java and Honshu.

Sumatra - 480 848 km. sq.


Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the world. Fully part of Indonesia. The number of inhabitants living on the island as of 2010 is more than 50 million people, making it the fourth largest island in the world in terms of population.

Baffin's Land - 507,451 km. sq.


Baffin's Land is an island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. It is home to just over 11,000 people (as of 2007) in eight settlements, the largest of which is Iqaluit.

Madagascar - 587,713 km. sq.


Madagascar - large island located in the Indian Ocean, near east coast Africa. Although Madagascar is close to Africa, the animal and vegetable world the island is unique - it contains 5% of all species of flora and fauna in the world, 80% of which exist only on this island.

Kalimantan (Borneo) - 748 168 km. sq.


Kalimantan or Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the largest island in Asia. Located in the center of the Malay Archipelago in South-East Asia... Divided between Indonesia (73%), Malaysia (26%) and Brunei (about 1%). The island is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It has 19.8 million inhabitants (as of 2010), most of whom live in coastal cities. The population density in Borneo is 26 people per square kilometer.

New Guinea - 785,753 sq. km.


New Guinea is the second largest island on earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Divided approximately equally between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The current population of the island is about eleven million (2015). It has large natural reserves of oil, gold, copper and other ores.

Greenland - 2,130,800 sq. km.


Greenland is the largest island on Earth. Located in the northeast North America and is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is part of Denmark as an autonomous unit. The population of the island as of July 2010 is 57,600 people.