ArticleslgStudy

science

List of island countries

List of island countries is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of island countries rather than just read about it. In short: An island is a landmass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water. Many island countries are spread over an archipelago, as is the case with Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines—these countries consist of thousands of islands.

List of island countries — main illustration
List of island countries — illustration

Key takeaways

  • List of island countries belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect List of island countries to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of List of island countries from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

An island is a landmass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water. Many island countries are spread over an archipelago, as is the case with Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines—these countries consist of thousands of islands. Others consist of a single island, such as Barbados, Dominica, and Nauru; a main island and some smaller islands, such as Cuba, Iceland, and Sri Lanka; a part of an island, such as Brunei, the Dominican Republic, Timor-Leste, and the Republic of Ireland; or one main island but also sharing borders in other islands, such as the United Kingdom (Great Britain and a part of Ireland). The list also includes two states in free association with New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Niue, as well as two states with limited diplomatic recognition which have de facto control over territories entirely on the islands, Northern Cyprus and Taiwan. In total, 50 island countries have been included in the lists. Australia is not included as it is considered a continental country, although it was historically referred to as an island country because of its lack of land borders. Greenland is generally considered as the largest island on Earth and listed among the island territories. Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea is officially an unincorporated territory of the United States. Neither Greenland nor Puerto Rico are sovereign countries. Indonesia is the world's largest island country by area (1,904,569 km2), and by total number of islands (17,504 islands). It is also the world's most populous island country, with a population of over 270 million (the fourth most populous country in the world, after India, China, and the United States). South America has only one independent sovereign island nation with Trinidad and Tobago; though considered a Caribbean island country, it is located on the northern portion of the South American continental shelf just 11 kilometres (6 nautical miles) off Venezuela, but 130 kilometres (70 nautical miles) from Grenada, the nearest of the Antilles.

Sovereign states

UN member states and states with limited recognition

Associated states

Dependencies and territories

Former sovereign island nations and primarily island-based countries

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Oceania

Former colonies, possessions, protectorates, and other territories Annobón (1474–1778), now part of Equatorial Guinea Bay Islands, now a department of Honduras Cape Breton Island, now part of Nova Scotia, Canada Danish West Indies, now the United States Virgin Islands Elobey, Annobón and Corisco (1843–1926) unified with the rest of Spanish Guinea Fernando Po (1778–1926) The Territory of Hawaii, now Hawaii, a state of the United States Heligoland (1807–1890) Hong Kong Island (1841–1860), now a part of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China United States of the Ionian Islands, protectorate of the United Kingdom. Septinsular Republic, protectorate in the Ionian Islands under nominal Russo-Ottoman joint sovereignty. Labuan, briefly part of British North Borneo, the Straits Settlements and Sabah, now a federal territory of Malaysia Mayotte, now an overseas department and region of France Minorca (1713–1802) Colony of Newfoundland (1583–1907) New Hebrides, now Vanuatu British North Borneo Padang Prince of Wales Island between 1786 and 1800, at that point joined by Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai). Now as the state of Penang in the Malaysian federation. Prince Edward Island, now a province of Canada The Providence Island colony Queen Charlotte Islands Réunion, now an overseas department and region of France Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, former British overseas territory dissolved in 1983. Socotra Archipelago, now a governorate of Yemen Tasmania, now a state of Australia, shares a land boundary with Victoria on Boundary Islet Vancouver Island, now a part of British Columbia, Canada People's Republic of Zanzibar, now a member of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Island countries with man-made fixed links to continents Bahrain to Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Causeway Singapore to Malaysia via the Johor–Singapore Causeway since 1924, with the Tuas Second Link added in 1998 United Kingdom to France via the Channel Tunnel

See also

Archipelagic state List of archipelagos List of Caribbean countries by population List of countries that border only one other country List of divided islands Lists of islands List of islands by area List of islands by population List of islands by population density List of Oceanian countries by population List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Oceania List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Indian Ocean Small Island Developing States Thalassocracy

Notes

References

External links Island superlatives

Illustrations

List of island countries: Map depicts sovereign states and a de facto state (Taiwan) (tw) fully located on islands: those with land borders shaded green, and those without shaded dark blue.Countries/territories not shown on the map: Antarctica (aq) (continental disputed territory), Australia (au) (continental country), the Cook Islands (ck) and Niue (nu) (free association with New Zealand), Greenland (gl) and the Faroe Islands (fo) (constituent countries of the Kingdom of Denmark), Northern Cyprus (ct.tr and nc.tr) (unrecognized country), and Puerto Rico (pr) (unincorporated U.S. territory).
Map depicts sovereign states and a de facto state (Taiwan) (tw) fully located on islands: those with land borders shaded green, and those without shaded dark blue.Countries/territories not shown on the map: Antarctica (aq) (continental disputed territory), Australia (au) (continental country), the Cook Islands (ck) and Niue (nu) (free association with New Zealand), Greenland (gl) and the Faroe Islands (fo) (constituent countries of the Kingdom of Denmark), Northern Cyprus (ct.tr and nc.tr) (unrecognized country), and Puerto Rico (pr) (unincorporated U.S. territory).

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of island countries

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of island countries claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of island countries before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of island countries ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of island countries

In research
List of island countries appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses List of island countries in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
List of island countries is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Human geography, Island countries, Lists of countries by geography, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for List of island countries outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “List of island countries” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study List of island countries in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what List of island countries means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain List of island countries out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of island countries in simple terms?

An island is a landmass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water. Many island countries are spread over an archipelago, as is the case with Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines—these countries consist of thousands of islands.

Why does List of island countries matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of island countries?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of island countries.

Tags

  • Human geography
  • Island countries
  • Lists of countries by geography
  • Lists of countries by population density
  • Lists of islands

Keep exploring