World Islands Quiz

An island is a piece of land surrounded by water. The world's largest islands are Greenland (2.1 million sq km, part of the Kingdom of Denmark), New Guinea (785,000 sq km, split between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Borneo (743,000 sq km, split between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei), Madagascar (587,000 sq km), Baffin Island (Canada), Sumatra (Indonesia), and Honshu (Japan's main island). There are an estimated 900,000 islands worldwide.

Oceanic and Continental Islands

Islands can be oceanic (volcanic origin, rising from the ocean floor) or continental (connected to continental shelves). The Hawaiian Islands are classic oceanic volcanic islands formed over a hotspot. The British Isles are continental islands on the European continental shelf. Coral atolls like those of Kiribati and Tuvalu are flat islands built from coral reefs around sunken volcanic foundations. Island biodiversity is often extraordinary - Islands like Madagascar and Galápagos evolved unique species in isolation. Explore more with our world oceans map quiz, Oceania map quiz, and Caribbean islands map quiz.