World's Largest Islands by Area

About This Dataset

Islands ranked by total land area in thousands of square kilometres. Greenland is the world's largest island at 2,166,000 square kilometres — nearly three times the size of the next largest island and so vast it is sometimes mistaken for a continent. Despite this size, Greenland has a permanent population of only around 57,000 people, making it one of the world's most sparsely inhabited territories.

✨ AI Insight

The data reveals a significant gap between Greenland and its nearest competitor, New Guinea, which is less than one-third the size at 785,000 km². This disparity emphasizes Greenland's unique status as the largest island and raises questions about its low population density. The next largest islands, Borneo and Madagascar, follow at 748,000 km² and 587,000 km² respectively, but they are still far behind Greenland. The vast expanse of Greenland, often mistaken for a continent, may contribute to its limited habitation due to harsh climatic conditions and geographic isolation. The trend suggests that while size is impressive, it does not necessarily correlate with population density or livability.

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Greenland leads with 2,166 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 710 · median: 548.

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Gap in All Time: Greenland is 9.9× larger than Victoria Island (Canada).

World's Largest Islands by Area

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Area

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Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

8 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

2,166

Greenland

Area (Thousand km2) · All Time

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Metrics

Area (Thousand km2)

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Period

All Time

Single year snapshot

Rankings & Full Data

8 records · Area (Thousand km2) · ranked by All Time

✓ 8 sourced

#	Category	All Time
🥇	Greenland	2,166
🥈	New Guinea	785
🥉	Borneo	748
4	Madagascar	587
5	Baffin Island (Canada)	508
6	Sumatra (Indonesia)	443
7	Honshu (Japan)	228
8	Victoria Island (Canada)	218