Sweden, Norway, and Finland claim the most islands of any countries on Earth — though definitions vary widely, and the vast majority of their islands are uninhabited.
Quick answer: 1. Sweden, 2. Norway, 3. Finland, 4. Japan, 5. Canada, 6. Chile, 7. United States, 8. Indonesia, 9. Australia, 10. Philippines.
Counting islands is a surprisingly slippery exercise. Different countries use different thresholds for what counts as an island versus an islet or skerry, and some countries include every tiny rock that stays above water while others only count larger or named landmasses. This list uses the highest reliably sourced figures for each country, reflecting each nation's own official counting methodology. Sweden leads the world by a wide margin, with over a quarter of a million islands — most of them small, forested islets in the Baltic Sea and Sweden's thousands of inland lakes. But only a tiny fraction are inhabited. The Scandinavian countries dominate the top of the list, followed by Japan, Canada, and the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Sweden has by far the most islands of any country, with an official count of 267,570 — more than the next two countries combined. However, the vast majority of these are tiny, uninhabited islets and skerries, most of them along Sweden's Baltic Sea coastline and in its many lakes. Only 984 (0.4%) are inhabited.
Norway's dramatic fjord-indented coastline, stretching over 100,000 km including all its islands, is home to 239,057 islands. The vast majority are uninhabited skerries and rocky islets, with only 4 officially counted as inhabited. The Lofoten and Vesterålen archipelagos are among the most famous.
Finland, famously called the 'Land of a Thousand Lakes,' also has a vast number of islands — 178,947 — most of them in the Archipelago Sea between Finland and Sweden and in its inland lakes. The Åland Islands, an autonomous region between Finland and Sweden, account for over 6,700 of them.
Japan is an archipelago nation made up of 120,729 islands, though only 430 are inhabited. The four main islands — Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku — account for 97% of the country's land area. Japan's islands stretch in a 3,000 km arc from the Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea, forming part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Canada has 52,455 islands, including some of the world's largest. Baffin Island (507,451 km²), Victoria Island, and Ellesmere Island are among the top ten largest islands on Earth. Canada's northern islands, many of which are part of the Arctic Archipelago, are mostly uninhabited or sparsely populated.
Chile's 43,471 islands span a remarkable range of geography, from the Patagonian archipelago in the south to the Juan Fernández Islands and Easter Island in the Pacific. The southern Patagonian channels and fjords account for the vast majority of the count, with thousands of small, uninhabited islands along the coast.
The United States has 18,617 islands, more than 10,000 of which are inhabited — the highest number of inhabited islands of any country. Alaska alone has over 2,600 named islands, and Hawaii contributes 137 volcanic islands. The US also has extensive island territories across the Pacific and Caribbean.
Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago nation, with 17,504 islands according to the Indonesian government's official count. About 6,000 of these are inhabited. The country spans the equator for over 5,000 km, connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other country, and many of its islands are volcanic in origin.
Australia has 8,222 islands, including the island state of Tasmania, which is itself the 26th largest island in the world. The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system, contains hundreds of small islands and cays. Australia also controls several external territories that are islands, including Norfolk Island and Christmas Island.
The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,641 islands, of which approximately 2,000 are inhabited. The country's islands are the exposed peaks of a submerged mountain range, running roughly 1,800 km from north to south. The three main island groups — Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — account for 95% of the land area.
| # | Name | Region | Inhabited | Percent inhabited | Largest island |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | Europe | 984 | 0.4% | Gotland (2,994 km²) |
| 2 | Norway | Europe | 4 | <0.01% | Hinnøya (2,198 km²) |
| 3 | Finland | Europe | ~780 | ~0.4% | Åland (Fasta Åland, 1,010 km²) |
| 4 | Japan | Asia | 430 | 0.4% | Honshu (227,960 km²) |
| 5 | Canada | North America | ~2,000 | ~3.8% | Baffin Island (507,451 km²) |
| 6 | Chile | South America | ~300 | ~0.7% | Tierra del Fuego (shared, 47,992 km²) |
| 7 | United States | North America | 10,000 | ~54% | Hawaiʻi (Big Island, 10,433 km²) |
| 8 | Indonesia | Asia | ~6,000 | ~34% | Sumatra (473,481 km²) |
| 9 | Australia | Oceania | 19 | 0.2% | Tasmania (65,022 km²) |
| 10 | Philippines | Asia | ~2,000 | ~26% | Luzon (109,965 km²) |
Countries are ranked by the total number of islands within their sovereign territory, using the highest reliably sourced figure from each country's official statistical office or published surveys. Counting methodologies vary significantly across countries: Sweden, Norway, and Finland include every landform above water that meets their national island definition (which can include tiny islets), while other countries may only count named or mapped islands. Data is drawn from World Population Review and cross-referenced with Wikipedia's compiled list of countries by number of islands. Figures include both freshwater and saltwater islands. Rank 1 is the country with the most islands.
There is no universal definition of what counts as an island. Some countries count every formation above water regardless of size, while others set a minimum area threshold or only count named islands. Sweden's official count of 267,570 includes tiny skerries, while other countries might exclude those.
No. Australia is classified as a continental landmass, not an island, even though it is entirely surrounded by water. Continental landmasses (Australia, Antarctica, Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America) are excluded from island counts. Tasmania, however, counts as an island.
Estimates vary widely, but the most commonly cited figure is around 900,000 islands worldwide. The vast majority are small, uninhabited, and located in the northern hemisphere. Canada alone contains roughly 62% of the world's lakes and a significant share of its islands.
The United States has the most inhabited islands, with over 10,000. This includes islands in Alaska, Hawaii, the Great Lakes, and the eastern seaboard. Indonesia is second with approximately 6,000 inhabited islands.
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