This is a list of island countries, countries that are located on islands or archipelagoes. An island nation is a country that is wholly confined to an island or islands. ... Look up country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Mergui Archipelago An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. ...

Current

By political status

Independent

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia ^{note 6}
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Barbados
• Brunei
• Cape Verde
• Comoros
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• East Timor
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Grenada
• Haiti
• Iceland
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Kiribati
• Madagascar
• Maldives
• Malta
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritius
• Nauru
• New Zealand
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Republic of China (Taiwan) ^{note 5}
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Seychelles
• Singapore
• Solomon Islands
• Sri Lanka
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos
• Tuvalu
• United Kingdom
• Vanuatu

Motto: None Anthem(s): National Anthem of the Republic of China Capital Taipei City (de facto) Nanjing (de jure)1 Largest city Taipei City Official language(s) Mandarin (GuóyÇ”) Government Semi-presidential system  - President Chen Shui-bian  - Vice President Annette Lu  - Premier Su Tseng-chang Establishment Xinhai Revolution   - Declared... The Turks and Caicos Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, southeast of the Bahamas, at 21°45N, 71°35W. The thirty islands total 166 sq. ...

Independence under dispute

• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (de jure part of Cyprus, recognized by only Turkey)

Anthem: Ä°stiklâl Marşı  (Turkish) Independence March Capital Nicosia (LefkoÅŸa) Turkish Government Representative democratic republic[1]  - President Mehmet Ali Talat  - Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer Sovereignty from Republic of Cyprus (de facto)   - Proclaimed November 15, 1983   - Recognition Only by Turkey and OIC  Area  - Total 3,355 km² (not ranked...

Autonomous, colonies and semi-autonomous

• Åland
• Alderney
• American Samoa²
• Anguilla
• Aruba
• Bermuda
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Christmas Island
• Cocos (Keeling) Islands
• Cook Islands¹
• Faroe Islands
• Falkland Islands
• Greenland
• Guam²
• Guernsey
• Jersey
• Isle of Man
• Montserrat
• New Caledonia
• Niue¹
• Norfolk Island
• Northern Mariana Islands²
• Pitcairn Islands
• Puerto Rico²
• Sark
• Saint Helena
• Tokelau¹
• U.S. Virgin Islands²

Motto: none Anthem: Ã…länningens sÃ¥ng Capital Mariehamn Largest city Mariehamn Swedish Government Autonomous province  - Governor Peter Lindbäck1  - Premier Roger Nordlund Autonomy    - Declared 1920   - Recognized 19212  Accession to EU January 1, 19953 Area  - Total 13,517 km² (n/a) 5,267 sq mi   - Water (%) 89 Population  - 2005 estimate... Capital St Anne Status Part of Guernsey, Crown dependency of the UK Official language(s) English Head of Government Sir Norman Browse Population 2,400 Currency Pound sterling (GBP). ... Flag of Sark Sark (in French, Sercq, in Sercquiais Sèr) is a small island of the Channel Islands, part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. ...

By geographic configuration

Centered on one major island

• Bahrain
• Barbados
• Christmas Island
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Dominica
• Iceland
• Jamaica
• Madagascar
• Malta
• Nauru
• New Caledonia
• Norfolk Island
• Saint Lucia
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka
• Republic of China (Taiwan)

Motto: None Anthem(s): National Anthem of the Republic of China Capital Taipei City (de facto) Nanjing (de jure)1 Largest city Taipei City Official language(s) Mandarin (GuóyÇ”) Government Semi-presidential system  - President Chen Shui-bian  - Vice President Annette Lu  - Premier Su Tseng-chang Establishment Xinhai Revolution   - Declared...

Spread over group of islands (including parts of archipelagoes and island arcs)

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Bahamas
• Cayman Islands
• Cocos (Keeling) Islands
• Comoros
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Grenada
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Maldives
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritius
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Seychelles
• Solomon Islands
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tokelau

The Mergui Archipelago An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. ... An island arc is a type of archipelago formed by plate tectonics as one oceanic tectonic plate subducts under another and produces magma. ...

Island shared between two or more states

See List of divided islands The vast majority of islands in the world are either a country in their own right or part of a single larger country. ...

Continental shelf

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Barbados
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Madagascar
• Malta
• Philippines
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka
• Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Trinidad and Tobago

Motto: None Anthem(s): National Anthem of the Republic of China Capital Taipei City (de facto) Nanjing (de jure)1 Largest city Taipei City Official language(s) Mandarin (GuóyÇ”) Government Semi-presidential system  - President Chen Shui-bian  - Vice President Annette Lu  - Premier Su Tseng-chang Establishment Xinhai Revolution   - Declared...

Oceanic ridges or atolls

• Cape Verde
• Comoros
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Iceland
• Kiribati
• Maldives
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritius
• Nauru
• New Zealand
• Palau
• Samoa
• Seychelles
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

Former nations

Historical

• Andros
• Delos
• Dominion of Newfoundland - ^{note 3}
• Duchy of the Archipelago
• Khios
• Kingdom of Cyprus
• Kingdom of Great Britain
• Kingdom of Hawai‘i
• Kingdom of Ireland
• Kingdom of Man
• Irish Free State
• Lesbos
• Majapahit Empire
• Merina
• Milos
• Minoans
• Pholegandros
• Rhodes
• Republic of Formosa
• Republic of Hawai‘i
• Ryūkyū Kingdom
• Samos
• Sese Islands
• Venice
• West Indies Federation, split up into Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago, Trinidad, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
• Zakynthos

Andros, or Andro (Greek: Άνδρος), an island of the Greek archipelago, the most northerly of the Cyclades, approximately 10 km (6 miles) south east of Euboea, and about 3 km (about 2 miles) north of Tinos. ... The island of Delos, Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann, 1847 The island of Delos (Greek: Δήλος, Dhilos), isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of... National motto: Quaerite Prime Regnum Dei (Latin: Seek ye first the kingdom of God) Capital St. ... The Duchy of Naxos and states in the Morea, carved from the Byzantine Empire, as they were in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911) The Republic of Venices Duchy of the Archipelago (also called Egeon Pelagos in Greek) was a maritime state created in the Cyclades islands of... Khios, or Chios or Hios (Χίος) as most Greek English speakers know the island, is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. ... The Kingdom of Cyprus was a Roman Catholic Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the late Middle Ages. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right)1 Capital London Head of State King of Great Britain Head of Government Prime Minister Parliament House of Commons, House of Lords The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain (see below), was... Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was established during 1795 - 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kauaʻi by the chiefdom of Hawaiʻi (or the Big Island) into... Capital Dublin Head of state King of Ireland Kings representative: Variously called Judiciar, Lord Deputy or Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Head of government: Chief Secretary for Ireland Parliament: Irish House of Commons and Irish House of Lords The Kingdom of Ireland was the name given to the English-ruled... The history of the Isle of Man falls naturally into four periods. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) (1922–1937) was the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties that were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British and... The Lesbos Island shown off the coast of Turkey, northwest of Izmir Lesbos (in Greek, Λέσβος see also List of traditional Greek place names; and in Turkish, Midilli Adası) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. ... The Majapahit Empire was an Indianized kingdom based in eastern Java from 1293 to around 1500. ... The Merina is the largest ethnic group in Madagascar. ... Milos (formerly Melos, and before the Athenian genocide at 415 B.C. Malos; see also List of traditional Greek place names, Greek: Μήλος, not related to the Modern Greek word μήλο = milo for apple which has the same spelling except for the trailing sigma) is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea. ... The Minoans were an ancient pre-Hellenic civilization on what is now Crete (in the Mediterranean), during the Bronze Age, prior to classical Greek culture. ... Pholegandros, or Folegandros, is a small Greek island of the Aegean Sea, which, together with Sikinos, Ios, Anafi and Santorini, forms the southern part of the Cyclades. ... Location map of Rhodes Rhodes, (Greek: Ρόδος (pron. ... The flag for the Republic of Formosa, 1895, depicting a tiger. ... Iolani Palace in Honolulu, formerly the residence of the Hawaiian monarch, was the capitol of the Republic of Hawaii. ... The main building of Shuri Castle The flag of the Ryukyu Kingdom (1875-1879) The Ryūkyū Kingdom (琉球王国 ryūkyūōkoku) was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryūkyū Islands from the 14th century to the 19th century. ... Samos (Greek Σάμος) is a Greek island in the Eastern Aegean Sea, located between the island of Chios to the North and the archipelagic complex of the Dodecanese islands to the South and in particular the island of Patmos and off the coast of Turkey, on what was formely known as... The Ssese Islands are a group of more than 84 inhabited islands in the northwest of Lake Victoria, Uganda. ... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) is the capital of the region of Veneto and the province of the same name in Italy. ... National motto: Official language English Political status Overseas territory of the UK Capital Chaguaramas Largest cities Kingston and Port of Spain Queen Elizabeth II Governor-General Patrick George Thomas Buchan-Hepburn Prime Minister Grantley Herbert Adams (West Indies Federal Labour Party) Creation January 3, 1958 (union of most of British... Zakynthos (Greek: Ζάκυνθος, also known as Zante), the third largest of the Ionian Islands, covers an area of 410 square kilometers and its coastline is roughly 123 kilometers in length. ...

Former colonies, possessions, protectorates and territories

• Cape Breton Island, now part of Nova Scotia, Canada
• Danish West Indies, now the United States Virgin Islands
• Territory of Hawai‘i, a US territory from 1898 to 1959, now part of the United States.
• Hong Kong (1841-1860), now a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. - ^{note 4}
• Labuan, briefly part of British North Borneo, the Strait settlements and Sabah, now a federal territory of Malaysia
• Macau (1557-1999), now a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.
• Newfoundland (1583-1809), now Province of Newfoundland and Labrador of Canada - ^{note 3}
• New Hebrides, now Vanuatu
• Prince Edward Island, now a province of Canada
• Réunion, now an overseas department of France
• Tasmania, now a part of Australia
• Vancouver Island, now a part of British Columbia, Canada
• Zanzibar and Pemba, now parts of Tanzania

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada NASA landsat photo of Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (French: île du Cap-Breton, Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Cheap Breatuinn, Míkmaq: Únamakika, simply: Cape Breton) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (Latin: One defends and the other conquers) Official languages none (English, French, Gaelic de facto) Flower Trailing arbutus Tree Red Spruce Bird Osprey Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Lieutenant-Governor Mayann E. Francis Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 11... The Danish West Indies or Danish Antilles, (DWI, Dansk Vest Indien) are a former colony of Denmark in the Caribbean, now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. ... On August 12, 1898, the flag of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i over ‘Iolani Palace was lowered to raise the United States flag to signify annexation. ... Special administrative region may be: Peoples Republic of China Special administrative regions, present-day administrative divisions (as of 2006) set up by the Peoples Republic of China to administer Hong Kong (since 1997) and Macau (since 1999) Republic of China Special administrative regions, also translated as special administrative... State motto: Capital Victoria Governor  ? Chief Minister  ? Area 92 km2 Population 78,000 (est. ... North Borneo was a British Protectorate and later Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, situated in what is now the province of Sabah Malaysia. ... State motto: Sabah Maju Jaya Capital Kota Kinabalu Governor Tun Haji Ahmadshah Abdullah Chief Minister Hj. ... Special administrative region may be: Peoples Republic of China Special administrative regions, present-day administrative divisions (as of 2006) set up by the Peoples Republic of China to administer Hong Kong (since 1997) and Macau (since 1999) Republic of China Special administrative regions, also translated as special administrative... Newfoundland —   (stress on final syllable; for mispronunciations, see Newfoundland travel guide from Wikitravel)— (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Motto: Quaerite Prime Regnum Dei (Latin: Seek ye first the kingdom of God) Official languages English Flower {{{Flower}}} Tree {{{Tree}}} Bird {{{Bird}}} Capital St. ... The New Hebrides are an island group in the South Pacific that now form the nation of Vanuatu. ... Motto: Parva Sub Ingenti The Small Protected By The Great) Official languages English Flower Ladys Slipper Tree Red Oak Bird Blue Jay Capital Charlottetown Largest city Charlottetown Lieutenant-Governor Barbara Oliver Hagerman Premier Pat Binns (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 4 4 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of... Emblems: Flora - Tasmanian Blue Gum; Mineral - Crocoite Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Slogan or Nickname: The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Const. ... Vancouver Island is separated from mainland British Columbia by the Strait of Georgia and the Queen Charlotte Strait, and from Washington by the Juan De Fuca Strait. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages English de facto (none stated in law) Flower Pacific dogwood Tree Western Redcedar Bird Stellers Jay Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 36 6 Area... Motto: Uhuru na Umoja (Swahili: Freedom and Unity) Anthem: Mungu ibariki Afrika (God Bless Africa) Capital Stone Town Largest city Stone Town English, Lamu (de facto) Government Republic  - President Amani Abeid Karume  - Prime Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha Independence From the United Kingdom   - Tanganyika December 9, 1961   - Zanzibar December 19, 1963... Map of Pemba Island Pemba is an island about 50 kilometres to the north of the island of Zanzibar. ...

Micronations

• Conch Republic
• Minerva
• Rose Island
• Sealand
• Tavolara Island
• Kingdom of Redonda

The micronation of Sealand Micronations – sometimes also referred to as cybernations, fantasy countries, model countries, and new country projects – are entities that resemble independent nations or states, but which are unrecognized by them, and for the most part exist only on paper, on the Internet, or in the minds of... The Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a tongue-in-cheek protest secession of Key West from the United States on April 23, 1982. ... The Republic of Minerva was one of the few modern attempts at creating a sovereign micronation on the reclaimed land of an artificial island. ... A stamp issued by Rose Island and overprinted in black with Esperanto text stating Italian (military) occupation. Rose Island (Esperanto: Insulo de la Rozoj) was a short-lived micronation located on a man-made platform in the Adriatic Sea, seven miles off the coast of Rimini, Italy. ... For other meanings, see Sealand (disambiguation). ... Tavolara Island. ... The Kingdom of Redonda was a briefly independent kingdom. ...

Notes

¹ The Cook Islands and Niue are in free association with New Zealand. See Niue Constitution Act 1974 (NZ). Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand.
² An associated state of or in association with the United States.
³ The Colony of Newfoundland covers the island of Newfoundland before 1808. In 1808, part of the peninsula of Labrador was transferred to Newfoundland from Lower Canada. In other words, before 1808, Newfoundland was an island colony. From 1808 onwards, the Colony of Newfoundland, and later the Dominion of Newfoundland, had been an island plus an area on the continent of North America.
⁴ The Crown Colony of Hong Kong covers only Hong Kong Island from 1841 to 1860. Kowloon south of Boundary Street on the continent was added in 1860, and extended to include the New Territories in 1898.
⁵ See also History of the Republic of China - Civil War, political status of Taiwan and legal status of Taiwan.
⁶ Australia is considered by geographers to be a continent and thus not an island, however in popular usage it is often referred to as an 'island continent'. An associated state is used to describe a free relationship between a territory and a larger nation. ... The Schedules of the Niue Constitution Act 1974 (NZ) form the Niuean constitution. ... An associated state is used to describe a free relationship between a territory and a larger nation. ... Newfoundland —   (stress on final syllable; for mispronunciations, see Newfoundland travel guide from Wikitravel)— (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Labrador Peninsula, Canada Labrador Peninsula is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. ... This article is about the region in Canada. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... The night view of the Island side as seen from the Kowloon side - the opposite side of the Victoria Harbour Hong Kong Island (Traditional Chinese: 香港島; Simplified Chinese: 香港岛; Cantonese Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 dou2; Mandarin Pinyin: XiānggÇŽngdÇŽo) is the island where the colonial settlement of the Hong Kong territory... In modern day Hong Kong, Kowloon refers to the urban area made up of Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon, bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutters Island in the west, Tates Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and... Boundary Street (Chinese: 界限街; Cantonese IPA: , Jyutping gaai3 haan6 gaai1; Mandarin Pinyin: Jiè Xiàn Jiê) is a three-lane one-way street in Kowloon, Hong Kong. ... A major road, Kwong Fuk Road in Tai Po, a town in the New Territories. ... The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Pinyin: Zhōng huá mín guó) succeeded the Qing Dynasty in 1912, ending 2,000 years of imperial rule. ... Taiwan Strait area The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of... The legal question of which legal entity holds de jure sovereignty over Taiwan is a controversial issue. ...

External links

• Small Island Developing States Network (UN)