Greenland is the largest island in the world. It has 2 175 600 square kilometers. And Australia? With its 7,682,300 square kilometers, it has an area three times the size of Greenland, but most geographers do not consider it an island. “Due to its large size, it is considered the continental portion of Oceania,” says oceanographer Maurício Camargo, from the Center for Sea Studies at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). Linked to Denmark, Greenland is not an independent nation. Therefore, among the countries that have their territory entirely located on one or more islands, the largest in the world is Indonesia, with 1 904 569 square kilometers. Brazil is also present on these lists. Bananal Island, between Tocantins and Mato Grosso, is the largest fluvial island (surrounded by rivers) on the planet, covering 20 thousand square kilometers. The island of Marajó (PA), on the other hand, with 49 thousand square kilometers, is the number 1 in the fluvio-maritime category (surrounded by river and sea).
In the middle of the sea Among the five largest islands, two are on the American continent
1st – Greenland
The largest island in the world, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Glacial Arctic Sea, has 85% of its territory covered in ice. There are 55,000 inhabitants there — 80% are descendants of Eskimos. Greenland belongs to Denmark, which is responsible for its defense and foreign relations, but has a local government with some autonomy.
2nd – New Guinea
Located in Oceania, the second largest island in the world is divided into two parts: on the eastern half is Papua New Guinea, an independent country; on the west side, a province that belongs to Indonesia. Tropical forests cover about 65% of the island, which has a great biodiversity and whose fauna is similar to that of Australia
3rd – Borneo
Third place is next to New Guinea and is currently divided into four political regions: the province of Kalimantan (belonging to Indonesia), the states of Sabah and Sarawak (from Malaysia) and the Sultanate of Brunei (an independent country). Borneo’s flora is among the most varied in the world
4th – Madagascar
Located in the Indian Ocean, on the east coast of Africa, Madagascar has unique species of flora and fauna thanks to its geographical isolation. It is an independent country that has 17.4 million inhabitants, divided into 18 ethnic groups! The most important is Malay-Polynesian, but there are still Africans, Arabs, Indians…
5th – Baffin
Belonging to Canada and located above the Arctic Circle, Baffin is an icy, barren, almost treeless island dotted with hundreds of bays and fjords. It is one of the least inhabited areas on the planet — the rare residents are small groups of Eskimo descendants