List of island nations
Encyclopedia
This is a list of island countries. An island is a land mass (smaller than a continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...

) that is surrounded by water. Many island countries are spread over an archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

, as is the case with the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...

 and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 (which consists of thousands of islands). Others consist of a single island, such as Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...

. Some declared island countries are not universally recognized as politically independent. Debate exists as to the status of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Although often considered to be a continent
Australia (continent)
Australia is the world's smallest continent, comprising the mainland of Australia and proximate islands including Tasmania, New Guinea, the Aru Islands and Raja Ampat Islands...

, it remains often referred to as an island, and has no land borders.

Sovereign States

Name Geographic configuration Geologic location Population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

Area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...

 (km²)
Density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 (per km²)
 Antigua and Barbuda Centred on two major islands Continental shelf
Continental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...

85,632 440 194
 Australia Centred on one major island Australian continent
Australia (continent)
Australia is the world's smallest continent, comprising the mainland of Australia and proximate islands including Tasmania, New Guinea, the Aru Islands and Raja Ampat Islands...

22,547,870 7,686,848 2.93
 The Bahamas Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf 330,000 13,878 23.27
 Bahrain Centred on one major island Continental shelf 791,000 750 1,189.5
 Barbados Centred on one major island Continental shelf 269,556 430 627
 Brunei Part of a larger island Continental shelf 388,190 5,765 67.3
 Cape Verde Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 567,000 4,033 125.5
 Comoros Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 798,000 2,235 275
 Cuba Centred on one major island Continental shelf 11,451,652 110,861 102
 CyprusThe north part of the island of Cyprus is a de facto independent state recognized only by Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

Centred on one major island (de jure)
Part of a larger island (de facto)
Continental shelf 793,963 9,251 85
 Dominica Centred on one major island Continental shelf 72,660 754 105
 Dominican Republic Part of a larger island Continental shelf 10,990,000 48,442 208.2
 East Timor Part of a larger island Continental shelf 1,066,582 14,874 76.2
 Federated States of MicronesiaIn free association
Compact of Free Association
The Compact of Free Association defines the relationship that three sovereign states—the Federated States of Micronesia , the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau—have entered into as associated states with the United States.Now sovereign nations, the three freely associated...

 with the USA
Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 111,000 702 158.1
 Fiji Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 849,000 18,274 46.4
 Grenada Centred on one major island Continental shelf 110,000 344 319.8
 Haiti Part of a larger island Continental shelf 9,700,000 27,750 350
 Iceland Centred on one major island Oceanic 316,252 103,000 3.1
 Indonesia Spread over a group of Islands Two continental shelves 237,556,363 1,904,569 124.7
 Republic of Ireland Centred on part of one major island Continental shelf 4,239,848 70273 60
 Jamaica Centred on one major island Continental shelf 2,847,232 10,991 252
 Japan Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf 127,433,494 377,873 337
 Kiribati Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 98,000 811 135
 Madagascar Centred on one major island Oceanic 20,653,556 587,041 35.2
 Maldives Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 329,198 298 1,105
 Malta Centred on one major island Continental shelf 404,500 316 1,282
 Marshall Islands Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 62,000 181 342.5
 Mauritius Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 1,244,663 2,040 610
 Nauru Single island Oceanic 13,635 21 649
 New Zealand Centred on two major islands Continental shelf 4,027,947 268,680 15
 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Part of a larger island Continental shelf 285,359 3,355 78
 Palau Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 20,000 459 43.6
 Papua New Guinea Part of a larger island Continental shelf 6,732,000 462,840 14.5
 Philippines Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf 88,574,614 300,000 295
 Saint Kitts and Nevis Centred on two major islands Continental shelf 51,300 261 164
 Saint Lucia Centred on one major island Continental shelf 173,765 616 298
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Centred on one major island Continental shelf 120,000 389 307
 Samoa Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 179,000 2,831 63.2
 São Tomé and Príncipe Centred on two major islands Continental shelf 163,000 1,001 169.1
 Seychelles Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 87,500 455 192
 Singapore Centred on one major island Continental shelf 5,076,700 694 7,315
 Solomon Islands Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 523,000 28,400 18.1
 Sri Lanka Centred on one major island Continental shelf 20,650,000 65,610 314
The Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 (commonly known as "Taiwan") only controls the islands of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Matsu
Matsu Islands
The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...

, Kinmen
Kinmen
Kinmen , also known as Quemoy , is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China : Greater Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fujian Province, ROC. The county is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of its...

, Penghu etc after the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

, but has not renounced claim on areas currently under control of People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

, Tuva
Tuva
The Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...

 (a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n republic) etc. If those territories are taken into account, the Republic of China is not a borderless country or a country centered with a major island. The area under ROC control is also claimed by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. See Legal status of Taiwan
Legal status of Taiwan
The legal status of Republic of China is a controversial issue which stems from the complex post-Second World War history of Taiwan. Various claims have been made by the People's Republic of China , the Republic of China , and supporters of Taiwan independence over this question, with a variety of...

, Political status of Taiwan
Political status of Taiwan
The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become unified with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare...

 and One-China policy
One-China policy
The One-China policy refers to the policy or view that there is only one state called "China", despite the existence of two governments that claim to be "China"....

.
Centred on one major island Continental shelf 22,911,292 36,188 633
 Tonga Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 104,000 748 139
 Trinidad and Tobago Centred on two major islands Continental shelf 1,299,953 5,131 254.4
 United Kingdom Centred on one major island Continental shelf 60,587,300 244,820 246
 Tuvalu Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 12,373 26 475.88
 Vanuatu Spread over a group of islands Oceanic 243,304 12,190 19.7

Dependencies and other notable regions

Name Geographic configuration Geologic location Sovereign state
 Åland IslandsMarket Reef defines the border between Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. The lighthouse on the reef is administered directly from Finland and is usually not considered a part of the autonomous Åland Islands
Åland Islands
The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...

.
Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf  Finland
 Alderney Single Island Continental shelf  Guernsey
 United Kingdom
 American Samoa Spread over a group of islands Oceanic  United States
 Anguilla Centred on one major island Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 Aruba Single Island Continental shelf  Netherlands
 Ashmore and Cartier Islands Continental shelf  Australia
 Baker Island Single island Oceanic  United States
 Bermuda Single island Oceanic  United Kingdom
 Bouvet Island Single Island Oceanic  Norway
 British Indian Ocean Territory Spread over a group of islands Oceanic  United Kingdom
 British Virgin Islands Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 BES islands Spread over 3 major islands Continental shelf  Netherlands
 Cayman Islands Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 Christmas Island Centred on one major island  Australia
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands Centred on two major islands  Australia
 Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands and Niue are in free association
Associated state
An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between a political territory with a degree of statehood and a nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted...

 with New Zealand. See Niue Constitution Act 1974 (NZ)
Niue Constitution Act 1974 (NZ)
The Schedules of the Niue Constitution Act 1974 form the Niue constitution. It stipulates the make-up of the executive branch of the government, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch...

. Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand.
Spread over a group of islands Oceanic  New Zealand
 Coral Sea Islands Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf  Australia
 Curaçao Single Island Continental shelf  Netherlands
 Falkland IslandsThe Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

 and the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands are contested by Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.
Centred on two major islands Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 Faroe Islands Spread over a group of islands  Denmark
 French Polynesia Spread over a group of islands Oceanic  Early Modern France
 Greenland Centred on one major island Continental shelf  Denmark
 GuamTerritories of the United States Single island Oceanic  United States
 Guernsey Centred on one major island Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 Heard Island and McDonald Islands Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf  Australia
 Howland Island Single island Oceanic  United States
 Isle of Man Single Island Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 Jarvis Island Single island Oceanic  United States
 JerseyThe Minquiers
Minquiers
The Minquiers are a group of islands and rocks situated 9 miles south of Jersey forming part of the Bailiwick of Jersey....

 off Jersey are claimed by France.
Single island Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 Johnston Atoll Single island Oceanic  United States
 Kingman Reef Single island Oceanic  United States
 Midway Atoll Single island Oceanic  United States
 Montserrat Centred on one major island Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 Navassa Island Single island Continental shelf  United States
 New Caledonia Centred on one major island Continental shelf  Early Modern France
 Niue Single island Oceanic  New Zealand
 Norfolk Island Centred on one major island  Australia
 Northern Mariana Islands Spread across a group of islands Oceanic  United States
 Pitcairn Islands Spread over a group of islands Oceanic  United Kingdom
 Puerto Rico Centred on one major island Continental shelf  United States
 Saint Barthélemy Centred on one major island Continental shelf  Early Modern France
 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Spread over a number of distant islands Oceanic  United Kingdom
 Saint Martin (France) Part of a larger island Continental shelf  Early Modern France
 Saint-Pierre and Miquelon Centred on two major islands Continental shelf  Early Modern France
 Sark Single island Continental shelf  Guernsey
 United Kingdom
 Sint Maarten Part of a larger island Continental shelf  Netherlands
 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spread over a group of islands Oceanic  United Kingdom
 SvalbardAdministered by Norway under the Svalbard Treaty
Svalbard Treaty
The Treaty between Norway, The United States of America, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ireland and the British overseas Dominions and Sweden concerning Spitsbergen signed in Paris 9th February 1920, commonly called the Svalbard Treaty or the Spitsbergen Treaty...

.
Spread over a group of islands  Norway
 Tokelau Spread over a group of islands Oceanic  New Zealand
 Turks and Caicos Islands Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf  United Kingdom
 United States Virgin Islands Spread over a group of islands Continental shelf  United States
 Wake Island Single island Oceanic  United States
 Wallis and Futuna Centred on two major islands Oceanic  Early Modern France

By population density

#Country  Population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 
Area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...

 (km²)
Density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 (per km²)
1   Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

 
62,500 53.3 1,170

Historical

  • Andros
    Andros
    Andros, or Andro is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, approximately south east of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. The area is...

  • Republic of Anguilla
    Republic of Anguilla
    On 27 February 1967, Britain granted the territory of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla the status of "associated state", with its own constitution and a considerable degree of self-government. Many Anguillans strenuously objected to the continuing political subservience to Saint Kitts, and on 30...

  • Anjouan
    Anjouan
    Anjouan is an autonomous island, part of the Union of Comoros. The island is located in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Mutsamudu and its population as of 2006 is about 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 sq. kilometers Anjouan (also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani) is an autonomous island,...

  • Kingdom of Corsica (1736)
    Kingdom of Corsica (1736)
    The Kingdom of Corsica was a short lived kingdom on the island of Corsica. It was formed after the islanders crowned the German adventurer Theodor Stephan Freiherr von Neuhoff King of Corsica.-Formation and downfall:...

  • Corsican Republic
    Corsican Republic
    In November 1755, Pasquale Paoli proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, the Corsican Republic, independent from the Republic of Genoa. He created the Corsican Constitution, which was the first constitution written under Enlightenment principles, including the first implementation of female...

  • Anglo-Corsican Kingdom
    Anglo-Corsican Kingdom
    The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was a short-lived self-declared independent state on the island of Corsica during the mid-1790s.-Background and history of the kingdom:During the time of the French Revolution, Corsica had been a part of France for just two decades...

  • Cretan State
    Cretan State
    The Cretan State was established in 1898, following the intervention by the Great Powers on the island of Crete. In 1897 an insurrection in Crete led the Ottoman Empire to declare war on Greece, which led the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Russia to intervene on the grounds that the Ottoman...

  • Kingdom of Cyprus
    Kingdom of Cyprus
    The Kingdom of Cyprus was a Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the high and late Middle Ages, between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan.-History:...

  • Delos
    Delos
    The island of Delos , isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece...

  • Duchy of the Archipelago
    Duchy of the Archipelago
    The Duchy of the Archipelago or also Duchy of Naxos or Duchy of the Aegean was a maritime state created by Venetian interests in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea, in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, centered on the islands of Naxos and Paros.-Background and establishment of the...

  • England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

  • Republic of Ezo
    Republic of Ezo
    The ' was a short-lived state established by former Tokugawa retainers in what is now known as Hokkaidō, the large but sparsely populated northernmost island in modern Japan.-Background:...

  • Republic of Formosa
    Republic of Formosa
    The Republic of Formosa was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its invasion and occupation by Japanese troops...

  • Franceville, New Hebrides
    Franceville, New Hebrides
    The municipality of Franceville on Efate or Sandwich island was established during the period when the New Hebrides were a neutral territory under the loose jurisdiction of a joint Anglo-French naval commission...

  • Kingdom of Great Britain
    Kingdom of Great Britain
    The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

  • Kingdom of Hawai‘i
    Kingdom of Hawaii
    The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...

  • Republic of Hawai‘i
    Republic of Hawaii
    The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of the government that controlled Hawaii from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic. The republic period occurred between the administration of the Provisional Government of Hawaii which ended on July 4, 1894 and the adoption of the Newlands...

  • Commonwealth of Iceland
  • Kingdom of Iceland
    Kingdom of Iceland
    The Kingdom of Iceland was a constitutional monarchy lasting from 1 December 1918 until 17 June 1944, when the republic was proclaimed.- Origins in Danish rule :...

  • Kingdom of Ireland
    Kingdom of Ireland
    The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...

  • Irish Free State
    Irish Free State
    The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

    Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty
    Anglo-Irish Treaty
    The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...

    , the Irish Free State
    Irish Free State
    The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

     included all of the island of Ireland but Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

     exercised its option to leave the Irish Free State
    Partition of Ireland
    The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...

     and rejoin the United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

     on 8 December 1922. Therefore, from 6 December 1922 to 8 December 1922, the Irish Free State was a borderless island country.
  • Khios
  • Kediri
  • Lesbos
    Lesbos Island
    Lesbos is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with 320 kilometres of coastline, making it the third largest Greek island. It is separated from Turkey by the narrow Mytilini Strait....

  • Majapahit
  • Kingdom of Majorca
    Kingdom of Majorca
    The Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his first-born son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262 which created the kingdom in order to cede it to his son James...

  • Kingdom of Man
    History of the Isle of Man
    The Isle of Man became separated from Britain and Ireland by about 8000 BC. It appears that colonisation took place by sea sometime before 6500 BC. The island has been visited by various raiders and trading peoples over the years. After being settled by people from Ireland in the first millennium,...

  • Mataram Sultanate
    Mataram Sultanate
    The Sultanate of Mataram was the last major independent Javanese empire on Java before the island was colonized by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force in interior Central Java from the late 16th century until the beginning of the 18th century....

  • Merina
    Merina
    The Merina are an ethnic group from Madagascar. The Merina are concentrated in the Highlands and speak the official dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo. Their ancestors, the...

  • Micronesian Empire
    Micronesian Empire
    The Micronesian Empire was a centralized economic and religious empire centered on Yap, that was developed from a decentralized chieftain-based social system. It would have been contemporary to the Tu'i Tonga Empire.-See also:*Micronesia...

  • Milos
    Milos
    Milos , is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete...

  • Minoans
  • Mohéli
    Mohéli
    Mohéli, also known as Mwali, is one of the three islands which make up the nation of Comoros. Mohéli is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is by far the smallest of the Comoros islands. Its population, as of 2006, is about 38,000. Its capital city is Fomboni...

  • Dominion of Newfoundland
    Dominion of Newfoundland
    The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...

    The Colony of Newfoundland covers the island of Newfoundland before 1808. In 1808, part of the peninsula
    Labrador Peninsula
    The Labrador Peninsula is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the south-east...

     of Labrador
    Labrador
    Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

     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
    North America
    North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

    .
  • Republic of the North Solomons
    Republic of the North Solomons
    The Republic of the North Solomons was an unrecognised state that existed for about six months in what is now the Bougainville, Papua New Guinea....

  • Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

  • Pholegandros
  • Islands of Refreshment
    Islands of Refreshment
    Islands of Refreshment was the name given to Tristan da Cunha by its self-proclaimed ruler, Jonathan Lambert, in 1811.At this time American whalers frequented the neighboring waters and, on December 27, 1810, the Boston ship the Baltic put ashore an American named Jonathan Lambert "late of Salem,...

  • Rhodes
    Rhodes
    Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...

  • Ryūkyū Kingdom
    Ryukyu Kingdom
    The Ryūkyū Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan...

  • Sailendra
    Sailendra
    Sailendra is the name of an influential Indonesian dynasty that emerged in 8th century Java.The Sailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, including the world famous Borobudur.The Sailendras are considered to be a...

  • Samos
    Samos Island
    Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...

  • Scotland
    Scotland
    Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

  • Sese Islands
  • Kingdom of Sicily
    Kingdom of Sicily
    The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...

  • Srivijaya
    Srivijaya
    Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...

  • Kingdom of Tavolara
    Kingdom of Tavolara
    The Kingdom of Tavolara was a small independent state existing in the 19th and 20th centuries in Tavolara Island, off the northeast coast of Sardinia. Ruled by the Bertoleoni family, it was one of the smallest kingdoms in the world...

  • Principality of Trinidad
    Principality of Trinidad
    The Principality of Trinidad was declared in 1893, when the American James Harden-Hickey claimed the uninhabited island Trindade and Martim Vaz in the South Atlantic and declared himself as James I, Prince of Trinidad. According to Harden-Hickey's plans the island would, after being recognized as...

  • Tu'i Tonga Empire
    Tu'i Tonga Empire
    Some early European commentators have propagated the notion of a pre-historic "Tui Tonga Empire" or "Tongan Empire" in Oceania.This idea has long been a source of cultural pride among some Tongans even though it has been seriously challenged and generally discounted by modern archaeologists,...

  • Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

  • West Indies Federation
    West Indies Federation
    The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom...

    , split up into Anguilla
    Anguilla
    Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...

    , Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, Cayman Islands
    Cayman Islands
    The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...

    , Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat
    Montserrat
    Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...

    , Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago, Trinidad, and the Turks and Caicos Islands
    Turks and Caicos Islands
    The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...

    .
  • Zakynthos
    Zakynthos
    Zakynthos , also Zante, the other form often used in English and in Italian , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It covers an area of ...


Former colonies, possessions, protectorates and territories

  • Cape Breton Island
    Cape Breton Island
    Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

    , now part of Nova Scotia
    Nova Scotia
    Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

    , Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

  • Danish West Indies
    Danish West Indies
    The Danish West Indies or "Danish Antilles", were a colony of Denmark-Norway and later Denmark in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917...

    , now the United States Virgin Islands
    United States Virgin Islands
    The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...

  • Territory of Hawai‘i, a US territory from 1898 to 1959, now part of the United States.
  • Hong Kong
    Hong Kong Island
    Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

     (1841–1860), now a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
    People's Republic of China
    China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

    The Crown Colony of Hong Kong
    Hong Kong
    Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

     covers only Hong Kong Island
    Hong Kong Island
    Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

     from 1841 to 1860. Kowloon
    Kowloon
    Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...

     south of Boundary Street
    Boundary Street
    [[Image:Boundary st hongkong.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Boundary Street near [[Kowloon Tong]]Boundary Street is a three-lane one-way street in [[Kowloon]], [[Hong Kong]]...

     on the continent was added in 1860, and extended to include the New Territories
    New Territories
    New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...

     in 1898.
  • Labuan
    Labuan
    Labuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...

    , briefly part of British North Borneo, the Strait settlements and Sabah
    Sabah
    Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

    , now a federal territory of Malaysia
  • Mayotte
    Mayotte
    Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...

    , now an overseas department of France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  • Newfoundland (1583–1809), now Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
    Newfoundland and Labrador
    Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

     of Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

  • New Hebrides
    New Hebrides
    New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...

    , now Vanuatu
    Vanuatu
    Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

  • Prince Edward Island
    Prince Edward Island
    Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

    , now a province of Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

  • Réunion
    Réunion
    Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

    , now an overseas department of France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  • Socotra
    Socotra
    Socotra , also spelt Soqotra, is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through...

    , now part of Yemen
    Yemen
    The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

  • Tasmania
    Tasmania
    Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

    , now a part of Australia
    Australia
    Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

  • Vancouver Island
    Vancouver Island
    Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

    , now a part of British Columbia
    British Columbia
    British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

    , Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

  • Zanzibar
    Zanzibar
    Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...

     and Pemba, now parts of Tanzania
    Tanzania
    The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...


See also


External links

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