The largest island in the world

For several hundred years now, people have been dividing the world into continents and islands. There is no precise definition of the criteria that a continent must meet. It is generally agreed that there are seven continents, namely (in order of area): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia. Any other land mass is considered an island.

Based on the above, rather arbitrary, definition, Greenland is by far the largest island in the world, with a good 2.1 million square kilometers. The second largest island in the world is New Guinea, and the third largest island in the world is Borneo.

Greenland is the largest island in the world
Image: Greenland, alvidia — Fotolia.com

The most populous island in the world is the Indonesian island of Java, with around 152 million people in 2024. That is 6 times more inhabitants than on the continent of Australia.

Without the above division into continents and islands, Eurasia is the largest landmass or, if you like, the largest island in the world.