What is an Island?

There are so many islands in the world that no one has managed to count them all. Sweden, the country with the most islands, has more than 20,000. Most of them are uninhabited.

To be considered an island, an area of land must be surrounded by water and must be smaller than a continent. For that reason, Australia is not considered an island.

There are six major types of islands. Greenland, the world’s largest island, is a continental island. Continental islands were once connected to nearby continents. They are usually