# How many islands in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058 "2007-06-07T00:01:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/1 "2007-06-07T00:01:10Z")
The title says it all. Jokingly, a friend told me I should rock\* every island on the planet. How many is that? 50,000? 100,000? I mean, [Philipines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipines) and [Indonesia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia) combine for almost 25,000, so there must be a lot, but how many? \*Rock [_v, col._] Drinking a 40, preferably in public, preferably from a brown bag, bonus points for singing Bon Jovi. This practice began on Staten Island. ---
**Author:** ![WoodenTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@WoodenTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WoodenTaco)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/2 "2007-06-07T00:07:46Z")
The [United Nations](http://islands.unep.ch/Iindex.htm) recognizes 1,991 islands. I’d suspect this will vary a lot based on your criteria. When does something cease to be a “rock that pokes out of the water” and become an island? Do coral reefs count? Man-made islands? Fresh-water islands? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/3 "2007-06-07T00:13:56Z")
The Great Lakes alone have over 30,000 islands. [http://greatlakes.fws.gov/gli.htm](http://greatlakes.fws.gov/gli.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/4 "2007-06-07T00:27:53Z")
This [article](http://www.worldbook.com/wb/article?id=ar409900) says there are from 20,000 to over 30,000 islands in the Pacific, excluding continental island groups like Indonesia, the Philipines, Japan, and the Aleutians. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/5 "2007-06-07T00:41:02Z")
[QUOTE=Ender\_Will] …\*Rock [_v, col._] Drinking a 40, preferably in public, preferably from a brown bag, bonus points for singing Bon Jovi. This practice began on Staten Island. [/QUOTE] Aaah yes, but what is a “40”? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/6 "2007-06-07T00:45:38Z")
A [forty ounce](http://40ouncebeer.com/40ouncebeer.html) bottle of beer. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/7 "2007-06-07T01:06:12Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] A [forty ounce](http://40ouncebeer.com/40ouncebeer.html) bottle of beer. [/QUOTE] Sounds like the OP will have to consume a few bottles then. > [@](#): > > Figuring out the total number of islands in the world isn’t a straightforward census project, not until you figure out how to define your terms. Are you talking all islands or just the oceanic ones? Do they have to meet a certain size criteria? Do they have to be inhabited and how much is enough? Does it take a village? Or just a lighthouse keeper? > > These are the sorts of questions that Christian Depraetere ponders in his continuing study of the world’s islands. Using various international databases derived from satellite imagery, Depraetere has set about to perform a sort of oceanic roll call taken from the edge of space. > > The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database, recognized as the most accurate presently available, shows 180,497 islands with a minimum surface area of 41,000 square feet. A USGA survey indicates there are 33,297 oceanic islands with at least eight- tenths of a square mile in surface area. [http://calbears.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi\_qn4191/is\_20040926/ai\_n10040549](http://calbears.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20040926/ai_n10040549) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/8 "2007-06-07T01:09:13Z")
[QUOTE=WoodenTaco] The [United Nations](http://islands.unep.ch/Iindex.htm) recognizes 1,991 islands. I’d suspect this will vary a lot based on your criteria. When does something cease to be a “rock that pokes out of the water” and become an island? Do coral reefs count? Man-made islands? Fresh-water islands? [/QUOTE] I’m not sure who actually came up with this, possibly the U.S.G.S., but in reference to the St. Lawrence River’s Thousand Islands, which range from Wolfe and Wellesley Islands, both as large in area as a big city, down to single rocks sticking out of the water, the criterion was that an island must have one tree growing on it, or enough soil to support a healthy tree if one is not presently growing there. Off Clayton NY is Wuntry Island (pronounced one-tree), which barely meets the criterion. By these standards, the Thousand Islands have about 1,400 islands. Lake Huron likewise has a large number of islands, mostly between the Booth Peninsula and the Straits of Mackinac/Sault Ste. Marie inlets. There are some extremely extensive archipelagos around the world, from the Arctic Archipelago in Nunavut to the Malay Archipelago shared by Malaysia and Indonesia (plus three smaller nations). ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/9 "2007-06-07T01:47:33Z")
According to **Polycarp** ’s definition, [this](http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x292/bafflefnar/island.jpg) is an island. If that’s what they mean, then the OP has his work cut out for him. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/10 "2007-06-07T01:51:46Z")
[QUOTE=Baffle] According to **Polycarp** ’s definition, [this](http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x292/bafflefnar/island.jpg) is an island. If that’s what they mean, then the OP has his work cut out for him. [/QUOTE] **Australia** ; island, continent, or both 😉 ? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/11 "2007-06-07T15:27:15Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] **Australia** ; island, continent, or both 😉 ? [/QUOTE] “That ain’t an island… [THIS](http://www.ausbird.com/jpegs/australia.jpg) is an island.” /Crocodile Dundee ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/12 "2007-06-07T15:36:06Z")
In ham radio, [this](http://www.scarboroughreef.com/4rocks.html) counts as an island. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/13 "2007-06-07T15:58:11Z")
I’d say an island is the largest unit of area one can make that is unconnected to another during “normal” water height, and never totally submerged during “normal” water height. The “soil” and “tree” requirements would illegitimize newly-formed volcanic islands, some of which totally dwarf [Squaw Island](http://www.winecountrycabins.com/finger-lakes/canandaigua.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/14 "2007-06-07T16:23:10Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] In ham radio, [this](http://www.scarboroughreef.com/4rocks.html) counts as an island. [/QUOTE] Looks up rules for islands. Ah here it is rule #12 If you have to wear a life jacket while visiting a place, you cannot call it an island. Also rule #32 seems to apply If you have to repel boarders, it is not an island. Islands get invaded. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/15 "2007-06-07T17:38:30Z")
[300](http://www.privateislandsonline.com/the-world-dubai-1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/16 "2007-06-07T20:50:19Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] **Australia** ; island, continent, or both ? [/QUOTE] Probably worth two 40s, just to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/17 "2007-06-07T22:57:13Z")
Well we can immediately eliminate all men from the count since “no man is an island”. We might need to include women, though. Donne was less than clear on them. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/18 "2007-06-08T00:22:15Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] I’d say an island is the largest unit of area one can make that is unconnected to another during “normal” water height, and never totally submerged during “normal” water height. [/QUOTE] Like North+Central+South America? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/19 "2007-06-08T00:29:33Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] Like North+Central+South America? [/QUOTE] No, like Eurasia+Africa ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058/20 "2007-06-08T02:08:46Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] No, like Eurasia+Africa [/QUOTE] I think that’s two islands, because the Suez Canal runs at sea level. However, adding the continents as 4 or 5 islands really has much less effect than whether it’s high or low tide. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-islands-in-the-world/407058.md?page=2)