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World's Biggest Islands Quiz

Name the world's biggest islands by area, not including continental landmasses.
For this quiz we consider Australia to be a continent, not an island
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: March 7, 2022
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First submittedJuly 12, 2010
Times taken103,082
Average score42.3%
Rating4.11
4:00
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 / 26 guessed
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Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
km2
Continent
Island
2,130,800
North America
Greenland
785,753
Asia / Oceania
New Guinea
748,168
Asia
Borneo
587,041
Africa
Madagascar
507,451
North America
Baffin Island
443,065
Asia
Sumatra
225,800
Asia
Honshu
217,291
North America
Victoria Island
209,331
Europe
Great Britain
196,236
North America
Ellesmere Island
180,681
Asia
Sulawesi
145,836
Oceania
South Island
138,794
Asia
Java
km2
Continent
Island
111,583
Oceania
North Island
109,965
Asia
Luzon
108,860
North America
Newfoundland
105,806
North America
Cuba
101,826
Europe
Iceland
97,530
Asia
Mindanao
84,421
Europe
Ireland
78,719
Asia
Hokkaido
73,929
North America
Hispaniola
72,493
Asia
Sakhalin
70,028
North America
Banks Island
65,268
Asia
Sri Lanka
65,022
Oceania
Tasmania
+8
Level 51
Apr 22, 2013
didn't realize this was more than just countries lol
+3
Level 90
Apr 22, 2013
Isn't the island of Sri Lanka called Ceylon?
+6
Level 83
Apr 24, 2013
not anymore.
+1
Level 52
Mar 28, 2015
Nope. Sri Lanka is the old name
+15
Level 83
May 24, 2015
You're both wrong.
+17
Level 65
Nov 28, 2018
No, Sri Lanka is the country, Ceylon is the continent!
+8
Level 66
May 25, 2019
the continent of ceylon? :D what other countries are on it?
+6
Level 88
Feb 24, 2020
The micronation of Colombo is obviously one.
+18
Level 60
Aug 18, 2020
this conversation is an eyesore...
+1
Level 28
Nov 5, 2021
Ceylon was the old name the British used to call Sri Lanka but since they didn't like it they changed it into Sri Lanka in 1972- Almost 50 Years Ago
+1
Level 59
Mar 24, 2022
Not just by the British, but in Europe generally (the name comes from a Portuguese word - Ceylon is the anglicized version).
+4
Level 64
Apr 22, 2013
Australia?
+2
Level 73
Nov 1, 2020
Look at the description of the quiz.
+1
Level 25
Nov 22, 2020
I kept on typing australia and it didn't work so this is clearly an inaccurate quiz
+7
Level 64
Feb 11, 2021
People consider Australia more of a continent than an island
+1
Level 33
Mar 22, 2022
But it's not a continent. It's a country. If not, if New Zealand a continent as well? Or is it in Australia? The continent is Oceania, not Australia. So many nations such as Micronesia, Fiji, The Marshall Islands, Samoa, etc. get left out if it's called Australia. Australia is the country, not a continent.
+3
Level 56
Mar 25, 2022
All continents have a continental landmass. North America and South America have Americas. Africa, Asia, and Europe have Afro-Eurasia. Oceania has Australia.
+1
Level 50
Apr 22, 2013
No Ceylon is what it used to be called before changing its name to Sri Lanka.
+1
Level 57
Apr 30, 2013
Was wondering about the numerous Canadian arctic islands that were excluded from the list. Were they left out because they are generally uninhabited?
+43
Level ∞
May 1, 2013
What the heck? There are no islands left out.
+3
Level 89
Jul 4, 2013
Newfoundland is neither Arctic nor uninhabited.
+10
Level 69
Oct 20, 2014
THAT REACTION MADE ME LAUGH
+8
Level 69
Jun 11, 2016
I dunno – I've been to Newfoundland in the winter and it felt both arctic AND uninhabited. ;-) [Just kidding! Love ya, Newfies!]
+1
Level 60
Feb 24, 2020
Newfoundland is virtually uninhabited by european asian or african standards
+15
Level 85
Mar 18, 2014
Another person deceived by the Mercator projection, I guess ^^. Most of the canadian Islands are rather small...
+1
Level 20
Dec 6, 2013
What about Spetsbergen (or that's at least the swedish spelling), belonging to Svalbard? That's a lot bigger than Tasmania...
+12
Level 85
Mar 18, 2014
Spitsbergen : 39000km² ; Tasmania : 64500km². Mercator projection...
+8
Level 66
Feb 9, 2018
The thing that surprises me most in this quiz, thanks to Mercator, is that Sulawesi is bigger than New Zealand's South Island.
+1
Level 65
Mar 20, 2022
And Cuba looks smaller than Iceland
+1
Level 60
Apr 30, 2016
I also guessed Spitsbergen but apparently it only looks bigger on certain map projections.
+1
Level 67
Apr 19, 2017
On Mercator, Greenland looks about as big as all of Africa. It's nowhere close.
+2
Level 31
Mar 20, 2022
Africa is over 14 and a half times Greenland's size
+1
Level 24
Dec 14, 2013
komodo? huh...
+1
Level 62
Jan 9, 2014
you should accept uk/united kingdom for great britain
+21
Level 83
Jan 12, 2014
No they shouldn't. The United Kingdom is a country which includes many islands. Great Britain is the name of the largest of those islands.
+5
Level 75
Jun 3, 2018
Not quite right. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales with all their associated islands (and UK is a.k.a."The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"). The name of the main island is Britain.
+17
Level 83
Jun 20, 2019
I'm right. Cardinal Sin is wrong. But he's got likes on his comment. Nobody bothers looking something up before they start applauding? Must be Trump supporters.
+1
Level 58
Feb 24, 2020
Yeah, If you look up 'Great Britain' you get the island, whereas if you look up just Britain, you get the UK.
+4
Level 49
Feb 24, 2020
Great Britain is often used to describe England, Scotland, and Wales, along with all their associated islands, and sometimes the UK as a whole. However, this is not the correct meaning, as Great Britain actually refers to just the main island. The UK is the entire country. Kalbahamut has it right.
+2
Level 57
Jan 10, 2021
CGP Grey made a great video on this, which would probably be better than arguing in a jetpunk comment section
+1
Level 75
Aug 14, 2022
I admit I was wrong and Kalbahamut correct. Though I do suspect that many locals would use the term Britain to describe the island.
+1
Level 25
Mar 31, 2015
Some of the UK is on the island of Ireland, also in the quiz
+2
Level 35
Feb 14, 2014
Australia?
+1
Level 85
Mar 18, 2014
And why not Antarctica, America and Old World ?
+1
Level 70
Apr 30, 2014
no, not Australia, it is only surrounded in all directions by water, therefore it cannot be an island, only a continent! :)
+2
Level 69
May 5, 2016
How about Pangea? :o)
+1
Level 66
Feb 24, 2020
@mez isn't that exactly the definition of an island? "Being surrounded by water in all directions" so you are giving the definition of an island as an argument why something should not be an island. That is confusing to say the least.
+1
Level 58
Feb 24, 2020
mez, Australia is not an island because it has its own continental shelf
+3
Level 76
Mar 27, 2015
Australia doesn't count because QM said so in the caveat, and it's his quiz.
+9
Level 69
Jun 11, 2016
^^ Most important reason! ^_^
+1
Level 73
Apr 19, 2017
Pluto used to be a planet, maybe in the future we'll say "Australia used to be a continent". Until that day, it is a continent and not an island. :)
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
This allways annoys me, to me it sounds like, no he is a dad, so he isnt(cant be) a son. Like when becoming a dad you are suddenly not someones son anymore. Why cant it be both.
+3
Level 58
Feb 24, 2020
Son and Dad are VERY different from island and continent.
+1
Level 65
Jun 20, 2019
Always taught, here in Australia, that it is the largest island and the smallest continent.
+1
Level 46
Jun 24, 2014
Where's novaya semlya?
+4
Level 69
Aug 18, 2014
North of Russia :)
+2
Level 57
Mar 27, 2015
Novaja Zemlja is divided into 2 islands by the Matochkin Strait. Neither Severnyi or Juzhnyi are large enough for this quiz. The (horrible and useless for most people) Mercator projection might also have created the illusion that the islands are bigger than most others.
+2
Level 58
Feb 20, 2015
If you're including Tasmania, then you should include the giant island of Australia as well, seeing as they are two separate entities, but they're both part of Australia, and if Australia is counted as a continent, then Tasmania should not be present.
+3
Level 57
Mar 27, 2015
That makes no sense, Tasmania is clearly surrounded by water in every direction, no matter whether Australia is a continent or an island. It doesn't matter who the island belongs to, it's still an island.
+3
Level 58
May 29, 2015
Sorry, reverse it. I meant that if Tasmania is included, Australia obviously should be as well, since Tasmania is a part of the country of Australia. Otherwise it would be considered its own country, which it's not. So Australia should not be considered a continent, rather, a country, and therefore, not a continental landmass.
+1
Level 70
Feb 25, 2020
Which country the island belongs to has nothing to do with it. Some countries have multiple islands (like Japan or New Zealand), some islands have parts belonging to different countries (like Hispaniola or New Guinea). That doesn't change their status as an island.
+2
Level 58
Feb 24, 2020
@Crippling Velocity , that's like saying that since Cuba is a part of North America, and North America isn't an island, Cuba is not an island. By that definition the only things that can be islands are islands like the Pacific Islands.
+2
Level 83
Mar 20, 2022
This "logic" hurt my brain.
+1
Level 44
Mar 27, 2015
One of those quizzes were knowing the Japanese islands would be helpful. Can't believe I forgot North and South islands.
+3
Level 68
Aug 5, 2016
What?!
+2
Level 71
Mar 27, 2015
I tried eleventy billion variations on Axel Heiberg island. I hate you, Mercator projection.
+1
Level 47
Jun 28, 2020
Same!!
+1
Level 64
Mar 27, 2015
Quizmaster, UK should be accepted for Great Britain.
+2
Level 25
Mar 31, 2015
lol
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
Maybe this picture will help. http://www.aprendeinglessila.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/diagram-british-isles.gif This is the simple version that doesnt deal with the isle of man or channel isalnds. Baby steps ;) Dont want to throw too much info at once, or it wont stick.
+1
Level 49
Feb 24, 2020
Why is this something that is so difficult for people to understand? The UK is a country. Great Britain is the largest island within that country. Ireland is an island, made of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. The British Isles refer to Great Britain, Ireland, and all the other smaller islands around them.
+1
Level 53
Mar 20, 2022
nooooooo!
+1
Level 27
Mar 30, 2015
I had seen Sakhalin on maps, but never looked closely enough. I always thought it was a peninsula! Oops.
+1
Level 66
Sep 12, 2020
It was 7000 years ago :P
+1
Level 79
Dec 12, 2021
So was Great Britain 1500 years before that.
+1
Level 66
Mar 30, 2015
new Zealand- forgotten
+1
Level 29
Mar 31, 2015
seriously read the other comments. it's there
+2
Level 66
May 25, 2019
or just er look at a map, new zealand is not one continous island.
+1
Level 70
Feb 25, 2020
maybe he means he forgot about the north and south islands while doing the quiz?
+3
Level 58
May 29, 2015
I am pretty certain Australia most definitely counts as a country. It is part of the continent of Oceania. There's only seven continents, with India also considered as a sub-continent. Australia is not a continental landmass, it is an island country. A very large one, but still a country nevertheless.
+2
Level 83
Jul 4, 2015
Who said it doesn't count as a country?
+2
Level 71
Apr 1, 2018
I agree with 'CV'
+3
Level 16
Apr 16, 2018
I see when you wrote your comment, Malbaby...
+2
Level 71
Nov 20, 2015
How is it that a large island such as Sumatra, with its rich culture that is totally different from any other part of Indonesia is not a sovereign country in its own right?
+2
Level 69
Jun 11, 2016
You haven't travelled much, have you? :-D
+2
Level 71
Apr 1, 2018
Actually 'samiamco' I would bet that I am the only person on jetpunk that has actually walked the length of Sumatra as well as Java.
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
doubt that, sumatra and java are hardly obscure places. If you would ve said vanuatu and comoros, ok good chance you would be right.
+1
Level 61
Apr 19, 2017
Colonialism.
+1
Level 42
Jan 18, 2022
Being different in culture doesn't necessarily means that it should be separated from the country it belongs. It can be seen in the way that it enrich the country's culture. Sumatrans also share a lot of similarity in history with other parts of Indonesia as well, even before colonialism took place in Indonesia.

And by the way, most people living in Sumatra also do not have intention to form their own country, with the exception of those living in Aceh, I would say (It's now still kind of unclear regarding this issue, but there haven't been any separatist movements there lately).

+1
Level 48
May 11, 2016
Laputa, anyone? XD
+1
Level 37
Dec 31, 2016
Could you accept UK as great britian?
+2
Level 69
Apr 14, 2017
UK is the country, Great Britain is the island. The UK exists on two main islands, Great Britain and Ireland, that's why the full name is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Accepting UK is like accepting "Indonesia" to get all their islands.
+2
Level 75
Apr 19, 2017
Afro-Eurasia.
+1
Level 59
Mar 24, 2022
That's some big island...
+2
Level 57
Apr 19, 2017
Facepalm. Live in australia, forgot about tasmania.
+1
Level 47
Apr 19, 2017
Tasmania is part of australia
+2
Level 76
Apr 19, 2017
Is it a peninsula?
+1
Level 16
Apr 16, 2018
...and?
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
yes and all the islands on the quiz are part of a country, though a few are a country in its own right, but they are the minority. Only madagascar, iceland and sri lanka, are the countries that are the entire island and its own country at the same time. (and no NOT ireland, cause on the island of ireland there is the republic of ireland and northern ireland which belongs to the uk)
+1
Level 52
Apr 19, 2017
Nice Quiz!
+1
Level 20
Apr 19, 2017
by New Guinea do they mean Papau New Guinea?
+3
Level 67
Apr 19, 2017
The island of New Guinea is separated into two parts: Papua New Guinea (a country) and Irian Jaya (a province of Indonesia). See also: Ireland.
+1
Level 49
Apr 19, 2017
Can you accept United Kingdom for Great Britain?
+1
Level 67
Apr 19, 2017
Why? The UK is a country, not an island. Britain and Ireland are the islands that the UK is on.
+1
Level 76
Apr 19, 2017
I love your name, but I wish you would read the numerous previous comments which address your question.
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
you trolling?
+1
Level 59
Mar 24, 2022
I'm halfway through reading the comments on this quiz: I wonder how many more times I read someone asking for UK to be accepted #aaaaarrrrrggggghhhh!!
+8
Level 67
Apr 19, 2017
So. Many. Stupid. Comments.
+1
Level 52
Apr 19, 2017
Yeah, unbelievable. I wish I could like comments though, because many of the answers and comebacks are great.
+1
Level 45
Apr 19, 2017
What about Gilligan's Island?
+1
Level 52
Aug 10, 2017
Agreed. Why is this missing?! This is an outrage! You crazy, uneducated fools!
+1
Level 32
Apr 19, 2017
let us type in png or papua new guinea for new guinea. Also let us do UK for great britian
+8
Level 85
Apr 20, 2017
Geez, does NO ONE read comments before writing their own? At least you were a bit original with the PNG suggestion, but PNG is not an island; it's a country.
+1
Level 70
Apr 20, 2017
Perhaps it should be emphaised in the notes at the start that it is names of ISLANDS that are needed NOT countries. (Noting that in some cases they are the same but not necessarily all the ones you expect.) Then people could not read that as well as all the previous comments.
+2
Level 68
Apr 20, 2017
lol
+2
Level 70
Feb 25, 2020
I guess having it in the name of the quiz just isn't enough
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
let us write usa for brazil, cause it is both in america right...
+1
Level 45
Apr 23, 2017
You should accept United Kingdom for Great Britain. Also Papua New Guinea for New Guinea
+5
Level 42
Apr 23, 2017
Read the comments above yours. They will tell you why those answers are not accepted.
+3
Level 66
May 25, 2019
faints... are these people serious?? one person ok... but sooo many and NONE of them apparently know how to read, not even one comment above theirs. How can you miss the previous comment !
+1
Level 76
Jul 14, 2017
I typed New Britain, and island in Papua New Guinea, and it gave me Great Britain, which is almost halfway across the world :/
+1
Level 77
Feb 25, 2020
an*
+1
Level 20
Aug 5, 2017
Novaja Zemlja?
+2
Level 16
Apr 16, 2018
It consists of two smaller islands, so they're not enough big for the quiz. I bet the Mercator projection tricked you too ;)
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
and it probably wouldnt count written like that anyway, it's nova zembla. I wouldnt have thought of it but indeed the two parts of the island together is over 90.000 km²
+1
Level 56
Aug 21, 2017
What about Japan (entire country), New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea?
+3
Level 66
May 25, 2019
The question is about biggest islands, not island group, so only each single island count, not added up with other islands.
+5
Level 62
Nov 20, 2017
All of the people who do nothing but complain about every little thing they disagree with should start their own quiz website to promote their illogical and unsupported opinions. These new quiz websites would undoubtedly have much more success than Jet Punk because there is too much attention to facts here. Seriously, I don't know how the webmaster can be so patient with ridiculous requests. Instead of responding with well constructed answers detailing why the users' comments are wrong, I would just answer "no".
+1
Level 73
Mar 8, 2018
AMEN - preach on. Like my Granny always said " Don't confuse me with the facts - I've already made my mind up."
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
haha, sounds like my dad. Not at ALL what he would say, but once he made his mind up, you cant change it (but sometimes he suddenly does an 180 and is as adamant about that standpoint as he was about the previous one...)
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
quizmaster only showed up once in this quiz, and his response wasnt the usual patient one ( but a very funny one imo :) ) all the patient/lengthy explanations came from other users.

I think quizmaster usually doesnt answer the extremely dumb questions ( anymore) the ones that get asked over and over. (england, greenland, russia, cyprus etc). But yea still must take an awfull time to sift through all the requests... let alone replying.

+1
Level ∞
Nov 19, 2019
I honestly am not very patient and have replied simply "no" to stupid comments in the past. I need to be better.
+1
Level 86
Jul 25, 2021
They complain because they can't follow or comprehend instructions and so get things wrong
+1
Level 64
Sep 8, 2018
Novaya Zemlya (Russia), 90,650 km2, should be in the list.
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
2 islands... takes 5 seconds to look it up. (they are close together though but still counted as 2)
+1
Level 60
Mar 18, 2019
Shouldn't it be Britain instead of Great Britain?
+1
Level 66
May 25, 2019
I believe britain is england and wales together, a term that goes back to the time they didnt rule over the rest of the country yet.
+3
Level 83
Jun 20, 2019
No. The large island is Great Britain. Britain is an ambiguous term which could refer to the island of Great Britain, the modern country also called the United Kingdom, or older kingdoms and provinces that predate the modern country. Most often I believe the term Britain is used to refer to the country as a whole, but people are often confused about the difference between England/Britain/Great Britain/The United Kingdom and end up (wrongly) using these terms interchangeably.
+1
Level 70
Feb 24, 2020
Mercator ruined me on this one. Had 7 left and was just spamming different spellings of the Russian Arctic islands instead! Looking at that horrible projection, you’d never guess that Sri Lanka etc were bigger than Severny and Yuzhny
+1
Level 58
Feb 24, 2020
Why is Eire not an acceptable answer for Ireland?
+1
Level 67
Feb 24, 2020
Because this is the English version
+1
Level 52
Feb 24, 2020
One of the 6% to get Banks Island lol
+3
Level 77
Feb 24, 2020
Accept "English national team" for Great Britain
+1
Level 28
Feb 25, 2020
Why no Australia, also great quiz
+1
Level 17
Mar 8, 2020
australia?
+4
Level 76
Jun 24, 2020
Why no Afro-Eurasia? Why don't you accept "There be cold" for the Arctic Islands? I think you should include "Antilles" because if you add up all the land they're pretty big.
+1
Level 84
Nov 2, 2021
Ha! Snarky... but funny... and also right.
+1
Level 77
Jan 10, 2021
Got all with 2:20 remaining!
+1
Level 31
Mar 20, 2022
i forgot iceland but got banks, ellesmere, and victoria
+1
Level 74
Mar 20, 2022
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, is pretty big

31,285 km²

+1
Level 66
Mar 20, 2022
Only half size of the last in this quiz.
+1
Level 53
Mar 20, 2022
Only reason why I remember Sulawesi is because in finnish it means kind of "unfrozen water"

B)

+1
Level 78
Mar 20, 2022
Obviously we need to improve how geography is taught in schools. Some of these comments, just wow.
+1
Level 56
May 29, 2022
New Guinea is a purely Oceanic island, so it shouldn't be listed as Asia / Oceania. It belongs partly to an Asian country (Indonesia), but that doesn't make it a partly Asian island, just how Hawaii is Oceanic even though it belongs to the United States.