What's the world largest island?

Question

Is it Australia or Greenland? When I look at the maps of Australia and Greenland, I find out that Australia is the world largest island. Am I right?

Answer 1

Australia is more than three times larger than Greenland, but geographers commonly consider Australia to be the world's smallest continent and Greenland to be the world's largest island.

Australia (the landmass rather than the country, which includes Tasmania and smaller islands) has a total area of 7,636,270 square kilometers (2,948,400 square miles). Greenland has a total area (including permanent ice and snow features) of 2,130,800 square kilometers (822,700 square miles). The Mercator map projection makes areas near the poles appear much larger than they really are.

The continents are:
1. Eurasia - 54,517,197 km²
2. Africa - 30,065,107 km²
3. North America - 24,256,087 km²
4. South America - 17,819,065 km²
5. Antarctica - 13,209,047 km²
6. Australia - 7,636,270 km²

The ten largest islands are:
1. Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat) - 2,130,800 km²
2. New Guinea - 785,753 km²
3. Borneo - 748,168 km²
4. Madagascar - 587,713 km²
5. Baffin Island - 507,451 km²
6. Sumatera (Sumatra) - 443,066 km²
7. Honshu - 225,800 km²
8. Victoria Island - 217,291 km²
9. Great Britain - 209,331 km²
10. Ellesmere Island - 196,236 km²

Answer 2

Largest Island In The World

Answer 3

At 840,000 square miles (2,175,590 km2), Greenland is the world's largest island.

Although Australia also meets the definition of an island (a piece of land surrounded by water), it is large enough to be considered its own continent.

Answer 4

Australia is not an island. It is a continent. I think Greenland is the largest island but I'm quite uncertain. Maybe you're right because my teacher once said that Australia is the world's largest island.

Answer 5

The worlds largest island is Greenland because Australia is considered a continent..Period. Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica and Africa.. Those are Continents.

Answer 6

You are wrong.
Although Australia = 7636270 Greenland = 2130800
In this Australia is bigger but Australia is a continent. There is no island in the Australia that beets Greenland's Kalaallit Nunaat by 2130800 Square KM

Answer 7

Greenland is the world's largest island measuring 2,130,800 square kilometres = 822,706 square miles. Australia, at 7,600,000 square kilometres, is considered to be a continental landmass, rather than an island. Australia is much larger than Greenland, the largest island.

Answer 8

Yes. Australia is the largest island. Some maps would show Greenland as larger than Australia, but that is simply due to dilation from converting the surface of a sphere (i.e. the Earth) to a flat map.

Australia is around 3 times larger than Greenland, at 7,682,300km^2, while Greenland a lowly 2,130,800km^2. If you don't believe me, google it with "Size of [Name of island]."

Additional (I don't know why I bother - probably national pride):
Australia is BOTH an island and a continent. South America is not an island as its large size makes it an continent only, while Antartica, the actual solid rock area beneath the sheets of ice, is nowhere near the size of Greenland, let alone Australia.

Face it. Greenland is smaller than Australia. For all the responces below, log onto Google Earth. Use your eyes! Ask any half-witted geography teacher to look it up at any Atlas, and they will tell you Greenland is smaller.

Further, any geography teacher would inform some of our talented responces that the "large land mass" of Asia and South America is a bloody Continent! It is not an island. It is far too big to be defined as an island.

Answer 9

Greenland is the world's biggest island.

Answer 10

Australia is larger but it is geographically classified as a continent, whereas Greenland is classified as the world's largest island.