Which countries have the most islands? Croatia makes the list

Croatia

Croatia is known for being a country with a lot of islands. In fact there are 1,244 islands, islets and rocks in Croatia.

Recently Croatia set up a Register of Islands which is a cartographic recording of all 78 islands, 524 islets and 642 rocks that are part of the territory of Croatia.  

132,756 people live on 50 inhabited islands, including the Pelješac peninsula, in Croatia. 69.5% of the Croatian coast is islands. he island of Cres has the largest area, whilst Krk is the most populated with over 19,000 residents.  

According to a recent report from World Atlas, Croatia’s 1,244 islands puts them at no.22 on the list of 50 countries in the world with the most islands. 

On top of the list is Sweden, closely followed by Norway, which have over 200,000 islands each within their borders.

Sweden

“Sweden has 267,570 islands, about 24,000 of which are open to the public. Though Sweden is the country with the most islands in the world, less than 1,000 of them are inhabited,” World Atlas said. 

Norway is close behind in second place with 239,057 counted islands. Finland is third with 178,947, followed by Canada (52,455) and the United States (18,617).

According to the report, Greenland is the largest island in the world, whilst Canada has the longest coastline in the world, bordering three oceans.

Croatia

Croatia is just ahead of India, Maldives, Marshall Islands and the UK on the list. 

Which Countries Have The Most Islands?

1. Sweden – 267,570
2. Norway – 239,057
3. Finland – 178,947
4. Canada – 52,455
5. United States – 18,617
6. Indonesia – 17,504
7. Australia – 8,222
8. Philippines – 7,641
9. Japan – 6,852
10. Chile – 5,000
11. China – 5,000
12. South Korea – 4,400
13. Cuba – 4,195
14. Vietnam – 4,000
15. North Korea – 3,579
16. Greece – 3,054
17. Estonia – 1,520
18. Thailand – 1,430
19. Denmark – 1,419
20. Papua New Guinea – 1,400
21. Saudi Arabia – 1,285
22. CROATIA – 1,244
23. India – 1,200
24. Maldives – 1,196
25. Marshall Islands – 1,156
26. United Kingdom – 1,000
27. Burma – 1,000
28. Solomon Islands – 900