Islands of the World Quiz
Greenland, the Maldives, Borneo, Java and Hispaniola: 15 questions on the islands every map lover should know.
Which is the largest island in the world?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Greenland
Greenland covers about 2.1 million square kilometres (836,000 square miles), roughly three times the size of Texas, and more than 80 percent of it lies under a permanent ice sheet.
Although it is geographically part of North America, Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark and has its own parliament in Nuuk.
Which Indian Ocean nation is made up of about 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Maldives
The Maldives lies south west of India and is the flattest country on Earth, with an average ground level of only about 1.5 metres (5 feet) above sea level.
Malé, the capital, is one of the most densely populated cities on Earth, squeezed onto an island of roughly two square kilometres.
Which is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Sicily
Sicily covers about 25,700 square kilometres (9,900 square miles), narrowly ahead of neighbouring Sardinia, and sits just across the Strait of Messina from the toe of Italy.
Mount Etna on Sicily's east coast is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and has been erupting on and off for hundreds of thousands of years.
Which is the largest island in the Caribbean?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Cuba
Cuba stretches more than 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) from east to west and covers around 110,000 square kilometres (42,000 square miles), nearly half the land in the entire Caribbean.
Christopher Columbus landed on Cuba in October 1492 and believed he had reached the Asian mainland rather than an island.
Honshu is the largest island of which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Japan
Honshu is the main island of Japan and home to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Mount Fuji; it is the seventh largest island in the world and holds the majority of Japan's population.
Japan's four main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, but the country counts more than 14,000 islands in total.
Which is the largest island in Europe?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Great Britain
Great Britain covers about 209,000 square kilometres (81,000 square miles), making it the largest island in Europe and the ninth largest in the world.
Great Britain is the island; the United Kingdom adds Northern Ireland and hundreds of smaller islands.
Which island is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is the second largest Caribbean island, with Haiti occupying the western third and the Dominican Republic the eastern two thirds, divided along a 390 kilometre (240 mile) land border.
Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas.
Which island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the only one split three ways: Indonesian Kalimantan covers the south, Malaysia's Sabah and Sarawak the north, with tiny Brunei on the northern coast.
Its rainforests are among the oldest on Earth at around 130 million years and are the only wild home of the Bornean orangutan.
The Canary Islands, off the coast of northwest Africa, belong to which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Spain
The Canaries have been Spanish since the fifteenth century and form one of Spain's autonomous communities, even though they sit just 100 kilometres (62 miles) off the Moroccan coast.
The name comes from the Latin for dogs, Canariae Insulae, not from the birds; the canary bird was later named after the islands.
Which island nation was known as Ceylon until 1972?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Sri Lanka
Ceylon became independent from Britain in 1948 and formally adopted the name Sri Lanka, meaning resplendent island, when it cut its last ties to the Crown and became a republic in 1972.
Sri Lanka is separated from India by the narrow Palk Strait, and the chain of shoals between them is known as Adam's Bridge.
Which island was called Formosa by Portuguese sailors in the sixteenth century?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Taiwan
Portuguese sailors passing the island in the 1540s named it Ilha Formosa, meaning beautiful island, and the name Formosa stayed in Western use for Taiwan well into the twentieth century.
Taiwan's Yushan, or Jade Mountain, rises to 3,952 metres (12,966 feet), higher than any peak in Japan including Mount Fuji.
Which is the second largest island in the world?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
New Guinea
New Guinea covers about 785,000 square kilometres (303,000 square miles), second only to Greenland, and is divided between Indonesia in the west and Papua New Guinea in the east.
The island is home to more than 800 languages, roughly a tenth of all the languages spoken on Earth.
Which is the most populous island in the world?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Java
Java holds more than 150 million people, over half of Indonesia's population, on an island roughly the size of England, and it includes the megacity of Jakarta.
Java is a chain of volcanoes, with more than 40 of them, including Merapi, among the most active and closely watched in the world.
Which island at the southern tip of South America is divided between Argentina and Chile?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Tierra del Fuego
The main island of Tierra del Fuego was split by a treaty in 1881, with Chile holding the western part and Argentina the east, including Ushuaia, often called the world's southernmost city.
The name means land of fire; Magellan saw the fires of the indigenous Yaghan people burning along the shore as he sailed through in 1520.
Which island in Lake Huron is the largest freshwater island in the world?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island in Ontario covers about 2,766 square kilometres (1,068 square miles) and is the largest island located in a freshwater lake anywhere on Earth.
Manitoulin has more than 100 lakes of its own, and some of those lakes contain islands, which in turn contain even smaller lakes.
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All Geography quizzes →About the Islands of the World Quiz
Greenland is the largest island on the planet at about 2.1 million square kilometres (836,000 square miles), yet fewer than 60,000 people live there. Java, by contrast, is smaller than England but is home to more than 150 million people. And one island in the South Pacific is split down the middle between two countries, with a different flag on each side.
These 15 questions cover the biggest islands, the ones shared between nations, old colonial names that have changed, and a couple of deeper cuts such as the largest island inside a lake. It suits travellers, geography fans and anyone who wants to settle a pub argument about whether Australia counts as an island.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What is the largest island in the world?
Greenland, at roughly 2.1 million square kilometres. Australia is bigger but is generally classed as a continent rather than an island.
Which island is shared by three countries?
Borneo is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and the tiny sultanate of Brunei, which makes it the only island in the world split three ways.
What is the most populated island on Earth?
Java in Indonesia, with more than 150 million residents including the capital Jakarta, far ahead of Honshu in Japan in second place.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Which is the largest island in the world?
Greenland Greenland covers about 2.1 million square kilometres (836,000 square miles), roughly three times the size of Texas, and more than 80 percent of it lies under a permanent ice sheet. Although it is geographically part of North America, Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark and has its own parliament in Nuuk. - Which Indian Ocean nation is made up of about 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls?
Maldives The Maldives lies south west of India and is the flattest country on Earth, with an average ground level of only about 1.5 metres (5 feet) above sea level. Malé, the capital, is one of the most densely populated cities on Earth, squeezed onto an island of roughly two square kilometres. - Which is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea?
Sicily Sicily covers about 25,700 square kilometres (9,900 square miles), narrowly ahead of neighbouring Sardinia, and sits just across the Strait of Messina from the toe of Italy. Mount Etna on Sicily's east coast is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and has been erupting on and off for hundreds of thousands of years. - Which is the largest island in the Caribbean?
Cuba Cuba stretches more than 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) from east to west and covers around 110,000 square kilometres (42,000 square miles), nearly half the land in the entire Caribbean. Christopher Columbus landed on Cuba in October 1492 and believed he had reached the Asian mainland rather than an island. - Honshu is the largest island of which country?
Japan Honshu is the main island of Japan and home to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Mount Fuji; it is the seventh largest island in the world and holds the majority of Japan's population. Japan's four main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, but the country counts more than 14,000 islands in total. - Which is the largest island in Europe?
Great Britain Great Britain covers about 209,000 square kilometres (81,000 square miles), making it the largest island in Europe and the ninth largest in the world. Great Britain is the island; the United Kingdom adds Northern Ireland and hundreds of smaller islands. - Which island is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic?
Hispaniola Hispaniola is the second largest Caribbean island, with Haiti occupying the western third and the Dominican Republic the eastern two thirds, divided along a 390 kilometre (240 mile) land border. Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas. - Which island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei?
Borneo Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the only one split three ways: Indonesian Kalimantan covers the south, Malaysia's Sabah and Sarawak the north, with tiny Brunei on the northern coast. Its rainforests are among the oldest on Earth at around 130 million years and are the only wild home of the Bornean orangutan. - The Canary Islands, off the coast of northwest Africa, belong to which country?
Spain The Canaries have been Spanish since the fifteenth century and form one of Spain's autonomous communities, even though they sit just 100 kilometres (62 miles) off the Moroccan coast. The name comes from the Latin for dogs, Canariae Insulae, not from the birds; the canary bird was later named after the islands. - Which island nation was known as Ceylon until 1972?
Sri Lanka Ceylon became independent from Britain in 1948 and formally adopted the name Sri Lanka, meaning resplendent island, when it cut its last ties to the Crown and became a republic in 1972. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the narrow Palk Strait, and the chain of shoals between them is known as Adam's Bridge. - Which island was called Formosa by Portuguese sailors in the sixteenth century?
Taiwan Portuguese sailors passing the island in the 1540s named it Ilha Formosa, meaning beautiful island, and the name Formosa stayed in Western use for Taiwan well into the twentieth century. Taiwan's Yushan, or Jade Mountain, rises to 3,952 metres (12,966 feet), higher than any peak in Japan including Mount Fuji. - Which is the second largest island in the world?
New Guinea New Guinea covers about 785,000 square kilometres (303,000 square miles), second only to Greenland, and is divided between Indonesia in the west and Papua New Guinea in the east. The island is home to more than 800 languages, roughly a tenth of all the languages spoken on Earth. - Which is the most populous island in the world?
Java Java holds more than 150 million people, over half of Indonesia's population, on an island roughly the size of England, and it includes the megacity of Jakarta. Java is a chain of volcanoes, with more than 40 of them, including Merapi, among the most active and closely watched in the world. - Which island at the southern tip of South America is divided between Argentina and Chile?
Tierra del Fuego The main island of Tierra del Fuego was split by a treaty in 1881, with Chile holding the western part and Argentina the east, including Ushuaia, often called the world's southernmost city. The name means land of fire; Magellan saw the fires of the indigenous Yaghan people burning along the shore as he sailed through in 1520. - Which island in Lake Huron is the largest freshwater island in the world?
Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island in Ontario covers about 2,766 square kilometres (1,068 square miles) and is the largest island located in a freshwater lake anywhere on Earth. Manitoulin has more than 100 lakes of its own, and some of those lakes contain islands, which in turn contain even smaller lakes.
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