Greenland is the largest island in the world, followed by New Guinea and Borneo. Greenland is largely uninhabited and covered by an ice sheet, but melting ice is opening up exploration for oil and gas. New Guinea is known for its biodiversity and uncontacted tribes, while Borneo is the most populated of the three and also displays a high degree of biodiversity.
The largest islands in the world are Greenland, with an area of 822,706 square miles (2,130,800 sq km), followed by New Guinea, with an area of 303,381 square miles (785,753 sq km), and Borneo, with an area of 288,869 square miles (748.168 sq km). Followed by Madagascar, with an area of 226,917 square miles (587,713 sq km), Baffin Island (Canada), with an area of 195,928 square miles (507,451 sq km), and Sumatra (Indonesia), with an area of 171,069 sq km. mi (443.066 sq km). All other larger islands have areas of less than 100,000 square miles, such as Honshū (Japan), Victoria Island (Canada), and Great Britain (UK).
Despite being the first among the largest islands in the world, Greenland is largely uninhabited, with a population of just 60,000. This makes it one of the least densely populated places on Earth outside of Antarctica, with a population density of just 0.069 people per square mile (0.027 per square km). For many years a province of Denmark, Greenland is now an independent democratic country within the larger Kingdom of Denmark, with its capital at Nuuk, also known as Godthåb (‘Good Hope’). Although most of the island is covered by a continental ice sheet (the only area outside of Antarctica to have one), much of the ice is melting and opening up larger portions of the island to exploration for oil and gas.
The second of the world’s largest islands is New Guinea, located just north of Australia. Although New Guinea makes up only less than half of 0.5% (5%) of the land area, 10-44% of the world’s plant and animal species are found there, many of which are endemic. This rainforest-clad island is famous for its great biodiversity and vast areas of land unexplored by biologists and anthropologists. Over XNUMX uncontacted tribes are believed to live in the mountainous regions of the island, a number second only to Brazil. The discovery of new species in New Guinea is announced regularly, and the island has continued to be a popular destination for eco-tourists and scientists alike.
The third largest island in the world is Borneo, another rainforest island located a few hundred miles west of New Guinea. Divided between the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, Borneo has a population of 16 million, making it the most populated of the world’s three largest islands. Like New Guinea, Borneo displays a high degree of biodiversity and contains what is considered one of the world’s three great rainforests, along with the Amazon rainforest and the Congo rainforest. Many animals found here are found nowhere else, such as the orangutan and the Sumatran rhino.
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