An island is a naturally formed land area surrounded by water and rising above the water surface at high tide that can support human habitation or its own economic life.


There are 233 countries and regions in the world. Does anyone know which country has the most islands in the world? Follow this article to find out.


1. Finland


Finland is located in northern Europe, one of the five Nordic countries, bordering Sweden and Norway, the Gulf of Finland to the south, and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west.


The total land area is 338,000 square kilometers, the coastline is 1,100 kilometers long, and the inland water area accounts for 10% of the country's area. There are about 179,000 islands and about 188,000 lakes.


Finland has cold and long winters, and mild and short summers and 1/3 of the country's land is within the Arctic Circle.


2. Norway


Norway is one of the five Nordic countries, located in the western part of Scandinavia. Norway's territory is long and narrow from the north to the south, with an extended and tortuous coastline and many coastal islands.


It's referred to as the "land of ten thousand islands". The territory borders Sweden and Finland. Svalbard and Jan Mayen are also included in the territories. Norway is one of the world's most significant maritime nations. It has a winding coastline and over 150,000 offshore islets.


3. Indonesia


Indonesia may be a Southeast Asian country with the capital Jakarta. Connected with countries like Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Composed of about 17,508 islands, it's part of the Malay Archipelago and the largest archipelago country in the world.


The larger islands are Kalimantan, Sumatra, Irian, Sulawesi, and Java.


4. China


China is found in the east of Asia and on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean.


According to the latest report of the first island statistical survey released by the State Oceanic Administration of China, as of the end of 2015, there were more than 11,000 islands in China, and the total area of islands accounted for about 0.8% of China's land area.


5. Japan


Japan is found in East Asia, and its name means "Land of the Sunrise". Japan's territory consists of four large islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and more than 7,200 small islands, so it is also known as the "Country of Thousand Islands".


The land area of Japan is about 377,900 square kilometers.


The eastern and southern parts of Japan are the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea to the west, and the Sea of Okhotsk to the north, facing North Korea, South Korea, China, and the Philippines across the sea. Hokkaido, Japan has one of the most famous fishing grounds in the world, the Hokkaido Fishing Ground, which is caused by the convergence of the Thousand Island Cold Current and the Japanese Warm Current.


6. the Philippines


Located in the Western Pacific Ocean, the Philippines is a multi-ethnic archipelago country in Southeast Asia with an area of 299,700 square kilometers.


The Philippines is divided into three major island groups, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, with more than 7,000 large and small islands.


The Philippines has a large number of races and cultures, combining many Eastern and Western customs. The prehistoric Negritos may be the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines.


The subsequent migration of ethnic groups brought Malay culture, Indian culture, and Chinese cultures with the development of trade.


7. Greece


Greece is ranked seventh. Greece is a republic in Europe's southeastern region, near the southern point of the Balkan Peninsula. The nation is made up of the Peloponnese peninsula in the south and over 3,000 islands in the Aegean Sea.


The mainland of Greece is adjacent to Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria from the northwest to the north, and the northeast borders the border of Turkey. It's surrounded by the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean, and therefore the Ionian Sea from east to west.