Introduction
Is Australia the largest island in the world? When we talk about islands, it can be difficult to know what actually counts as an island. An island is a piece of land that is surrounded by water, and is smaller than a continent. It can also be classified as either a continental island or an oceanic island depending on where it lies in relation to the mainland. Australia is classified as a continental island, which means that it is situated close to a mainland and is connected to it by a shallow body of water.
Australia is one of the most well-known countries in the world, and it is often thought of as being the largest island in the world. But is this true? In this article, we will explore the size of Australia compared to other islands around the globe, and examine its place among the world’s largest islands.
Exploring the Size of Australia Compared to Other Islands
The land mass of Australia is 7.7 million square kilometres, making it the sixth-largest country in the world. To put this into perspective, Australia is more than three times the size of Europe and nearly five times the size of India. It is larger than every other island in the world, with Greenland coming in second at 2.2 million square kilometres.
When compared to other islands around the globe, Australia is much larger than any of them. The largest island in the Pacific Ocean is New Guinea, which has an area of 785,753 square kilometres. In the Caribbean, Cuba is the largest island, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres. The Mediterranean Sea is home to Sicily, the largest island in the region, which has an area of 25,711 square kilometres. All of these islands are significantly smaller than Australia.
Examining Australia’s Place in the World as the Largest Island
When looking at the world’s largest islands, Australia is easily the largest. It is more than twice the size of the next largest island, Greenland. The third-largest island is Borneo, which is located between the South China Sea and the Java Sea and has an area of 743,330 square kilometres. Sumatra is the fourth-largest island in the world, with an area of 472,781 square kilometres. Madagascar is the fifth-largest island, with an area of 226,917 square kilometres.
Australia is unique among the world’s largest islands because it is the only continental island. All of the other islands are either oceanic islands, which are located far from the mainland, or archipelagos, which are made up of many smaller islands. Australia is the only large island that is connected to the mainland.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Australia is the largest island in the world. It has an area of 7.7 million square kilometres, which is more than three times the size of Europe and nearly five times the size of India. When compared to other islands around the globe, Australia is significantly larger than any of them. It is also the only continental island among the world’s largest islands, meaning that it is connected to the mainland.
Australia’s size and its connection to the mainland make it unique among the world’s largest islands. It is a testament to its remarkable geography that Australia is able to maintain its status as the world’s largest island.
