Image: TheBigJagielka via WikiCommons
About This Quiz
Have you ever stopped to wonder how many islands there are in the world? The definition of an island is a little spotty sometimes, so it's hard to say if those two trees on a clump of dirt in the pond at grandma's place count as an island or not (but let's just look at the world's oceans and say that there are around 2,000 of them out there). Islands can range from the tiniest little uninhabited chunks of land at the end of an archipelago to the massive island of Greenland, which is over 840,000 square miles.Â
Most of us know the famous islands like Hawaii, Bermuda, Jamaica and other tropical destinations (islands known for their lush habitats and tropical climates). Places known for delicious fruits, relaxing beaches and exceptional resorts. When most people picture paradise, they imagine the palm trees and white sandy beaches of a place like Tobago, lounging in a chair under the sun and drinking right out of a coconut. Others might consider Rottnest Island and its friendly quokkas or the nightlife of a place like Ibiza to be the height of island fun in the world. Whatever your taste in island destinations, let's see how many you can ID from a map!
Dominica
Aruba
Bermuda
Bermuda does have one big island mostly known as the "Main Island," but there are many smaller islands present as well. Just over 70,000 people call Bermuda home. Bermuda also has the sixth-highest GDP in the world.
Jamaica
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Bora Bora
Maldives
Galapagos
The biodiversity of the Galapagos Island made them impressive to Charles Darwin, and they remain so today. From tortoises to giant iguanas to a range of finches, these islands hold beauty not seen anywhere else on Earth.
Lummi Island
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Saint Martin
New Zealand
New Zealand is actually more than one island, though most people refer to it as a single place. There are two large islands, the North and South, and then around 600 much smaller islands; they all make up the whole of the country.
Rarotonga
Viti Levu
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Maui
Cozumel
Ibiza
Ibiza is a massive nightlife spot in Spain, but the Spanish government didn't always take a shine to that. In 2010, they tried to shift focus to a more family-friendly approach, which included shutting down after-hours clubs. Eventually, they realized this was a bad idea and went back to tourists enjoying the nightlife.
Cebu
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Tobago
Trinidad
Curacao
Curacao is actually part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and if you've ever heard of the drink blue Curacao, this is where it comes from. The island grows a lot of oranges, and the peels are what the drink is made from.
Cuba
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Sir Bani Yas
Curacao
Cebu
Sommaroy
This one-time sleepy fishing island in Norway, Sommaroy is now a pretty popular tourist destination thanks to the fact it's day there for two months in a row (from May to July). The fact it has turquoise-blue ocean water and coral beaches, like a more tropical destination, really helps.
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Aruba
Grand Cayman
The Cayman Islands are three islands together, the largest of which is Grand Cayman. Aside from being the largest, Grand Cayman is also the home of Seven Mile Beach, which is frequently listed among the most glorious beaches in the world.
Cebu
Espiritu Santo
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Bora Bora
The island so nice they named it twice! Bora Bora is famous for such shallow reefs that the water surrounding it ends up looking crystal clear and almost unreal. The center of the main island also features a dead volcano.
Aitutaki
Corsica
Azores
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Capri
Capri, Italy is just off the coast of Naples and is generally a day-trip destination, though you can find lodging on the island as well. The island has been populated for an extremely long time, with evidence of settlements going back to the Neolithic era.
Ibiza
Bali
Gozo
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Maui
Kauai
Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian islands, though it's only the fourth largest of them all. It earned the nickname of Garden Island thanks to that rich volcanic soil, which gave rise to rainforests and vegetations from coast to coast.
O'ahu
Moloka'i
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Jamaica
Arguably one of the most well-known islands in the world, Jamaica came under the control of Spain in 1494 when Columbus landed and the indigenous people were mostly obliterated. By 1655, the British had taken over and made the island into a major hub of Caribbean life.
Cuba
Lummi Island
Sir Bani Yas
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Seychelles
Maldives
Aruba
The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four countries. The Netherlands is obviously one of them, but the islands of Sint Maarten, Curaçao and Aruba are the other three. That means if you live in Aruba, you're a Dutch National.
Colonsay
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Cebu
Bali
Ibiza
Espiritu Santo
The island nation of Vanuatu consists of 83 islands in an archipelago, with Espiritu Santo being the largest. It's known as a great tourist spot for divers thanks to the many reefs and shipwrecks in the waters around it.
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Barbados
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael in Barbados, and so are a heck of a lot of turtles. As the island is one of the largest hawksbill turtle breeding grounds in the world, visitors are discouraged from driving near beaches during breeding season to avoid harming the animals.
Cuba
Trinidad
Bahamas
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Cook Islands
Maldives
Seychelles
Azores
An autonomous region of Portugal, the Azores are an archipelago of nine islands. The islands are famous for a number of geysers, volcanic lakes and hot thermal waters that make them a serious tourist destination.
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Nisyros Island
Lummi Island
Lummi Island is in Washington State, and it's a great destination if you're a fan of the art world. Numerous artists call the island home, and it's also famous for local, organic cuisine and weekend markets.
Santorini
Cozumel
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Bali
Located in Indonesia, Bali has been one of the biggest island destinations in the world since the 1980s. Trip Advisor called it the world's top tourist destination in 2017, and it's renowned for its local art scene, which includes sculpture, dance and even metalworking.
Curacao
Corsica
Santorini
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Hawaii
Hawaii is the name we tend to use for all the Hawaiian Islands, but it's also the name of the big island as well. Five volcanoes helped create Hawaii, and of the five, one is extinct, one is dormant and the other three are still active.
Maui
New Zealand
The Bahamas
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Mallorca
Catalan and Spanish share duties as the official languages on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The island is famous for its beaches and prominent nightlife. It's sometimes jokingly referred to as the 17th state of Germany since so many Germans head there to vacation.
Raja Ampat
Haida Gwaii
Curacao
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Mont-Saint-Michel
Salt Spring Island
Corsica
Corsica was the birthplace of Emperor Napoleon and is a major Mediterranean tourist destination these days. Back in the 1500s, all farmers were ordered to plant a fig, a chestnut, an olive and a mulberry tree every year, and they can still be found on the island.
Santorini
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Colonsay
Prince Edward Island
Dominica
Maldives
Located in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is made up of thousands of smaller islands and a few larger ones. There's also a world-famous underwater hotel for people who like a truly immersive experience.
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Dominica
Bahamas
Sebu
Santorini
The Greek island of Santorini was formed from a volcanic explosion and is now renowned for its many cliffs and trails. Likely the most prominent feature of the whole island is the vibrant white buildings with their blue-domed rooftops.
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Colonsay
Colonsay is an island in Scotland that is famous for its bird sanctuary and local art. It's a very out of the way sort of place, and there are only about 120 people on the entire island who call it home full time.
Cook Islands
Bora Bora
Laucala
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Maui
Aitutaki
The island of Aitutaki is situated within a triangular-shaped reef that makes it look as though it's floating in a blue-green arrowhead. It was used as a location for the Tribal Council in the thirteenth season of "Survivor."
Raja Ampat
Gozo
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Corsica
Mykonos
The island of Mykonos in Greece is named for the first ruler of the land, who was supposed to be a descendant of the god Apollo. Zeus is said to have fought a battle against the giants here, and Hercules managed to kill them as well.
Haida Gwaii
Rottnest Island
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Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines made up of a number of smaller islands as well as the larger one. The capital of Cebu City is the oldest capital city in all of the Philippines and was founded in 1565.
Dominica
Curacao
Sir Bani Yas
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Komodo National Park
Koh Rong Samloem
Sir Bani Yas
Technically, Sir Bani Yas was a natural island, but it was essentially deserted until Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first President of the UAE, decided to turn it into a massive and lush sanctuary for wildlife. It is now home to thousands of animals and plants.
Mont-Saint-Michel
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Dominca
Gozo
Gozo is part of Malta and has been populated since at least 5000 B.C. It's believed to be the island Homer describes in his epic poem where the nymph Calypso lived. In more modern times, it was also a shooting location for "Game of Thrones."
Raja Ampat
Culembra
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Salt Spring Island
Located off the coast of British Columbia in Canada, Salt Spring Island is famous for its local art community and weekend markets full of locally sourced produce. The island's businesses accept regular Canadian currency as well as their own Salt Spring Dollars.
Prince Edward Island
Haida Gwaii
Honshu
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Antigua
Mont-Saint-Michel
Located in Normandy, France, Mont-Saint-Michel features a massive castle and about 50 full-time residents. The castle managed to fend off attacks for years and remained unconquered during the Hundred Years War. Armies could approach at low tide, but then the high tide would drive them off or drown them.
Baffin Island
Borneo
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Kyushu
New Guinea
Cozumel
Laucala Island
Laucala is an island in Fiji that Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull, bought in 2003. Since that time, it's become a popular private resort for some of the most high-profile vacationers in the world, like Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney.
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Cozumel
Cozumel is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Aside from fishing, tourism and diving, Cozumel is also home to the only working pearl farm in the entire Caribbean, somewhere on the north shore of the island.
Tahiti
Fiji
Manitoulin Island
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Haida Gwaii
Haida Gwaii is located on Canada's west coast and is famous for the numerous species that are not found anywhere else (including some mammals, birds and plant species). You can visit and stay at a bed-and-breakfast if you like.
Koh Rong Samloem
Tobago
Timor
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Vancouver Island
Manitoulin Island
Prince Edward Island
Located on the east coast of Canada, Prince Edward Island is a Maritime province that produces 25% of all the potatoes available in the country. They also export seed potatoes to numerous countries around the world as well.
Borneo
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Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands are part of Indonesia and home to Komodo National Park. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was started way back in 1980 to protect the giant Komodo dragons that live there.
Honshu
Java
Sri Lanka
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Fiji
Fiji is a pretty massive archipelago, and of its hundreds of islands, around 100 of them have permanent residents. Most of Fiji's entire population can be found split between the two islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.
Tasmania
Bali
Koh Rong Samloem
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Manitoulin Island
Luzon
Culebra
Isla Culebra, or Serpent Island, is a small island east of the main island of Puerto Rico. There's a Netflix docudrama you can watch about the island called "The Legend of Cocaine Island" that deals with the legend of treasure being buried there.
Devon
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Tobago
Tobago is usually only mentioned alongside its sister island Trinidad, but it is a separate place. While some believe it was the inspiration for the island in "Robinson Crusoe," there's no definitive proof and not everyone believes it.
Cuba
Antigua
Aruba
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Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island is what's called an A-Class reserve, which means it's protected land that can't be developed. There is a large native population of quokkas there, which are arguably the cutest animals in the world.
Tasmania
New Zealand
Bali
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Raja Ampat
Ireland
Dominica
Located in the West Indies, Dominica has a population of just over 70,000 people. The French took over the island in the 1690s, and then the British took over in 1763. In 1978, it gained its own independence. It's also a fairly new island, relatively speaking, and is still being formed.
Sir Bani Yas
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