What is the largest island on Earth, excluding continents?

Greenland is the largest island on Earth, excluding continents.

Greenland covers about 2.17 million square kilometres, making it substantially larger than New Guinea, the second-largest island. It lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and is geographically part of North America, although it is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

About 80% of Greenland’s surface is covered by the Greenland ice sheet, the second-largest ice body on Earth after Antarctica’s ice sheet. This ice sheet stores a significant share of the planet’s freshwater. Greenland’s rugged coastline contains numerous fjords, and most of its population lives along the ice-free coast.

A common mix-up is Australia. Australia is larger than Greenland, but it is generally classified as a continent rather than an island. The ranking therefore depends on the standard geographic convention of excluding continents from island lists. Greenland’s name comes through Old Norse, although its landscape is dominated by ice rather than green vegetation.