What is the world's largest island that is not a continent?

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What is the world’s largest island that is not a continent? Greenland. Greenland is the largest island on Earth under the usual geographic convention that Australia is a continent rather than an island.

Located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, Greenland is geographically part of North America but politically an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Its immense ice sheet covers most of the land, making Greenland a key location for studying glaciers, sea-level change, and Arctic climate. The island’s exposed coastline contains most of its settlements.

A frequent mistake is choosing New Guinea or Borneo, both of which are enormous islands but smaller than Greenland. Australia is larger still, but it is generally classified as a continent, so it is excluded by the wording. Greenland’s interior is dominated by ice, while its population is concentrated in coastal communities such as Nuuk, the capital.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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