Which Asian country has the most number of islands?

Indonesia is the Asian country with the most islands. It is the world’s largest archipelagic state, stretching across the Indian and Pacific oceans between mainland Southeast Asia and Australia.

The country’s island count is commonly given as about 17,000 to 18,000, with figures such as 17,504 or 17,508 appearing in widely used references. Indonesia’s official totals can change as geographic agencies survey, name and classify islands. Tiny islets, tidal features and reefs are not always counted consistently, so no single number is permanently universal.

Indonesia’s major islands include Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Java contains a large share of the population despite being much smaller than the country’s other principal islands. The Philippines and Japan are also major island nations, while the Maldives consists of nearly 1,200 islands, but their totals are far below Indonesia’s commonly cited count.