If you ask someone, “What do they really want in life”, chances are high that their answer would be “peace and happiness”. On a superficial level, almost everyone claims they want properties, money, fame, success, relationships, and other things in life.
But deep within, people want to spend their lives peacefully and happily. They want all other things because they think these things will bring them peace and happiness. When you think about living life with absolute calm and joy, what is the first picture that comes to your mind? Did you picture a remotely located island?
A large number of people in the world picture an island while wondering, “How can I escape the madness around me and find serenity?”. Living on an island seems like a fantastic way of spending days and nights in bliss. People view islands as mystical structures since it’s not possible for everyone to live on them.
But in this blog post, we are going to share some information about the smallest island in the world. As we have mentioned in the previous paragraph, islands seem mystical to many people.
Therefore, people have many questions related to islands. These questions include but are not limited to “How do people live on islands?”, “how many island countries are there in the world?”, “which is the largest island?” and “which is the smallest island?”.
Which is the Smallest Island in the World? Know All About It Here
We are sure you are here to find out which is the smallest island in the world. Well, there is no single answer to this question, as the answer depends on the exact question. For example, the answer to the question, “Which is the smallest island nation”, would be different from the answer to the question, “Which is the smallest inhabited island in the world?”.
Let’s have a look at all the possible answers to the question regarding the smallest island in the world.
1. Smallest Island Nation in the World
The smallest island nation in the world is Nauru, an island located in Oceania.
As you might be aware, a country whose primary territory includes one or more islands or parts of islands is known as an island country or island nation. There are 47 island countries in the world. Some of these countries include Japan, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Ireland, Maldives, Barbados, Jamaica, and Fiji.
Nauru is also an island country. Sprawled across 21 square kilometers, Nauru is the smallest island country compared to all other island countries. It is in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Nauru lies between Australia and Hawaii.
Officially known as the ‘Republic of Nauru’ and formerly known as ‘Pleasant Island’, Nauru comes under the list of the smallest island nations and the smallest nations. Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world. The only two countries that are smaller than Nauru are Vatican City and Monaco. The current population of Nauru is 10,976.
In terms of population, Nauru also falls under the list of smallest countries. It is the second-smallest country in the world, after Vatican City, when it comes to the total population. Nauru, the Republic of Nauru, or Nauru Island, has an interesting history and culture.
The Republic of Nauru: Long and Controversial History
It is believed that Nauru had been an isolated island for a long duration of time. The first settlement on the island was by Micronesians around 3000 years ago. The residents of the island used to perform aquafarming. They used to feed on fishes, coconuts, and pandanus fruit.
Nauru is reported to be first sighted by John Fearn, who was a British sea captain. He was passing en route to the China Seas on a British ship called the ‘Snow Hunter’ on November 8, 1798, when he saw this island. The beauty of Nauru attracted John Fearn, and so, he named this island ‘Pleasant Island’.
People who lived on the island could be classified into 12 clans. Issues used to take place between those clans. Problems regarding survival were also there, but still, Nauruans lived on the island for thousands of years.
Between the years 1826 and 1904, Europeans who used to travel through ships near the island used to visit the island to get fresh drinking water and some other supplies. Deserters from European ships also started to settle on the island around the year 1904. Germany annexed Nauru in 1888 and ruled the island for almost three decades.
Another highlighting point in the history of Nauru or the Republic of Nauru is the discovery of phosphate. Prospector Albert Fuller Ellis discovered phosphate on Nauru in 1901. He came to the conclusion that 80 percent of the island was rich in phosphate. Nauru has exported millions of tons of phosphate.
After Germany, Nauru was ruled by other countries, such as Japan and Australia. The island became independent on January 31, 1968. Nauruans became one of the richest people in the world due to the revenue made from the phosphate mines.
The smallest island in the world – Republic of Nauru: Climate, Rainfall, Flora, and Fauna
As Nauru is located in close proximity to the equator and the ocean, it experiences a hot and humid climate throughout the year. The island gets rains between November and February. There isn’t enough vegetation on the island due to the harmful effects of phosphate mining. The fauna on Nauru comprises birds, insects, and land crabs.
The Republic of Nauru: Culture, Languages, and More
The indigenous culture of the republic of Nauru was displaced by the culture of the people who ruled the island. Nauruan is the official language of Nauru. It is a Micronesian language spoken by more than 90 percent of Nauruans.
English is also a popular language in Nauru. The island celebrates its Independence Day on January 31. People on the island also celebrate ‘Angam Day’, which is a holiday to celebrate the recovery of Nauruans from the 1920 influenza epidemic and two world wars.
The national flag of this island country – the Flag of Nauru – was adopted on January 31, 1968. The design of the flag depicts the geographical location of Nauru. The design involves a white 12-pointed star below the yellow horizontal stripe. The twelve points on the star represent the 12 original clans or tribes of Nauru.
Football and weightlifting are considered to be the national sports of the republic of Nauru. Other sports that people on the island play include fishing, volleyball, and tennis. Sports teams from Nauru have even won championships.
2. Smallest Inhabited Island in the World
The smallest inhabited island in the world is Just Room Enough Island.
The term ‘Inhabited Island’ refers to an island that has permanent human habitation. Currently, there are 16,000 inhabited islands in the world. More than 730 million people live on these islands. It means around 11% of the total population of the world lives on these islands. The area of Just Room Enough Island is 306.58 square meters, i.e., 3300 square feet.
Located in the ‘Thousand Islands’ chain in New York (United States of America), Just Room Enough Island is the smallest inhabited island in the world. The Thousand Islands chain is a chain of islands to the north of the coast of Jakarta.
Spanned across 80 kilometers, the Thousand Islands region consists of 1864 islands. It constitutes one of the largest archipelagos on the American continent. The term ‘Archipelago’ is used to refer to a chain or collection of islands.
Just Room Enough Island fulfills all the necessary criteria that landforms in the region must fulfill in order to be considered islands. As per these criteria, an island must be larger than one square foot and remain above the water level throughout the year. A landform must also have at least one tree to be called an island.
Where Exactly is this Island Located? Who Owns the Island?
Also known as ‘Hub Island’, Just Room Enough Island sits off the village of Alexandria Bay. This village is situated within the town of Alexandria, Jefferson County, New York (USA). Just Room Enough Island lies on the Saint Lawrence River between Heart Island and Imperial Isle. It is situated close to the US border with Canada. There is a large castle on Heart Island.
You might be wondering, “How many people live on this island?”. Well, this island has just one house. This house is a holiday getaway for the Sizeland family. The Sizeland family purchased Just Room Enough Island in the 1950s. They renamed the island from Hub Island to Just Room Enough Island.
Along with a house, this island also has a tree, a small beach, and shrubs. The Sizeland family grew a tree outside their house. They even kept some outdoor furniture, such as chairs and a table. The walls of the house of the family are built right up to the edges of the island.
Contrary to the expectations of the Sizeland family, they did not obtain much peace on this island because a lot of tourists used to visit it. It’s worth mentioning here that visiting the island is not easy. Being the smallest island in the world, on Just Room Enough Island, which is no bigger than a tennis court, is risky. As per a write-up in the Washington Post, even one misstep can lead to accidents. You can fall into the water even if you take one misstep.
3. Smallest Uninhabited Island in the World
The smallest uninhabited island in the world is Simping Island.
Located on the northern outskirts of Singkawang, Simping Island has an area of 4977.633 square meters and regarded as one of the smallest island in the world. Singkawang is a city located in the province of West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. It is the second largest city as well as the capital of the province. Singkawang is predominantly a Chinese city.
Simping Island has been officially recognized as the smallest island in the world by the United Nations (UN). Formerly known as ‘Kelapa Dua’, the island consists of sand, stones, and trees. The island also has a temple or a shrine. Simping Island is linked to the mainland by a pedestrian bridge. Chinese people reach the island through this bridge to pray at the temple.
As Simping Island is the smallest uninhabited island in the world, it’s simple to understand that no person lives on this island. However, it was not always the same. Many families used to live on Simping island earlier. The island is no longer habitable due to coastal erosion. Coral reefs surround this small island.
Which is the Former Smallest Inhabited Island in the World?
Before Just Room Enough Island, Bishop Rock was considered to be the smallest inhabited island in the world. Located on the British Coast in the northern Atlantic Ocean, Bishop Rock holds the Guinness Book of Records for being the smallest island with a building on it. Bishop Rock is a small rocky island situated 4 miles west of the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall.
Isles of Scilly, which is also known as Scilly Isles, is a group of 50 small islands and numerous islets lying southwest of Cornwall, England. The term ‘Islet’ is used to refer to an island that is quite small and often unnamed. Islets are generally not suitable for human habitation or vegetation. The islands in the Scilly Isles group are composed of granite.
Bishop Rock is also known as ‘Bishop Rock Lighthouse’ because it is known for its lighthouse. The first lighthouse on this island was built from iron. Its construction began in the year 1847, but it got damaged before a lantern could be installed on it.
The construction of the second lighthouse was completed in 1858. Having a height of 49 meters, this lighthouse is made up of a solid drum base and interlocking granite blocks. The lantern on this tower is 146 feet above the high-tide level. The lighthouse was first lit on September 1, 1858. Visitors used to rappel to boats from the top before the helipad was installed.
Bishop Rock Lighthouse: Developments and Automation
Over the years, several developments took place on the tower. For example, the elevation of the lighthouse was increased between the years 1883 and 1887 by Sir James N. Douglas. Electricity began to be used on the lighthouse from the year 1973. The structure was even reinforced by iron tie bars in the inner walls and a granite encasement of the outer wall.
The lighthouse became fully automated on December 15, 1992. After the automation was completed, the top half of the biform optic was removed and put on display in a museum. The lower half of the biform optic is still in use. The lighthouse on Bishop Rock is known as ‘Bishop Lighthouse’. It is often called ‘King of the Lighthouses’.
As the lighthouse is now automated, it does not require a keeper. A lighthouse keeper is someone who looks after the maintenance of a lighthouse. They take care of the light, lens, clock, and other parts of the lighthouse. As Bishop Rock does not have a keeper, no one lives on the island. Therefore, the island lost its status of being the smallest inhabited island in the world.
What is an Island? How many total Islands are there in the World?
Now that you have learned which is the smallest island nation, the smallest inhabited island, the smallest uninhabited island, and the former smallest inhabited island, it’s time to know what exactly an island is. We have explained the definition of an island and many more points related to islands in the following paragraphs.
An island is a body of land that is entirely surrounded by water. In short, a landform that has water on all of its sides is known as an island. Water bodies like oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes have islands. An island is situated above water at high tide. It’s important to mention here that continents are also surrounded by water, but they are not considered islands.
For example, the continent of Australia, which is different from the country of Australia, is not considered an island despite being surrounded by sea on all sides. The criteria that a landform has to fulfill in order to be considered an island may vary from country to country. There are more than 9,00,000 officially recognized islands in the world.
All the islands in the world can be divided into six major types. They are continental islands, oceanic islands, tidal islands, coral islands, barrier islands, and artificial islands. Artificial islands, as the name suggests, are those islands that are made by human beings. They are usually constructed by land reclamation.
Land reclamation involves the process of depositing construction materials to penetrate the water surface to build an island. Materials like sand, rock, dirt, and concrete slabs are used to build an artificial island. As we have already mentioned earlier in this blog post, an extremely small island is known as an islet.
Which are the Largest Island Nation and the Largest Inhabited Island in the World?
You know that Nauru or the Republic of Nauru is the smallest island nation in the world, but do you know which is the largest island nation in the world? If you don’t know, worry not, as we have mentioned it here. The largest island nation in the world by area is Greenland, and the largest island nation in the world by population is Indonesia.
Sprawled across 2.16 million square kilometers, Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Lying in the North Atlantic Ocean, Greenland has a population of 56,990 persons. On the other hand, the population of Indonesia is more than 275 million. The area of Indonesia is 1.91 million square kilometers.
When it comes to the question, “Which is the largest inhabited island in the world by area”, the answer is ‘Honshu’. Having an area of 2,27,960 square kilometers, Honshu is located in Japan. Lying between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, Honshu is home to the majority of the most popular cities in Japan. It also contains Mount Fiji, which is the highest mountain in Japan. Honshu has a population of around 104 million people.
While Honshu is the largest inhabited island by area, Java is the largest inhabited island by population. Lying between Sumatra and Bali, Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. Sprawled across 1,28,297 square kilometers, Java has a population of around 148.76 million people. Java is the fifth-largest island in Indonesia.
Now, let’s also have a look at which is the largest inhabited riverine island and which is the largest uninhabited island in the world. The term ‘Riverine Island’ refers to an island that is surrounded by a river. The largest inhabited riverine island in the world is Majuli.
It is situated in the Brahmaputra River in the Assam state of India. Majuli has an area of 352 square kilometres. The population of this island is 1,26,025. The largest uninhabited island in the world is Devon Island. The area of this island is 55,247 square kilometers.
Islands and Private Islands: Ownership, Administration, and More
All islands in the world come under the jurisdiction of the national government of some country. The laws made by the government apply to the island. The people living on the Island have to obey the rules and regulations set by the government of the country in which the island is situated.
You must have heard of the term ‘Private Island’. Private islands are those islands that are owned by private individuals and corporations. However, it does not mean that the owners have complete control over the islands. The laws made by the government of the country are applicable to the private island and its residents. Millionaires and billionaires purchase private islands.
Conclusion
We hope that you would have liked reading this blog post on notonly the smallest island in the world, but also their history, culture and many more. Several private islands are on sale, so if you want to purchase one, you should go ahead.
