What is the world's largest island?

Greenland is the largest island in the world. A common point of confusion is Australia, which is far bigger - but Australia is classed as a continent, not an island. Among landmasses counted as islands, Greenland stands clearly at the top.

Greenland sits in the far north, between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Despite its enormous size, very few people live there. The reason is its climate: the great majority of the island is buried beneath a vast, permanent ice sheet, the largest in the world outside Antarctica. People live almost entirely along the rocky, ice-free coastal fringes, mostly in the southwest.

Greenland sits in a curious position. Geographically, it is part of the continent of North America, lying close to Canada. Politically and historically, however, it has long been tied to Europe - it is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Its capital is Nuuk.

This article was written using information from Wikipedia.