List of islands of Denmark

Map showing some of the larger islands

This is a list of islands of Denmark.

Overview

There are about 406 islands in Denmark, not including the Faroe Islands or Greenland.^[1] Some 70 of them are populated but the remainder are uninhabited. Some of the uninhabited islands have only become uninhabited in recent decades, for economic reasons.

Definition

Different lists of Danish islands vary, depending on how the word "island" is defined. According to the official Danish Government definition, an "island" needs to be surrounded by water at least one-half metre deep and also have land vegetation growing on it to be recorded as such.^[2]

Another common criterion is that an "island" needs to be surrounded by free-flowing, natural water and not just an artificial, narrow canal. According to this criterion, places such as Christianshavn and Holmen in Copenhagen, although sometimes referred to as artificial islands, are actually parts of the island of Amager.

Dynamic number

The number of islands in Denmark changes from time to time. New islands are occasionally formed by sedimentation. Several examples of these new islands are found in the waters around Æbelø, north of Funen, including Drætlingen which formed in the late 1990s, and a still unnamed islet that was registered in 2008. These new islands are generally less stable than larger, morainic islands, and may later disappear again. Other islands are created artificially. Peberholm, formed in the process of construction of the Øresund Bridge, is a notable example. Other artificial Danish islands include a number of marine fortresses off Copenhagen, such as Middelgrundsfortet, Trekroner Fort and Flakfortet.

Islands may also disappear. An example of this is Jordsand, one of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands. According to records from 1231, the island then had an area of about 2000 hectares (8 square miles). After a series of bad storms during that century, its area had decreased to around 41 hectares, and by 1763 to around 18 hectares. By 1895 Jordsand had ceased to exist.

In other cases, islands are absorbed by larger neighbouring masses of dry land, as a result of either natural sedimentation or artificial land reclamation in the channels separating them. Sometimes this means that an island becomes a cape or headland.

Denmark's second largest island, the North Jutlandic Island, was not always an island. A storm on February 3, 1825 penetrated the narrow land mass, Agger Tange, and thus separated Northern Jutland from the rest of Jutland. The area had earlier been an island, when a strait at Vust had been open prior to the 12th century.

List of 100 largest Danish islands

This is a list of the largest islands of Denmark (Press the symbol after the headings in the table to rearrange the list according to population size, location or alphabetically):

Rank	Island’s name	Area km2	Population[3] (2010)	Location
1	Zealand	7,031	2,164,217	Baltic Sea / Kattegat / Øresund / Great Belt
2	North Jutlandic Island	4,685	302,546	North Sea
3	Funen	2,985	454,358	Great Belt / Little Belt
4	Lolland	1,243	65,764	Baltic Sea
5	Bornholm	588	42,154	Baltic Sea
6	Falster	514	43,398	Baltic Sea
7	Mors	368	21,800	Limfjord
8	Als	312	51,322	Little Belt
9	Langeland	284	13,277	Great Belt
10	Møn	218	9,909	Baltic Sea
11	Rømø	129	680	Wadden Sea, North Sea
12	Samsø	112	4,010	Kattegat
13	Læsø	101	1,969	Kattegat
14	Amager	95.3	171,210	Øresund
15	Ærø	88	6,669	South Funen Archipelago
16	Tåsinge	70	6,187	South Funen Archipelago
17	Fanø	56	3,219	Wadden Sea, North Sea
18	Fur	22	856	Limfjorden
19	Anholt	22	171	Kattegat
20	Fejø	16	543	Smålandsfarvandet
21	Saltholm	16.0	4	Øresund
22	Orø	15	881	Isefjorden
23	Endelave	13.1	187	Kattegat
24	Bogø	13.0	1,101	Storstrømmen
25	Sejerø	12.4	370	Kattegat
26	Femø	11.0	146	Smålandsfarvandet
27	Jegindø	7.9	486	Limfjord
28	Mandø	7.6	46	Wadden Sea, North Sea
29	Thurø	7.5	3,725	South Funen Archipelago
30	Alrø	7.5	160	Horsens Fjord
31	Agersø	7.0	207	Great Belt
32	Venø	6.5	197	Limfjord
33	Bågø	6.2	35	Little Belt
34	Lyø	6.0	108	South Funen Archipelago
35	Egholm	6	54	Limfjord
36	Avernakø	5.9	110	South Funen Archipelago
37	Årø	5.7	164	Little Belt
38	Glænø	5.6	57	Smålandsfarvandet
49	Gavnø	5.5	37	Great Belt
40	Strynø	4.9	215	South Funen Archipelago
41	Nyord	4.8	40	Baltic Sea
42	Omø	4.5	171	Great Belt
43	Drejø	4.3	66	South Funen Archipelago
44	Fænø	3.9	2	Little Belt
45	Agerø	3.8	33	South Funen Archipelago
46	Tunø	3.5	118	Kattegat
47	Enø	3.4	297	Smålandsfarvandet
48	Livø	3.3	9	Limfjord
59	Hjarnø	3.2	98	Kattegat
50	Askø	2.82	43	Smålandsfarvandet
51	Æbelø	2.50	-	Kattegat
52	Barsø	2.50	22	Little Belt
53	Nekselø	2.20	20	Kattegat (Sejrøbugten)
54	Brandsø	2.00	-	Little Belt
55	Skarø	1.97	35	South Funen Archipelago
56	Tærø	1.73	1	Storstrømmen
57	Masnedø	1.68	126	Storstrømmen
58	Vejrø	1.57	-	Storstrømmen
59	Bjørnø	1.50	37	South Funen Archipelago
60	Sprogø	1.50	-	Great Belt
61	Eskilsø	1.39	3	Roskilde Fjord
62	Dybsø	1.34	-	Smålandsfarvandet
63	Vigelsø	1.32	-	Odense Fjord
64	Siø	1.31	18	South Funen Archipelago
65	Langø	1.30	3	Storstrømmen
66	Peberholm	1.3	-	Øresund
67	Romsø	1.09	-	Great Belt
68	Skalø	1.06	6	Smålandsfarvandet
69	Enehøje	1.04	-	Nakskov Fjord
70	Langli	1.00	-	Wadden Sea, North Sea
71	Hjortø	0.90	8	South Funen Archipelago
72	Farø	0.93	3	Storstrømmen
73	Birkholm	0.92	10	South Funen Archipelago
74	Illumø	0.90	-	South Funen Archipelago (Helnæsbugten)
75	Lilleø	0.86	5	Storstrømmen
76	Rågø	0.80	-	Smålandsfarvandet
77	Hesselø	0.71	-	Kattegat
78	Store Egholm	0.70	-	South Funen Archipelago
89	Hjelm	0.63	-	Kattegat
80	Vorsø	0.6	-	Horsens Fjord
81	Halmø	0.50	-	South Funen Archipelago
82	Strynø Kalv	0.50	-	South Funen Archipelago (Helnæsbugten )
83	Fjendø	0.40	-	Nissum Fjord
84	Vejlø	0.37	-	Nakskov Fjord
85	Mejlø	0.34	-	Kattegat / Great Belt
86	Draget	0.28	-	Kattegat (off Bogense)
87	Store Svelmø	0.27	-	South Funen Archipelago
88	Christiansø	0.25	101	Baltic Sea
89	Kalvø, Guldborgsund	0.22	-	Baltic Sea (Guldborgsund)
90	Slotsholmen	0.21	14	Øresund
91	Tornø	0.21	4	Odense Fjord
92	Græsholm, Hirsholmene	0.21	2	Kattegat
93	Vigø	0.20	-	South Funen Archipelago (Helnæsbugten)
94	Slotø	0.20	-	Nakskov Fjord
95	Hjælmshoved	0.20	-	South Funen Archipelago
96	Kalvø, Germer Bugt	0.17	11	Little Belt
97	Hirsholm	0.17	2	Kattegat
98	Ejlinge	0.16	-	Kattegat
99	Møgelø	0.14	-	Julsø

Other populated islands

• Frederiksø - see Christiansø above
• Store Okseø, 3 inhabitants
• Trekroner, 1 inhabitant

Areas sometimes referred to as islands

• Jordsand, a former island
• Vejlø, a peninsula but in some sources referred to as an island
• Christianshavn, considered part of Amager Island
• Holmen, considered part of Christianshavn/Amager

Other small unpopulated islands

• Lindholm, Stege Bugt (which has a medical research facility)^[4]

See also

• Danish straits
• List of islands
• List of islands in the Atlantic Ocean

References

1. ^ "Facts and Figures", Danish Defence, Defence Command Denmark. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
2. ^ "Hov - den der ø har jeg ikke set før". Politiken. http://politiken.dk/kultur/article1026969.ece. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
3. ^ "Danmarks Statistik." Retrieved 11 June 2010.
4. ^ "Lindholm Forsøgsstation", Møn Kulturarvsatlas. (Danish) 13 June 2010.

External links

• Statistics Denmark Populated islands
• National survey authority
• Danish Wikipedia List of inhabited islands