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There are dozens of islands in Africa that can surprise not only with their flora and fauna, but also with their size. Some islands are larger than entire European countries, and you will find out which of them are the largest from this selection.
10 Ngazidja Island, 1 km²
Island Grand Comor (Ngazija) is the largest of the three islands that make up the tiny country of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean, East Africa, west of Madagascar.
The other two islands that make up the Comoros are Moheli, famous for diving, and Anjouan. Despite the small size of Ngazij, there is enough entertainment to keep you busy for days.
Just remember that local transport is extremely limited, so it’s best to rent a car with a local driver to explore the island.
Moroni, the capital, is a mixture of Arabic, French and Swahili culture and history. The historic center of the city – Medina, around the main mosque, is a labyrinth of narrow lanes and ancient buildings from the Swahili period, but, unfortunately, most are in poor condition.
9. Gran Canaria Island, 1 km²
Gran Canaria is a continent in miniature with a wide variety of very unusual landscapes in the middle of the extremely diverse archipelago of the Canary Islands.
The island has been declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to support the conservation of natural treasures. Half of the territory of Gran Canaria is part of this reserve.
8. Fuerteventura Island, 1 km²
Fuerteventura – an island with an ancient history, which has the longest beaches in the entire archipelago with fine fine sand. Only a narrow channel separates Fuerteventura from the African continent. This is a paradise for both relaxing on the beach and fishing. There are excellent beaches, even very close to the capital of the island, Puerto Rosario.
Fuerteventura is an ideal destination for surfers (the island holds an important place on the Windsurfing World Cup circuit) and for divers thanks to the caves, tunnels, ledges and rock formations that can be found on the ocean floor. It is part of the Canary Islands and belongs to Spain.
7. Zanzibar Island, 1 km²
Zanzibar located a few steps from mainland Tanzania, and although it is officially part of the East African country, in almost every aspect – politics, religion, culture, food – life is different there.
As a base for traders from the African Lakes region, India and the Arabian Peninsula, Zanzibar became the center of the slave and spice trade in the region hundreds of years ago.
Most of the inhabitants consider themselves Zanzibari, not Tanzanians, and their territory has its own leader and governing bodies.
Mainland Tanzania is a mixture of Christian, Muslim and local groups, but Zanzibar, which has been ruled by the Sultanate of Oman for centuries, is almost entirely Muslim.
6. Mauritius Island, 1 km²
Mauritius, an archipelago in southern Africa in the Indian Ocean, about 900 km east of Madagascar and 200 km northeast of Réunion. The island country includes the main island of Mauritius, Rodrigues Island 600 km further east, the two outer islands of Agalega, 1 km to the north, and the Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon) archipelago, 065 km to the northeast.
Mauritius, Rodrigues and nearby Reunion (170 km southwest) are part of the Mascarene Islands. The country’s total area of 2 km² is about one-fifth that of Luxembourg, or about half the size of the US state of Rhode Island. The population of the archipelago is 040 people (in 1), the capital and largest city is Port Louis.
5. Bioko Island, 2 km²
Island Bioko in Cameroon is a mass of land of volcanic origin with a surface area of just over 2000 km². It is located in the Gulf of Guinea, not far from the coast of Cameroon and Gabon.
There are two seasons: the dry season (November to March) and the rainy season (April to October). The average annual temperature is 25° C. The amount of precipitation ranges from 1930 mm in the north to 10990 mm in the south. About 40% of the island is inaccessible by land due to dense rainforest. About 90 people live on the island of Bioko.
4. Tenerife Island, 2 km²
Five is the magic number for the island Tenerife. Because five million people come here every year, making it the top destination in the Canary Islands (Spain), and because five senses are not enough to appreciate all that is here.
What’s more, Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and the only one with two international airports, meaning that flight times from the Spanish mainland and the rest of Europe are no more than two to four hours.
Also here is the highest peak in Spain – the breathtaking Mount Teide, 3 meters. The average annual temperature is 718 degrees: that’s why December and August are better here than anywhere else.
3. Reunion Island, 2 km²
Reunion (Mascarene Islands) looks different, authentic, and it is clear that this is an island that belongs to its proud people in the first place.
The island is off the coast of Africa, and Madagascar is its closest neighbor. It falls under French rule with citizens residing on the mainland.
2. Socotra Island, 3 km²
Socotra is home to the bloody dragon tree, which is said to bring magical and healing benefits to those who drink its red juice. Socotra is geographically, politically and biologically a “different” island.
The archipelago is the only transcontinental territory in the Middle East – it is located 240 km east of the coast of Somalia, which makes it a physical part of Africa, but since its unification in 1990 it has been ruled by Yemen.
Socotra is also famous for its biodiversity, with over 700 endemic species of flora and fauna, so it’s no surprise that the island has earned the nickname “Galapagos Islands of the Indian Oceanand was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.
1. Madagascar Island, 587 km²
Madagascar – the largest island in Africa, located in the Indian Ocean, about 450 km east of the coast of Mozambique.
The fourth largest island in the world has been isolated for about 88 million years, and many of its plants and animals are unique. The prehistoric breakup of the Gondwana supercontinent separated the Madagascar-Antarctica-India landmass from the Africa-South America landmass about 135 million years ago. Madagascar later separated from India about 88 million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to develop in relative isolation.
With an area of 587 square kilometers, the island is slightly larger than France or nearly twice the size of the US state of Arizona.
Madagascar is geographically close to Comoros, Mauritius, Mozambique, Reunion and South Africa. The population of Madagascar is over 22 million people. The capital and largest city of Antananarivo. Spoken languages are Malagasy and French.