Island country

An island country is a state whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands^{[citation needed]}. As of 2008, 47 (approximately 25%^[1]) of the 192 UN member states are island countries.

Contents 1 Politics 2 War 3 Natural resources 4 Geography 5 Economics 6 Composition 7 See also 8 References

[edit] Politics

The percentage of island countries that are democratic is higher than that of continental countries, although historically they have been more prone to political instability.^[1]

[edit] War

Island countries have often been the basis of maritime conquest and historical rivalry between other countries.^[2] Island countries are more susceptible to attack by large, continental countries due to their size and dependence on sea lines of communication and air lines of communication.^[3] Many island countries are also vulnerable to predation by mercenaries and other foreign invaders.^[4] However, their isolation also makes them a difficult target.

[edit] Natural resources

Many island countries rely heavily on fish for their main supply of food.^[5] Some are turning to renewable energy—such as wind power, hydropower, geothermal power and biodiesel from copra oil—to combat the rise in oil prices.^[6]

[edit] Geography

Some island countries are more affected by climate change than other countries. Some low-lying island countries are slowly being submerged by the rising water levels of the Pacific Ocean.^[7] Climate change also impacts island countries by causing natural disasters such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, flash floods and drought.^[8]

[edit] Economics

Many island countries rely heavily on imports and are greatly affected by changes in the global economy.^[9] The economies of island countries are usually smaller and more vulnerable to shipping costs, environmental damage to infrastructure, and isolation from other economies than those of larger, continental countries (excluding Japan, Australia and the U.K.) ^[10][11][12] The dominant industry for many island countries is tourism.^[13]

[edit] Composition

Island countries are typically small with relatively low populations.^[14]

Some island countries are centred on one or two major islands, such as the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand and Singapore. Others are spread out over hundreds or thousands of smaller islands, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Maldives. Some island countries share their islands with other countries; these include the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Indonesia, which shares islands with Papua New Guinea, Brunei, East Timor and Malaysia.

It is sometimes disputed whether certain countries should be considered island nations. For example, Taiwan is officially known as the "Republic of China", and claims sovereignty over the whole of China and Mongolia, while in reality it only governs the island of Taiwan and smaller surrounding islands. Similarly, Greenland is officially governed by Denmark but operates as an independent country.

Geographically, the country of Australia is considered a continental landmass rather than an island, covering the largest landmass of the Australian continent. In the past, however, it was considered an island country for tourism purposes^[15] and is still often referred to as such.^[16]

[edit] See also

• List of Caribbean island countries by population

[edit] References