how many inhabited islands are there in indonesia
List of islands of Indonesia The exact number of islands comprising Indonesia varies among definitions and sources. According to a geospatial survey conducted between 2007 and 2010 by Badan Koordinasi Survei dan Pemetaan Nasional (Bakorsurtanal), the National Coordinating Agency for Survey and Mapping, Indonesia has 13,466 islands.[2] However, according to earlier survey in 2002 by National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), the Indonesian archipelago has 18,307 islands, and according to the CIA World Factbook, there are 17,508 islands.[3] The discrepancy of the numbers of Indonesian islands was because that the earlier surveys include "tidal islands"; sandy cays and rocky reefs that appear during low tide and are submerged during high tide.[4] According to estimates made by the government of Indonesia 8,844 islands have been named, with 922 of those permanently inhabited.[5]
Pacific Ocean This ocean has most of the islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean.[37][38][39] The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line, includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to the west and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast.[40][41]