Correct: C. Sweden

Sweden is the country with the largest number of islands in the world, containing an incredible total of approximately 267,570 islands. While most of these are small and uninhabited, they form vast archipelagos along the Swedish coast that are popular for boating, fishing, and summer recreation.

Correct: D. Strait of Messina

The Strait of Messina is the narrow body of water that separates mainland Italy (the region of Calabria) from the island of Sicily. It is famous for its powerful tidal currents and for being the legendary home of Scylla and Charybdis, two sea monsters from Greek mythology that made navigation dangerous for ancient sailors.

Correct: B. Sweden

Sweden is the country with the largest number of islands in the world, boasting an incredible total of approximately 267,570 islands. While most of these are small and uninhabited, the vast archipelagos along its coast are iconic features of the Swedish landscape. This high number is primarily due to the country's glacial history and jagged coastline.

Correct: B. Socotra

The Dragon Blood Tree is a unique and strange-looking tree native to the Socotra archipelago, which belongs to Yemen and is located in the Indian Ocean. It is famous for its umbrella-shaped canopy of stiff branches and its thick, red sap that resembles blood. This red resin has been used for centuries as a traditional medicine, a dye for wood and clothing, and even as a varnish for high-end violins.

Correct: B. Atoll

An Atoll is a ring-shaped coral island or a series of islands that nearly or entirely encircles a central lagoon. These formations are usually found in the warm tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and are built upon the rims of submerged volcanoes. Over millions of years, the volcano sinks, but the coral continues to grow upward, maintaining the ring shape.

Correct: D. Java

Java is the most populous island in the world, home to over 150 million people, which is more than half of the entire population of Indonesia. It is an extremely fertile island due to its volcanic soil, which has supported high levels of agriculture and dense human settlements for centuries. The island is also the economic and political heart of Indonesia, housing the capital city of Jakarta.

Correct: D. Bali

Bali in Indonesia consistently ranks as one of the world's most visited islands attracting approximately 6 million international tourists per year before the COVID-19 pandemic. The island is famous for its Hindu temples terraced rice paddies beaches and distinctive arts and culture which is unique among Indonesia's predominantly Muslim population.

Correct: A. An archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean that is the only oceanic island system in the world with a granitic (continental) rather than volcanic or coral foundation

The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. Uniquely among oceanic islands the Seychelles' inner islands (including Mah and Praslin) are formed from ancient Precambrian granite making them fragments of the supercontinent Gondwana rather than volcanic or coral formations. The outer islands are low-lying coral atolls.

Correct: D. Banda Neira

Banda Neira in the Banda Islands of Indonesia was once the world's only source of nutmeg - a spice so valuable that it was literally worth its weight in gold in 17th century Europe. The Dutch traded the island of Manhattan (then called Nieuw Amsterdam) to England in exchange for sole control of Banda Neira in the 1667 Treaty of Breda.

Correct: B. A Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean governed by a unique treaty that allows citizens of any signatory nation to live and work there without a visa

Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago located in the Arctic Ocean approximately halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Under the unique 1920 Svalbard Treaty citizens of any of the 46 signatory nations can live and work in Svalbard without a visa or work permit. Russia maintains a permanent settlement at Barentsburg under this treaty.

Correct: C. Surtsey

Surtsey is a volcanic island that erupted from the ocean floor south of Iceland between 1963 and 1967 creating a new island approximately 2.7 square kilometres in size. It was named after Surtur a fire giant in Norse mythology. Surtsey is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it provides a unique opportunity to study the colonisation of new land by plants and animals from scratch.

Correct: D. Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn Island is widely considered the most remote permanently inhabited island on Earth located approximately 5300 kilometres from New Zealand in the South Pacific. It is a British Overseas Territory with a population of only about 50 people mostly descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitian companions who settled there in 1790.

Correct: D. Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha is a remote British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean and is the most remote permanently inhabited archipelago in the world - the nearest land is Saint Helena 2437 kilometres away. In 1961 the entire population of 264 people was evacuated to Britain when the volcano erupted. They returned two years later after the volcanic activity subsided.

Correct: D. A demilitarised autonomous archipelago belonging to Finland but with Swedish as its official language - a successful model of minority rights and peaceful resolution of territorial disputes

The land Islands are an autonomous region of Finland located in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden. Despite being Finnish territory Swedish is the official language. Under an internationally guaranteed 1921 agreement the islands are permanently demilitarised and neutralised and residents are exempt from Finnish military service. The arrangement is considered a model for resolving territorial disputes.

Correct: D. Minicoy

Minicoy Island (Maliku in Mahl language) is the southernmost atoll of the Lakshadweep archipelago and the southernmost point of the Indian subcontinent. It is closer to the Maldives than to the Indian mainland and its indigenous Mahl-speaking population has cultural ties to the Maldivian Dhivehi people. It lies on the busy sea route through the Nine Degree Channel.

Correct: A. Chagos Islands

The Chagos Islands (British Indian Ocean Territory) are a chain of atolls in the Indian Ocean. Between 1967 and 1973 Britain forcibly removed approximately 2000 Chagossian islanders to allow the US to build the Diego Garcia military base. The islanders were resettled in Mauritius and Seychelles and have been fighting for the right to return ever since.

Correct: A. Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands form a crescent-shaped archipelago of 15 volcanic islands in the western Pacific separating the Pacific Ocean from the Philippine Sea. They include Guam (a US territory) and the Northern Mariana Islands (a US Commonwealth). The Mariana Trench located east of the islands is the deepest point on Earth at approximately 11000 metres.

Correct: C. A real Chilean island in the South Pacific originally called Juan Fernndez that inspired Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe after a Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned there for over four years

Robinson Crusoe Island (officially Isla Alejandro Selkirk - the original island is now called Isla Robinson Crusoe) is part of Chile's Juan Fernndez Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean approximately 670 kilometres from the Chilean coast. Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned there from 1704 to 1709 - his true story directly inspired Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe.