Mexico has 4,110 islands, islets, reefs and keys, according to the national statistics agency INEGI.

Among the country’s many islands, which are the largest and which have the highest population?

If you don’t already know, you’ll find out in this week’s “Mexico in Numbers” article!

Mexico’s largest islands 

Mexico’s largest island is Isla Tiburón (Shark Island), an uninhabited island in the Gulf of California off the coast of the northern state of Sonora. The area of Isla Tiburón is 1,198.7 square kilometers, according to INEGI.

Thus, Isla Tiburón is just over 20 times larger than the island of Manhattan, New York, whose area is approximately 59 square kilometers.

Mexico’s second largest island is Isla Ángel de la Guarda (Guardian Angel Island), which is also in the Gulf of California. The area of Isla Ángel de la Guarda, located off the eastern coast of Baja California, is 930.4 square kilometers. The island is around 16 times larger than Manhattan.

Mexico’s third largest island is Cozumel, located in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. Cozumel’s area is 467.9 kilometers, making it around eight times bigger than Manhattan.

Mexico’s fourth largest island is Isla de Cedros (Island of Cedars), located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California. This inhabited island has an area of 346.9 square kilometers, according to INEGI, making it almost six times larger than Manhattan.

Mexico’s fifth largest island is Cabo Rojo (Red Cape), an island (or coastal barrier) in the Gulf of Mexico off the northern coast of the state of Veracruz. The island, which encloses the Tamiahua Lagoon, has an area of 343.5 square kilometers.

Earlier this year, Mapoteca published an image showing Mexico’s 20 largest islands by area. Click here to check it out.

Mexico’s most populous islands 

According to INEGI, Mexico’s most populous island is Isla del Carmen, an island that is linked to Mexico’s mainland (in the state of Campeche) by two bridges. At the time of Mexico’s last census in 2020, the population of Isla del Carmen, where the city of Ciudad del Carmen is located, was 191,512. Isla del Carmen is Mexico’s 11th largest island with an area of 103.7 kilometers.

Mexico’s second-most populous island is Cozumel, which had a population of 88,626 in 2020.

The third-most populous island in Mexico is Isla Mujeres, located off the northern coast of Quintana Roo near Cancún. The island’s population in 2020 was 13,174.

Fourth in terms of number of inhabitants is Isla Aguada, an island that is connected to Isla del Carmen by a bridge. Its population was 7,648 in 2020.

The fifth-most populous island in Mexico is Cabo Rojo, which had a population of 4,104 in 2020.

Mexico News Daily