From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Continental part of any polity or the main island within an island nation
Mainland
is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a
country
or
continent
, not including the islands around it [regardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity]."
[1]
The term is often
politically, economically and/or demographically
more significant than
politically associated
remote territories
, such as
exclaves
or
oceanic islands
situated outside the
continental shelf
.
In geography, "mainland" can denote the
continental
(i.e. non-insular) part of any
polity
or the main island within an
island nation
. In
geopolitics
, "mainland" is sometimes used interchangeably with terms like
metropole
as an antonym to
overseas territories
. In the sense of "
heartland
", mainland is the opposite of
periphery
. In some language a separate concept of "mainland" is missing and is replaced with a "continental portion".
The term is relative: in
Tasmania
,
continental Australia
is the mainland, while to residents of
Flinders Island
, the main island of Tasmania is also "the mainland", although the
geological
Australian continent
includes all the former plus the island of
New Guinea
and all the smaller islands (e.g. the
Torres Strait Islands
) in between.
Prominent usages of the term mainland
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Continental
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This list denotes prominent usages of the term "mainland" to distinguish the islands of a continent from the mainland of a continent through a geopolitical lens.
- Mainland Africa
, from the perspectives of
Cape Verde
,
Comoros
,
Madagascar
,
Mauritius
,
Sao Tome and Principe
and
Seychelles
, as well as
Mayotte
(
France
) and
Reunion
(France)
- Mainland Asia
, from the perspectives of
Bahrain
,
Brunei
,
Cyprus
(inc.
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
and
Northern Cyprus
),
East Timor
,
Indonesia
,
Japan
(inc.
Okinawa Prefecture
), the
Maldives
, the
Philippines
,
Singapore
,
Sri Lanka
, and
Taiwan
(inc.
Kinmen
, the
Matsu Islands
, and
Penghu
), as well as the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
(
India
),
Christmas Island
(
Australia
), the
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
(Australia),
Coloane
and
Taipa
(
Macau
),
East Malaysia
(
Malaysia
),
Hainan
(
China
),
Hong Kong Island
(
Hong Kong
),
Islands District
(Hong Kong),
Jeju Island
(
South Korea
),
Lakshadweep
(India) and
Sakhalin Oblast
(
Russia
)
- Mainland Europe
, from the perspectives of Cyprus,
Iceland
,
Ireland
,
Malta
, the
United Kingdom
(inc.
Guernsey
, the
Isle of Man
, and
Jersey
), as well as
Aland
(
Finland
), the
Faroe Islands
(
Denmark
),
Jan Mayen
(
Norway
),
Svalbard
(Norway),
Corsica
(
France
),
Sardinia
(
Italy
),
Sicily
(Italy),
Danish islands
(Denmark),
Azores
(
Portugal
),
Madeira
(Portugal),
Canary Islands
(
Spain
),
Balearic Islands
(Spain),
Gotland
(
Sweden
),
Estonian islands
(
Estonia
),
Greek islands
(
Greece
) and
Russian islands
(Russia)
- Mainland Europe, from the perspective of
Scandinavia
, a peninsula
- Mainland Southeast Asia
, from the perspective of
Maritime Southeast Asia
Internal
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This list denotes prominent usages of the term "mainland" to distinguish between distinct regions within a single country based on an "islands-to-mainland" relationship. Note that the "mainland" can sometimes consist of a large island rather than a continental landmass.
- Mainland Argentina
, as opposed to
Tierra del Fuego Province
(including
Argentinian Antarctic claims
), as well as other
islands of Argentina
- Mainland Australia
, as opposed to the
island of Tasmania
and other
Australian islands
, especially
those not part of Australia proper
.
- Mainland Brazil
, as opposed to
Abrolhos
,
Fernando de Noronha
,
Ilhabela
,
Saint Peter and Saint Paul
and
Trindade and Martim Vaz
.
- Mainland Britain
, as opposed to the many smaller
islands of the United Kingdom
. The largest islands within the
Northern Isles
are called
Orkney Mainland
and
Shetland Mainland
, respectively.
- Mainland Canada
, as opposed to
Canadian Islands
, particularly those in the
Maritimes
or in the
Arctic
- Mainland Chile
, as opposed to
remote islands
of the
Chilean Sea
,
Tierra del Fuego Province
and
Chilean Antarctic claims
, as well as offshore
islands of Chile
such as the
Chiloe Archipelago
and
Easter Island
- Mainland China
, a term that usually refers to all territories, irrespective of geography, that are administered by the
People's Republic of China
(PRC), aside from
Hong Kong
and
Macau
, which are both administered by the PRC as
semi-independent
special administrative regions
- the
Cuban Mainland
, as opposed to the
Canarreos Archipelago
and other
islands of Cuba
- Mainland Denmark
, as opposed to overseas parts of the
Danish Realm
; geographically, Denmark proper consists of a continental portion called
Jutland
and nearby
Danish Isles
- Mainland Ecuador
, as opposed to the
Galapagos Islands
and other
islands of Ecuador
- Mainland Equatorial Guinea
, as opposed to the non-continental
islands of Equatorial Guinea
.
- Mainland Estonia
, as opposed to the
West Estonian archipelago
with two of the fifteen
counties
and other
islands of Estonia
- Mainland Finland
, as opposed to
Aland
; historically,
Finland Proper
made up the southwestern portion of the mainland
- Mainland France
, as opposed to
Corsica
and
other islands
within
European France
; also used loosely as an antonym of
Overseas France
, despite the fact that the term
Metropolitan France
is more apt
- Mainland Greece
(including the island of
Euboea
), as opposed to the
Greek islands
- the
main island of Iceland
, as opposed to other
islands of Iceland
- Mainland India
, as opposed to its insular
union territories
or any other
islands of India
- Mainland Italy
, as opposed to
its insular regions
or any other
islands of Italy
- Mainland Japan
, as opposed to the other
home islands
, or to remote
islands of Japan
, such as the
Nanp? Islands
- Mainland Korea
as opposed to
Jeju Island
and other islands of
North Korea
or
South Korea
- the
main island of Madagascar
, as opposed to other
islands of Madagascar
- Mainland Malaysia
as opposed to
East Malaysia
or to any
islands of Malaysia
- Mainland Malta
, as opposed to
Gozo
and other
islands of Malta
- Mainland Netherlands
as opposed to the
Dutch Caribbean
; the Netherlands proper contains numerous
offshore islands
- Mainland New Zealand
, is the two islands, the north and south islands. The
South Island
of New Zealand is sometimes jokingly called the Mainland or the main island, especially by South Islanders themselves. Though it has a far smaller population, it is larger than the
North Island
. "Mainland New Zealand" more commonly refers to the
archipelago made up of the North and South Island and smaller nearby islands
, often excluding more outlying islands such as the
Chatham Islands
, and always excluding remote insular parts of the
Realm of New Zealand
.
- Mainland Norway
, as opposed to
Svalbard
and other
islands of Norway
, including
its overseas dependencies
- the
mainland part of Papua New Guinea
, as opposed to the
Islands Region
or to any other
islands of Papua New Guinea
- Mainland Portugal
, as opposed to
its insular regions
, or more broadly to any
islands of Portugal
; until 1975, the term "mainland" was used loosely as an antonym of
overseas Portugal
- Mainland Spain
as opposed to the
Balearic
and
Canary Islands
and other
lands under Spanish sovereignty
; cf. the colonial-era term
peninsulares
- the
main island of Sri Lanka
, as opposed to other
islands of Sri Lanka
- Mainland United States
, as opposed to nearby islands belonging to a certain
U.S. state
, the
Hawaiian Islands
,
[2]
and to U.S.
island territories
in the
Pacific
or
Caribbean
. The terms "
contiguous United States
" (48 adjoining states in the continent of
North America
which does not include
Alaska
) or "
continental United States
" (any U.S. state that is part of the North American continent which includes Alaska) are widely used instead, despite including adjacent islands on the
continental shelf
in both definitions.
[3]
- Main or Big Land?in
Russia
?as opposed to Minor Land, islands, or other isolated territories that are connected by water or air travel but not by paved road.
- Mainland Tanzania
Tanzania
-as opposed to Zanzibar the semi autonomous islands off the coast of Tanzania when the two countries merged in 1964 between Tanganyika(Now known as Tanzanian Mainland) and Zanzibar.
Internal (disputed)
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This list denotes prominent internal usages of the term "mainland" that are disputed.
Irredentist
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This list denotes prominent usages of the term "mainland" to distinguish between distinct regions within an
irredentist
region
See also
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Notes
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