Hong Kong comprises the Kowloon Peninsula and 263 islands over 500 m2, the largest being Lantau Island and the second largest being Hong Kong Island. Ap Lei Chau is one of the most densely populated islands in the world. Hong Kong Island is historically the political and commercial centre of Hong Kong. It was the site of the initial settlement of Victoria City, where the financial district of Central is now located. Most of the other islands are commonly referred to as the Outlying Islands. The Kowloon Peninsula, across Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong Island is another notable commercial centre in Hong Kong. In terms of the districts of Hong Kong, while one of the 18 districts is called the Islands District, many islands of Hong Kong are actually not part of that district, which only consists of some twenty large and small islands in the southern and the south-western waters of Hong Kong. These islands belong to respective districts depending on their locations.

Peninsulas

Below is a partial list of the peninsulas of Hong Kong and the districts they belong to:

Mainland

Hong Kong Island

Lantau Island

Former peninsulas

Islands

Below is a partial list of the islands of Hong Kong and the districts they belong to:

Former islands

Largest islands

The following is a list of the largest islands of Hong Kong, sorted by area (km2): Leung Shuen Wan was connected to the mainland in the 1970s to form the High Island Reservoir. It historically had an area of 8.511 km2 and was in 1960 the 4th largest island of Hong Kong. At that time, the airport platform had not yet been built and the area of Tsing Yi increased later as a consequence of land reclamation. The original Chek Lap Kok had an area of 3.02 km2 (other sources mention 2.8 km2). By the time when the airport was open the size of the island was cited to be 1,248 hectares.

Islands by population