New Zealand consists of more than six hundred islands, mainly remnants of a larger land mass now beneath the sea. New Zealand is the sixth-largest island country, and the third-largest located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. The following is a list of islands of New Zealand. The two largest islands – where most of the population lives – have names in both English and in the Māori language. They are the North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui and the South Island or Te Waipounamu. Various Māori iwi sometimes use other names, with some preferring to call the South Island Te Waka o Aoraki. The two islands are separated by the Cook Strait. In general practice, the term mainland refers to the North Island and South Island. However, the South Island alone is sometimes called "the mainland" – especially by its residents, as a nickname – because it is the larger of the two main islands. To the south of the South Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura is the largest of the smaller islands, and Waiheke Island in the urban Auckland Region has the largest population of the smaller islands.

Listed by size

The following table lists the largest islands of New Zealand by area. River delta islands such as Rakaia Island (25.7 km2), Fereday Island, Rangitata Island, and Inch Clutha (approximately 15 km2, 30 km2, and 35 km2 respectively) are omitted, as are temporary islands in braided river channels and tidal islands such as Rabbit Island, Nelson (17 km2). The country's largest island within a lake, Pomona Island, has an area of just 2.6 km2.

Listed by highest point

The following table lists the islands of New Zealand by their highest elevation. These islands are all in harbours or the open sea. The country's tallest island within a lake, Pomona Island, rises to 511 m above sea level, which is about 333 m above Lake Manapouri's normal lake level.

In harbours and the open sea

In rivers and lakes

Outlying

New Zealand administers the following islands outside the main archipelago. Only the Chatham Islands have a permanent population although others also did in the past. Others host visitors for science, conservation, meteorological observation and tourism. The New Zealand Subantarctic Islands are designated as a World Heritage Site.

Realm of New Zealand

The following islands are part of the Realm of New Zealand, but not of the country itself:

Territorial claims

New Zealand also claims the Ross Dependency in Antarctica, including: