Island country
Many islands have low-lying geographies and their economies and population centers develop along coast plains and ports; such states may be vulnerable to the effects of climate change, especially sea level rise.
[6] Many island countries are also vulnerable to predation by mercenaries and other foreign invaders,[7] although their isolation also makes them a difficult target.
[10] Climate change also impacts island countries by causing natural disasters such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, flash floods and droughts.
[15] Due to the nature of island countries their economies are often characterised by being smaller, relatively isolated from world trade and economy, more vulnerable to shipping costs, and more likely to suffer environmental damage to infrastructure; exceptions include Japan, Taiwan[citation needed] and the United Kingdom.
[19] Island countries are typically small with low populations, although some, like Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines are notable exceptions.
Others are spread out over hundreds or thousands of smaller islands, such as The Bahamas, Indonesia, Japan, the Maldives, the Philippines, and Seychelles.
Countries/territories not shown on the map: Antarctica (aq) ( continental disputed territory ), Australia (au) ( continental country), the Cook Islands (ck) ( free association with New Zealand ), Greenland (gl) ( constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark ), Niue (nu) ( free association with New Zealand), and Puerto Rico (pr) ( unincorporated U.S. territory ).
