Fiji has two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. The country was a British colony for almost a century. In 1970, the archipelago became independent. Cyprus is an island and a Greece-related island country in the northeastern part of the Mediterranean Sea in southern Europe.

While many countries are archipelagos made of hundreds of islands, several are notably defined by two primary islands. The most prominent example is New Zealand, which consists of the North Island and the South Island (separated by the Cook Strait). Another is Trinidad and Tobago, a twin-island republic in the Caribbean. Saint Kitts and Nevis is also a two-island nation, as is Antigua and Barbuda. In the Mediterranean, the Republic of Cyprus is largely a single island, but the country of Malta is primarily comprised of two inhabited islands: Malta and Gozo. São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of Central Africa is another distinct two-island state. These nations often face unique logistical challenges in "inter-island" governance and transportation, with their national identities often shaped by the subtle cultural and geographical differences between their two main landmasses. While smaller islets may exist within their territory, their official names and political structures are rooted in this dual-island configuration.