Hawaii is today the only U.S. state that consists entirely of islands. Although Hawaii is called an American state, it is not located on the American continent, but in Oceania.
On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th federal state of the United States. No new state has been admitted to the United States since then, for more than five and a half decades. Accordingly, the American flag, whose number of stars reflects the number of federal states, has not changed for many years. Earlier, the number of states in the United States changed so rapidly that never in American history has a flag been able to retain the same shape for fifty years.
Hawaii is today the only U.S. state that consists entirely of islands. Although they bear the name of the American state, they are not located on the American continent, but in Oceania, which is why they are also unique. Hawaii has a total area of 28,311 square kilometers, roughly half of the Republic of Croatia, and has a population of less than 1,500,000. The largest island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island, is larger than the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus, Corsica and Crete, and almost reaches the surface of Jamaica. The capital of Hawaii – Honolulu – is not located on the Big Island, but on the island of Oahu, which is only the third largest. Interestingly, the island of Oahu is so densely populated that it has five times more inhabitants than the aforementioned Big Island.
