From the geography of Long Island to the population that lives on it, this strip of sand we call home has generated some interesting statistics over the years. Here are seven.
7. When including Brooklyn and Queens, the Island is home to roughly 7.5 million people.
That outnumbers the populations of both Ireland and Jamaica!
6. Long Island has 125 public school districts and more than 650 schools. 
There are roughly 476,000 students and about 36,000 teachers at schools on the Island.
5. Long Island is 23 miles wide and 118 miles long at its most distant points.
The Island’s shoreline extends an estimated 1,600 miles.
4. Long Island’s municipalities include 95 different villages.
In Nassau County alone, there are a whopping 64 incorporated villages.
3. Minorities now make up over a third of the population. 
As of 2018, 35 percent of residents identify as black, Asian, or Hispanic. The growing population of minorities has increased more than 10 percent in the last two decades.
2. Four barrier islands protect Long Island from the Ocean.
Long Beach, Fire Island, Jones Beach, and Westhampton Beach make up the barrier beaches that spare the South Shore from the Atlantic Ocean.
1. Long Island is home to more than a third of the total population of New York State.
There are nearly 3 million people living in Nassau and Suffolk, but when the residents of Queens and Brooklyn are included, the Island’s total population is more than 7 million.
