The World

The World Islands are an archipelago of small artificial islands constructed in the shape of a world map, located in the waters of the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The World Islands are composed mainly of sand dredged from Dubai's shallow coastal waters, and are one of several artificial island developments in Dubai. The World's developer is Nakheel Properties, and the project was originally conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. The construction was done by two Dutch specialist companies, Van Oord and Boskalis. The same companies also created the Palm Jumeirah.

Construction of the 300 islands began in 2003, before being halted due to the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Though 60% of the islands were sold to private contractors in 2008, development on most of the islands has not started.