The entire Hawaii Island chain consists of about 132 islands and atolls, but Hawaii, as we know it, consists of only eight islands or which only seven are permanently inhabited. The Islands are as follows from largest to smallest: Big Island, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Kaloolawe, and Niihau. Hawaii is located 3,860km (2400 miles) of the coast of California. Hawaii’s populutation after the Census of 2000 was 1,211,537.