How many people live on the 4 major Hawaiian Islands? What are the major differences/attractions on each one? -

Please have references... I m curious how many people live on each of the islands. Also, what makes each island so special and unique? I ve never been to Hawaii, but really want to go, and my husband wants to live there (he s been there before)

In order from most populous (credit to Wikipedia):-Oahu (900,000)-Hawaii aka The Big Island (201,109)-Maui (117,644)-Kaui (63,689)-Molokai (7,404)-Lanai (3,193)Ok, here we go with the differences (the gist of it):-Oahu has both the city (Honolulu), and country. Also suburbs. It s home to the famous North Shore, where surfing competitions and several movies (Sarah Marshall), and TV shows (Lost) were filmed. As people on the other islands say, Oahu is made of concrete. Ala Moana Center, the worlds largest open air shopping mall, is located here, along with several other malls scattered around the island.-Hawaii aka The Big Island is the biggest island, hence it s nickname. The Big Island has rainforests, and the Volcanoes National Park, where you can see lava tumbling into the ocean if you go to the right spots. (Yes, there is an active volcano there). Majority of the island is made of molten lava rock, and you ll see that people create words/names on them with white pebbles. Go to the top of Mauna Kea for a breathtaking view.-Maui is, in my opinion, the most beautiful island. Here you ll find the Maui Ocean Center and the beachfront tourist town of Lahaina. You can hike up Haleakala and bike down it if you wish. Whale-watching is prominent here. There s a highway called the Hana Highway, which has a lot of twists and turns, but beautiful scenery.-Kauai is nicknamed The Garden Isle for its beauty, but I don t buy that. You can explore the caves. There is Waimea Canyon, which is dubbed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.-Molokai transports you back to old Hawaii. It s kind of like Maui and Kauai in terms of scenery.-Lanai...well, you ll need a four-wheeler to see most of the landmarks and sites. Not too familiar with this island as I ve never been to it, as you can tell by my horrible description of it.Grouping the islands together, here are their similarities:-The Big Island, Maui, Kaui, Molokai, and Lanai are very laid back communities-You can do water sports on all islands (obviously)-All have good food-You will be treated well on any island. The tourists that say that they ve been hassled by locals is because they either went where they weren t supposed to, or disrespected us. This doesn t mean that you have to watch your back and be on constant high alert. Just use your common sense.I believe this is it for my lengthly answer. :-)