An orthographic projection of Oceania
Oceania ( OH -s(h)ee-AH -nee-ə, -AY - , OH -shee-A(H)N -ee-ə ) is a geographical region including Australasia , Melanesia , Micronesia , and Polynesia . Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent , while Australia is regarded as an island or a continental landmass contained inside of the larger continent of Oceania. Spanning the Eastern and Western Hemispheres , at the centre of the water hemisphere , Oceania is estimated to have a land area of about 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi) and a population of around 44.4 million as of 2022. When compared to the continents (which it is often compared to, not including Australia), Oceania is the smallest in land area and the second-least populated after Antarctica .
Oceania has a diverse mix of economies from the highly developed and globally competitive financial markets of Australia , French Polynesia , Hawaii , New Caledonia , and New Zealand , which rank high in quality of life and Human Development Index , to the much less developed economies of Kiribati , Papua New Guinea , Tuvalu , Vanuatu , and Western New Guinea , while also including medium-sized economies of Pacific islands such as Fiji , Palau , and Tonga . The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, and the largest city is Sydney . Puncak Jaya in Highland Papua , Indonesia , is the highest peak in Oceania at 4,884 m (16,024 ft).
The arrival of European settlers in subsequent centuries resulted in a significant alteration in the social and political landscape of Oceania. The Pacific theatre saw major action during the First World War with the Japanese occupying many German territories. During the Second World War , Allied powers including the United States , the Philippines (a U.S. Commonwealth at the time), and Australia fought against Axis power Japan across various locations in Oceania. (Full article... )
Wallis and Futuna , officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific , situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, and Tokelau to the northeast.
Mata Utu is its capital and largest city. The territory's land area is 142.42 km
2 (54.99 sq mi). It had a population of 11,151 at the July 2023 census (down from 14,944 at the 2003 census). The territory is made up of three main
volcanic tropical islands and a number of tiny
islets . It is divided into two island groups that lie about 260 km (160 mi) apart: the
Wallis Islands (also known as
Uvea ) in the northeast; and the
Hoorn Islands (also known as the Futuna Islands) in the southwest, including
Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited
Alofi Island . (
Full article... )
List of geographic articles
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Oceania on 25 January 2020 with the first confirmed case reported in Melbourne , Australia . The virus has spread to all sovereign states and territories in the region. Australia and New Zealand were praised for their handling of the pandemic in comparison to other Western nations, with New Zealand and each state in Australia wiping out all community transmission of the virus several times even after re-introduction in the community.
As a result of the high transmissibility of the Delta variant however, by August 2021, the Australian states of
New South Wales and
Victoria had conceded defeat in their eradication efforts. In early October 2021, New Zealand also abandoned its elimination strategy. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 German trading station at
Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese
korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from
Micronesia )
Image 3 Polynesians with
outrigger canoes at
Waikiki Beach ,
Oahu Island , early 20th century (from
Polynesia )
Image 4 Grinding stones discovered from
archaeology in Samoa (from
Polynesia )
Image 5 Mount Marpi in
Saipan . (from
Micronesia )
Image 6 Languages of Micronesia. (from
Micronesia )
Image 7 Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from
Melanesia )
Image 8 Image of the
Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at
Bikini Atoll (from
Micronesia )
Image 9 The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from
Polynesia )
Image 11 Sailors of Melanesia in the
Pacific Ocean , 1846 (from
Melanesia )
Image 12 Canoe carving on
Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from
Polynesia )
Image 13 A
Melanesian child from
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 14 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Polynesia )
Image 15 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Melanesia )
Image 17 Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian Triangle . (from
Polynesia )
Image 18 Carving from the ridgepole of a
Māori house, ca 1840 (from
Polynesia )
Image 19 On February 14, 1779, Capt.
James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 20 Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Polynesia . (from
Micronesia )
Image 21 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Melanesia )
Image 22 The arrival of
Abel Tasman in
Tongatapu , 1643; drawing by
Isaack Gilsemans (from
Polynesia )
Image 24 Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case,
Melanesia (from
Australasia )
Image 26 Aerial view of
Solomon Islands (from
Melanesia )
Image 27 Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Micronesia and
Polynesia . (from
Melanesia )
Image 28 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia ,
Polynesia and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Micronesia )
Image 30 A pan flute from
Solomon Islands , 19th century (from
Melanesia )
Image 31 Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled
canoe , c. 1781 (from
Polynesia )
Image 32 An illustration of the Cross Spikes Club of the US Navy on
Bikini Atoll , one of several Marshall Islands used for
atomic bomb tests . (from
Micronesia )
Image 33 Māori
war canoe drawn after
James Cook 's voyage to New Zealand. (from
Polynesia )
Image 34 Chamorro people in 1915 (from
Micronesia )
Image 35 Cinder plain of
Mount Yasur in
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 36 A depiction of a royal
heiau (Hawaiian temple) at
Kealakekua Bay , c. 1816 (from
Polynesia )
Image 37 Mokoliʻi Isle near
Oahu ,
Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 38 German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from
Micronesia )
Image 39 Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Micronesia . (from
Polynesia )
Image 41 Cook's Bay on
Moorea ,
French Polynesia (from
Polynesia )
Image 42 Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the
Marshall Islands . (from
Micronesia )
Image 43 A common fishing canoe
va'a with outrigger in
Savaiʻi island,
Samoa , 2009 (from
Polynesia )
Image 44 Moai at Ahu Tongariki on
Rapa Nui (from
Polynesia )
Image 45 Map showing the migration and expansion of the
Austronesians which began at about 3000 BC from
Taiwan . The Polynesian branch is shown in green. (from
Polynesia )
Image 46 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Micronesia )
Image 47 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia , Polynesia, and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Polynesia )
Image 48 Painting of
Tahitian Women on the Beach by
Paul Gauguin —
Musée d'Orsay (from
Polynesia )
Image 49 Beach scenery at
Laura ,
Majuro , Marshall Islands (from
Micronesia )
Image 50 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Micronesia )
Image 51 King
Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of
Otto von Kotzebue . Drawing by
Louis Choris in 1816. (from
Polynesia )
Australasia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia
Adamstown , Pitcairn Islands 6
Alofi , Niue 7
Apia , Samoa
Avarua , Cook Islands 7
Fakaofo , Tokelau 8
Funafuti , Tuvalu
Mata Utu , Wallis and Futuna (de facto)2
Nukuʻalofa , Tonga
Pago Pago , American Samoa 4
Papeete , French Polynesia 2
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