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 within that continent. 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. Oceania is the smallest continent 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 . The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, and the largest city is Sydney . Puncak Jaya in Indonesia is the highest peak in Oceania at 4,884 m (16,024 ft).
The rock art of Aboriginal Australians is the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world. Most Oceanian countries are parliamentary democracies , with tourism being a large source of income for the Pacific island nations . (Full article... )
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea , is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia ). It shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and its other close neighbours are Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, located on its southern coast, is Port Moresby . The country is the world's third largest island country , with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).
Split in the 1880s between German New Guinea in the North and the British Territory of Papua in the South, all of present-day Papua New Guinea came under Australian control following World War I , with the legally distinct Territory of New Guinea being established out of the former German colony as a League of Nations mandate . The nation was the site of fierce fighting during the New Guinea campaign of World War II . Papua New Guinea became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its Queen. Since Elizabeth II's death in 2022, Charles III has been the King . (Full article... )
The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Chamorro people in 1915 (from
Micronesia )
Image 2 Languages of Micronesia. (from
Micronesia )
Image 3 Cook's Bay on
Moorea ,
French Polynesia (from
Polynesia )
Image 4 Painting of
Tahitian Women on the Beach by
Paul Gauguin —
Musée d'Orsay (from
Polynesia )
Image 5 Sailors of Melanesia in the
Pacific Ocean , 1846 (from
Melanesia )
Image 6 German trading station at
Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese
korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from
Micronesia )
Image 8 A common fishing canoe
va'a with outrigger in
Savaiʻi island,
Samoa , 2009 (from
Polynesia )
Image 9 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 10 Image of the
Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at
Bikini Atoll (from
Micronesia )
Image 14 On February 14, 1779, Capt.
James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 15 Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Polynesia . (from
Micronesia )
Image 16 Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case,
Melanesia (from
Australasia )
Image 17 Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the
Marshall Islands . (from
Micronesia )
Image 18 King
Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of
Otto von Kotzebue . Drawing by
Louis Choris in 1816. (from
Polynesia )
Image 19 Polynesians with
outrigger canoes at
Waikiki Beach ,
Oahu Island , early 20th century (from
Polynesia )
Image 20 Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Micronesia and
Polynesia . (from
Melanesia )
Image 21 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia ,
Polynesia and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Micronesia )
Image 22 Moai at Ahu Tongariki on
Rapa Nui (from
Polynesia )
Image 23 Mokoliʻi Isle near
Oahu ,
Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 24 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Micronesia )
Image 25 Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from
Melanesia )
Image 26 Cinder plain of
Mount Yasur in
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 27 German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from
Micronesia )
Image 28 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Polynesia )
Image 29 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia , Polynesia, and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Polynesia )
Image 30 A
Melanesian child from
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 31 Mount Marpi in
Saipan . (from
Micronesia )
Image 32 Carving from the ridgepole of a
Māori house, ca 1840 (from
Polynesia )
Image 33 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Micronesia )
Image 34 Canoe carving on
Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from
Polynesia )
Image 35 The arrival of
Abel Tasman in
Tongatapu , 1643; drawing by
Isaack Gilsemans (from
Polynesia )
Image 37 The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from
Polynesia )
Image 38 A depiction of a royal
heiau (Hawaiian temple) at
Kealakekua Bay , c. 1816 (from
Polynesia )
Image 39 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Melanesia )
Image 41 Māori
war canoe drawn after
James Cook 's voyage to New Zealand. (from
Polynesia )
Image 42 A pan flute from
Solomon Islands , 19th century (from
Melanesia )
Image 43 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Melanesia )
Image 44 Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian Triangle . (from
Polynesia )
Image 45 Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled
canoe , c. 1781 (from
Polynesia )
Image 46 Aerial view of
Solomon Islands (from
Melanesia )
Image 47 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 48 Grinding stones discovered from
archaeology in Samoa (from
Polynesia )
Image 49 Beach scenery at
Laura ,
Majuro , Marshall Islands (from
Micronesia )
Image 50 Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Micronesia . (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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