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 Mainland Australia is regarded as its continental landmass . 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 46.3 million as of 2024. 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 serving as a large source of income for the Pacific island nations . (Full article... )
French Polynesia ( POL -ih-NEE -zhə ; French : Polynésie française [pɔlinezi fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ⓘ ; Tahitian : Pōrīnetia farāni ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole overseas country . It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in the South Pacific Ocean . French Polynesia is associated with the European Union as an overseas country and territory (OCT) . The total land area of French Polynesia is 3,521 square kilometres (1,359 sq mi), with a population of 278,786 (Aug. 2022 census) of which at least 205,000 live in the Society Islands and the remaining population lives in the rest of the archipelago.
French Polynesia is divided into five island groups: the Austral Islands ; the Gambier Islands ; the Marquesas Islands ; the Society Islands (comprising the Leeward and Windward Islands ); and the Tuamotus . Among its 121 islands and atolls, 75 were inhabited at the 2017 census. Tahiti , which is in the Society Islands group, is the most populous island, being home to nearly 69% of the population of French Polynesia as of 2017[update] . Papeete , located on Tahiti, is the capital of French Polynesia. Although not an integral part of its territory, Clipperton Island was administered from French Polynesia until 2007. (Full article... )
The Central Pacific languages Olive -Green: East Fijian-Polynesian Languages (not shown:
Rapa Nui )
Pink: Western Fijian-Rotuman Languages
The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages , itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family .
There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austronesian family. While half of them are spoken in geographical Polynesia (the Polynesian triangle ), the other half – known as Polynesian outliers – are spoken in other parts of the Pacific: from Micronesia to atolls scattered in Papua New Guinea , the Solomon Islands or Vanuatu . The most prominent Polynesian languages, by number of speakers, are Samoan , Tongan , Tahitian , Māori and Hawaiian . (Full article... )
The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Subregions (
Melanesia , Micronesia,
Polynesia and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Micronesia )
Image 2 Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Polynesia . (from
Micronesia )
Image 3 Māori
war canoe (waka) drawn after
James Cook 's voyage to New Zealand. (from
Polynesia )
Image 6 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 7 German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from
Micronesia )
Image 8 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Melanesia )
Image 9 Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian Triangle . (from
Polynesia )
Image 10 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Micronesia )
Image 11 Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Micronesia and
Polynesia . (from
Melanesia )
Image 13 Carving from the ridgepole of a
Māori house, ca 1840 (from
Polynesia )
Image 14 Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled
canoe , c. 1781 (from
Polynesia )
Image 16 Cinder plain of
Mount Yasur in
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 17 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia , Polynesia, and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Polynesia )
Image 19 Sailors of Melanesia in the
Pacific Ocean , 1846 (from
Melanesia )
Image 20 Outline of sovereign (orange) and dependent islands (yellow) (from
Melanesia )
Image 21 Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from
Melanesia )
Image 22 Chamorro people in 1915 (from
Micronesia )
Image 23 A
Melanesian child from
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 25 Image of the
Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at
Bikini Atoll (from
Micronesia )
Image 26 Grinding stones discovered from
archaeology in Samoa (from
Polynesia )
Image 27 Languages of Micronesia. (from
Micronesia )
Image 28 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Polynesia )
Image 29 Mokoliʻi Isle near
Oahu ,
Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 30 Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the
Marshall Islands . (from
Micronesia )
Image 31 Mount Marpi in
Saipan . (from
Micronesia )
Image 32 King
Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of
Otto von Kotzebue . Drawing by
Louis Choris in 1816. (from
Polynesia )
Image 33 The arrival of
Abel Tasman in
Tongatapu , 1643; drawing by
Isaack Gilsemans (from
Polynesia )
Image 34 On February 14, 1779, Capt.
James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii. (from
Polynesia )
Image 35 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Micronesia )
Image 36 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 37 A depiction of a royal
heiau (Hawaiian temple) at
Kealakekua Bay , c. 1816 (from
Polynesia )
Image 38 Beach scenery at
Laura ,
Majuro , Marshall Islands (from
Micronesia )
Image 39 Polynesians with
outrigger canoes at
Waikiki Beach ,
Oahu Island , early 20th century (from
Polynesia )
Image 40 Painting of
Tahitian Women on the Beach by
Paul Gauguin —
Musée d'Orsay (from
Polynesia )
Image 41 Canoe carving on
Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from
Polynesia )
Image 42 Cook's Bay on
Moorea ,
French Polynesia (from
Polynesia )
Image 43 Aerial view of
Solomon Islands (from
Melanesia )
Image 44 The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from
Polynesia )
Image 45 A pan flute from
Solomon Islands , 19th century (from
Melanesia )
Image 46 A common fishing canoe
va'a with outrigger in
Savaiʻi island,
Samoa , 2009 (from
Polynesia )
Image 47 Moai at Ahu Tongariki on
Rapa Nui (from
Polynesia )
Image 49 Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case,
Melanesia (from
Australasia )
Image 50 Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Micronesia . (from
Polynesia )
Image 51 German trading station at
Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese
korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from
Micronesia )
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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