Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean.[1] Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania vary, with it being defined in various ways, often geopolitically or geographically. In the geopolitical conception used by the United Nations, International Olympic Committee, and many atlases, the Oceanic region includes Australia and the nations of the Pacific from Papua New Guinea east, but not the Malay Archipelago or Indonesian New Guinea.[2][3][4] The term is sometimes used more specifically to denote Australasia as a geographic continent,[5][6] or biogeographically as a synonym for either the Australasian realm (Wallacea and Australasia) or the Oceanian realm (Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia apart either from New Zealand[7] or from mainland New Guinea[8]).
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Although Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands belong to the Commonwealth of Australia and are inhabited, they are nearer Indonesia than the Australian mainland, and are commonly associated with Asia instead of Oceania.
Demographics by territory
The demographic table below shows all inhabited states and territories of Oceania. The information in this chart comes from the CIA World Factbook[9] or the United States Department of State[10][m], unless noted otherwise or not available (NA); where sources differ, references are included.
| Pos | Country | Population[11][12] (mid-2021 estimate) | Area (km2) | Population density (/km2) | Urban population | Life expectancy | Literacy Rate | Official language(s) | Top religion(s) | Ethnic groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia | 25,921,089 | 7,682,300 | 2.768 | 89% | 81.63 | 99% | English 78.5% [13] | Christian 64.6%, none 18.7% | European 57.2%, Oceanian 33.8% (including Australian Aborigines 2.9%), Asian, 17.4%.[14] |
| 2 |  Papua New Guinea | 9,949,437 | 462,840 | 12.835 | 12% | 65.75 | 57.3% | Tok Pisin 75%,[15] English 1–2%, Hiri Motu <2%[a] | Christian 96% | New Guinea Papuan 84%, New Guinea Melanesian 15%, other 1%[16] |
| 3 |  New Zealand | 5,129,727 | 270,534 | 15.574 | 87% | 80.36 | 99% | English 91.2%, Māori 3.9% | Christian 55.6%, None 34.7% | European 74.0%, Asian 12%, Māori 15%, Pacific Islander 7%, other 1%[17] |
| – |  Hawaii (United States) | 1,419,561 | 28,311 | 82.647 | 92% | 80.37 | 99% | English 73.44%, Hawaiian 1.68% | Christian 63%, None 26%, Buddhist 8%, Other 3% | Asian 37.2%, Multiracial 25.3%, White 22.9%, Pacific Islander 10.8%, Black 1.6%, Native American 0.3%[18] |
| 4 |  Fiji | 924,610 | 18,274 | 51.697 | 18% | 70.73 | 93.7% | English, Fijian, Hindi | Christian 64.5%, Hindu 27.9%, Muslim 6.3% | Fijian 57.3%, Indo-Fijians 37.6%, Rotuman 1.2%, other 3.9% |
| 5 |  Solomon Islands | 707,851 | 28,896 | 20.612 | 52% | 73.69 | 76.6%[19] | English 1–2%[b] | Christian 95% | Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.3% |
| – |  French Polynesia (France) | 304,032 | 4,167 | 68.882 | 52% | 76.71 | 98% | French 61.1%, Polynesian 31.4% | Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6% | Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4% |
| – |  New Caledonia (France) | 287,800 | 18,575 | 12.244 | 65% | 74.98 | 96.8% | French | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | Melanesian 44.1%, European 34.1%, Wallisian & Futunian 9%, Tahitian 2.6%, Indonesian 2.5%, Vietnamese 1.4%, Ni-Vanuatu 1.1%, other 5.2% |
| 6 |  Vanuatu | 319,137 | 12,189 | 18.176 | 25% | 64.33 | 74% | English 23.1%, French 1.9% | Christian 82%, indigenous beliefs 5.6%, other 10.9%, none 1% | Ni-Vanuatu 98.5%, other 1.5% |
| 7 |  Samoa | 218,764 | 2,831 | 67.821 | 23% | 72.13 | 99.7% | Samoan | Christian 98.9% | Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7%, Europeans 0.4% |
| – |  Guam (United States) | 170,534 | 1,478 | 122.371 | 93% | 78.18 | 99% | English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%[20] | Roman Catholic 85% | Chamorro 37.1%, Filipino 26.3%, other Pacific islander 11.3%, white 6.9%, other 8.6%, mixed 9.8% |
| 8 |  Tonga | 106,017 | 747 | 164.096 | 25% | 71.03 | 98.9% | Tongan, English | Christian | Tongan 98% |
| 9 |  Federated States of Micronesia | 113,131 | 702 | 152.641 | 22% | 71.23 | 89% | English | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, others 3% | Chuukese 48.8%, Pohnpeian 24.2%, Kosraean 6.2%, Yapese 5.2%, Yap outer islands 4.5%, Asian 1.8%, Polynesian 1.5%, other 7.8% |
| 10 |  Kiribati | 128,874 | 811 | 122.666 | 44% | 64.03 | 92% | English, Gilbertese (de facto) | Roman Catholic 55%, Protestant 36% | Micronesian 98.8% |
| – |  American Samoa (United States) | 45,035 | 199 | 333.829 | 92% | 73.97 | 97% | English, Samoan[c][21] | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% | native Pacific islander 91.6%, Asian 2.8%, white 1.1%, mixed 4.2%, other 0.3% |
| 11 |  Marshall Islands | 42,050 | 181 | 363.862 | 71% | 71.48 | 93.7% | Marshallese 98.2%, English | Protestant 54.8%, other Christian 40.6% | Marshallese 92.1%, mixed Marshallese 5.9%, other 2% |
| – |  Northern Mariana Islands (United States) | 49,481 | 464 | 104.131 | 91% | 76.9 | 97% | English[22] | Christian | Filipino 35.3%, Chamorro 23.9%, Multiracial 12.7%, Chinese 6.8%, Carolinian 4.6%, Korean 4.2%, 2.3% Chuukese, 2.2% Palauan, 2.1% White, 5.9% other |
| 12 |  Palau | 18,024 | 459 | 45.488 | 81% | 71.51 | 92% | Paluan 64.7%[d], English | Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3% | Palauan 69.9%, Filipino 15.3%, Chinese 4.9%, other Asian 2.4%, white 1.9%, Carolinian 1.4%, other Micronesian 1.1%, other 3.2% |
| – |  Wallis and Futuna (France) | 11,627 | 142 | 108.049 | 0% | 78.83 | 50%[e] | Wallisian 58.9%, Futunian 30.1%, French 10.8% | Roman Catholic 99% | Polynesian |
| – |  Cook Islands (New Zealand) | 17,003 | 236 | 48.678 | 74% | 74.47 | 95% | Māori, English | Cook Islands Christian Church 55.9%, other Christian 30.5% | Cook Island Māori 87.7%, part Cook Island Māori 5.8%, other 6.5% |
| 13 |  Tuvalu | 11,204 | 26 | 401.615 | 49% | 64.39 | 93%[23] | Tuvalu, English | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97% | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% |
| 14 |  Nauru | 12,511 | 21 | 441.286 | 100% | 64.99 | 99%[24] | Nauruan[f] | Nauru Congregational Church 35.4%, Roman Catholic 33.2%, Nauru Independent Church (Protestant)[25] 10.4% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
| – |  Norfolk Island (Australia) | 2,155 | 36 | 59.861 | NA | NA | NA[g] | English, Norfuk[h] | Anglican 31.8%, other Christian 30,9%, none 19.9% | European, Tahitian, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian |
| – |  Tokelau (New Zealand) | 1,849 | 12 | 116.667 | 0% | 69[26] | NA | Tokelauan, English | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%[i] | Polynesian |
| – |  Niue (New Zealand) | 1,937 | 260 | 5.208 | 39% | 69.5[27] | NA[j] | Niuean, English | Ekalesia Niue (Protestant) 61.1%, other Christian 11%, Latter Day Saints 8.8% | Niuean 78.2%, Pacific islander 10.2%, European 4.5%, mixed 3.9%, Asian 0.2%, unspecified 3% |
| – |  Pitcairn Islands (United Kingdom) | 48 | 47 | 1.021 | NA | NA | NA[k] | English, Pitkern | Seventh-day Adventist 100% | European, Tahitian[l] |
| – | Total | 44,491,724 | 8,506,427 | 4.073 | 71% | 77.87 | 91% | 73.3%[28] | ||
| – | Total minus mainland Australia | 18,570,635 | 824,127 | 16.242 | 43% | 71.89 | 78% |
See also
Notes
a: Papua New Guinea has over 860 non-official languages, comprising approximately ten percent of all languages on Earth.[29]
b: Melanesian pidgin is lingua franca in much of the country, but English remains the official language.[30]
c: Samoan and English were declared the official languages of American Samoa in June, 2010, via a constitutional amendment to the 1967 Revised Constitution of American Samoa.[21]
d: Palaun is the official language in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official).
e: Based on a 1969 estimate.
f: English, while not an official language, is widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes.[31]
g: Norfuk was made the second official language of Norfolk Island in 2005.[32]
h: While no valid literacy data is available, Norfolk Island is assumed to have an adult literacy rate roughly at a par with Australia's literacy rate of 99%.[33]
i: On Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant.
j: While no valid literacy data is available, Niue is assumed to have an adult literacy rate of almost 100%.[34]
k: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold any statistical information on the literacy rate of the Pitcairn population.[35]
l: The residents of the Pitcairn Islands are descendants of HMS Bounty mutineers[36] and their Tahitian wives.
m: Much of the information on these two websites is taken from the censuses of other countries, and are not based on independent US government research. The remaining figures are based on estimates, and have been used only where census information from the nation in question is incomplete, unclear, or nonexistent.