Oceania

Oceania is a vast geographical region located within the Pacific Ocean.

It spans both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Many people consider Oceania to be a continent. The mainland of Australia serves as its primary continental landmass. It is the smallest continent in the world by land area. However, it is the second-least populated continent after Antarctica. The region covers about 9,000,000 square kilometres. As of 2024, the population is approximately 46.3 million people.

The name Oceania comes from the Greek word *ōkeanós*, which means ocean.

A French geographer named Conrad Malte-Brun used the term *Terres océaniques* around 1804. Later, in 1814, the cartographer Adrien-Hubert Brué created the shorter name *Océanie*. The term is fitting because the ocean links all the parts of the region together. Unlike other continents, the water is the central feature that connects these diverse lands. This distinguishes Oceania from large continental landmasses like Afro-Eurasia.

Geographers have used many different ways to divide Oceania into smaller parts. In the 19th century, many used subdivisions based on race. These groups were called Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Some geographers, like Samuel Griswold Goodrich, even called Oceania a third continent. He grouped it alongside the "New World" and the "Old World." In 1973, anthropologists Roger Green and Andrew Pawley proposed new terms. They suggested using "Near Oceania" and "Remote Oceania" to replace the older categories. Near Oceania includes New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Remote Oceania covers the more isolated islands further out in the Pacific.

The region contains a wide variety of landscapes and climates. Much of the island of New Guinea is covered by tropical rainforest. This is the third-largest remaining area of tropical rainforest on Earth. The highest point in Oceania is Puncak Jaya in Indonesia. It reaches an elevation of 4,884 metres.

The islands are spread across a massive area of the Pacific. Some boundaries are very far apart. For example, the Bonin Islands are in the north, while Macquarie Island is far to the south.

Oceania's history is marked by very long human presence and later exploration. The first settlers arrived in Australia and New Guinea over 60,000 years ago. Aboriginal Australians have maintained the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world.

European explorers began arriving in the 16th century. Portuguese explorers reached the Tanimbar Islands and west New Guinea between 1512 and 1526. Spanish, Dutch, British, and French explorers followed these early voyages. In the 18th century, James Cook explored Tahiti and the east coast of Australia. The arrival of European settlers later changed the social and political landscape significantly. The region also saw major military action during the First and Second World Wars.

Today, the economies in Oceania are very diverse. Some areas have highly developed financial markets. This includes Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Hawaii, and New Caledonia. These places often rank high on the Human Development Index. Other nations, such as Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, have much less developed economies. Many Pacific island nations rely heavily on tourism for their income.

Australia is the largest and most populous country in the region. Its largest city is Sydney. Most countries in the region operate as parliamentary democracies.

The United Nations uses its own specific definition for Oceania. This definition is used for statistical reports and by the International Olympic Committee. It includes many island nations like Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.

The UN definition includes territories like American Samoa and the Cook Islands. However, it excludes certain nearby places. For instance, it does not include Indonesia, Japan, or the Philippines. These nations are part of the Pacific area but are not part of the UN's definition of Oceania. This helps organizations organize and classify the different political entities within the vast ocean region.