Oceania

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This article is about the region. For the continent, see Australia (continent). For
other uses, see Oceania (disambiguation).
Oceania
An orthographic projection of geopolitical Oceania.
Area 8,525,989 km2 (3,291,903 sq mi)
Population 40,117,432 (2016, 6th)[1]
Population density 4.19km2 (10.9sq mi)
GDP (nominal) $1.468 trillion (2016, 6th)
GDP per capita $37,107 (2015, 2nd)[2]
Demonym Oceanian
Countries
14 (list)[show]
Dependencies
External (21) (list)[show]
Internal (4) (list)[show]
Largest cities
Cities in Oceania[show]
Oceania (UK ?o??i'??ni?, ?o?si-[3] or US ?o??i?'ni?[4]) is a geographic region
comprising Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia.[5] Spanning the
eastern and western hemispheres, Oceania covers an area of 8,525,989 square
kilometres (3,291,903 sq mi) and has a population of 40 million. Oceania is the
smallest continental grouping in land area and the second smallest in population
after Antarctica.

The islands at the geographic extremes of Oceania are Bonin Islands, a politically
integral part of Japan; Hawaii, a state of the United States; Clipperton Island, a
possession of France; the Juan Fernndez Islands, belonging to Chile; the Campbell
Islands, belonging to New Zealand; and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, belonging to
Australia. Oceania has a diverse mix of economies from the highly developed and
globally competitive financial market of Australia and New Zealand, which rank high
in quality of life and human development index,[6][7] to the much less developed
economies that belong to countries such as of Kiribati and Tuvalu.[8] The largest
and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, with Sydney being the largest
city of both Oceania and Australia.[9]

The first settlers of Australia, New Guinea, and the large islands just to the east
arrived between 50,000 and 30,000 years ago, when Neanderthals still roamed.
Oceania was first explored by Europeans from the 16th century onward. Portuguese
navigators, between 1512 and 1526, reached the Tanimbar Islands, some of the
Caroline Islands and west Papua New Guinea. On his first voyage in the 18th
century, James Cook, who later founded the Hawaiian Islands, went to Tahiti and
followed the east coast of Australia for the first time. The Pacific front saw
major action during the Second World War, mainly between the belligerents United
States, its ally Australia, and Japan.[10]

The arrival of European settlers in subsequent centuries resulted in a significant

alteration in the social and political landscape of Oceania. In more contemporary
times there has been increasing discussion on national flags and a desire by some
Oceanians to display their distinguishable and individualistic identity.[11] The
rock art of Australian Aborigines is the longest continuously practiced artistic
tradition in the world.[12] Puncak Jaya in Papua is often considered the highest
peak in Oceania.[13] Most Oceanian countries have a parliamentary representative
democratic multi-party system, with tourism being a large source of income for the
Pacific Islands nations.[14]

Contents [hide]
1 Definitions
2 History
2.1 Australia
2.2 Melanesia
2.3 Polynesia
2.4 Micronesia
2.5 European exploration
2.5.1 Colonization
2.6 Modern history
3 Geography
3.1 Regions
3.2 Geology
3.3 Flora
3.4 Fauna
3.5 Climate
4 Demographics
4.1 Religion
4.2 Languages
4.3 Immigration
4.4 Archaeogenetics
5 Economy
5.1 Australia and New Zealand
5.2 Pacific Islands
5.3 Tourism
6 Politics
6.1 Australia
6.2 New Zealand
6.3 Pacific Islands
7 Culture
7.1 Australia
7.2 Hawaii
7.3 New Zealand
7.4 Samoa
7.5 Arts
7.6 Sport
8 See also
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links
Definitions[edit]

Regions of Oceania
The term was coined as Ocanie circa 1812 by geographer Conrad Malte-Brun.[15] The
word Ocanie is a French word derived from the Latin word oceanus, and this from
the Greek word ??ea??? (okeans), ocean. Natives and inhabitants of this region are
called Oceanians or Oceanicans.[16] The term Oceania is used because, unlike the
other continental groupings, it is the ocean that links the nations together.[17]

Biogeographically, as a synonym for the Australasian ecozone and the Pacific

ecozone (Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia), with New Zealand forming the south-
western corner of the Polynesian Triangle. To note, New Zealand may also be
considered part of Australasia, despite being traditionally part of Polynesia.[18]
As an ecozone, Oceania includes all of Micronesia, Fiji, and all of Polynesia
except New Zealand. New Zealand, along with New Guinea and nearby islands, part of
the Philippine islands, Australia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia,
constitute the separate Australasian ecozone.[19]
In the geopolitical conception used by the United Nations, International Olympic
Committee, and many atlases, Oceania includes Australia and the nations of the
Pacific from Papua New Guinea east, but not the Indonesian New Guinea.[20]
History[edit]
Main article History of Oceania
Australia[edit]
Main articles Prehistory of Australia and History of Indigenous Australians

A 19th-century engraving of an Aboriginal Australian encampment.

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and
nearby islands who migrated from Africa to Asia around 70,000 years ago[21] and
arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago.[22] They are believed to be among the
earliest human migrations out of Africa.[23] Although they likely migrated to
Australia through Southeast Asia they are not demonstrably related to any known
Asian or Polynesian population.[24] There is evidence of genetic and linguistic
interchange between Australians in the far north and the Austronesian peoples of
modern-day New Guinea and the islands, but this may be the result of recent trade
and intermarriage.[25]

They reached Tasmania approximately 40,000 years ago by migrating across a land
bridge from the mainland that existed during the last ice age.[26] It is believed
that the first early human migration to Australia was achieved when this landmass
formed part of the Sahul continent, connected to the island of New Guinea via a
land bridge.[27] The Torres Strait Islanders are indigenous to the Torres Strait
Islands, which are at the northernmost tip of Queensland near Papua New Guinea.[28]
The earliest definite human remains found in Australia are that of Mungo Man, which
have been dated at about 40,000 years old.