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Oceania | Definition, Population, Maps, & Facts | Britannica
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class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean">Oceania</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction & Top Questions </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean/images-videos">Images & Videos</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/78121-050-0D04556C/Australia-Oceania-political-map.jpg" data-href="/media/1/424424/72109" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/78121-004-A3E8956F/Australia-Oceania-political-map.jpg" alt="Oceania" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/96827-050-81824C58/South-Sea-Islanders-laborers-group-Australia-Vanuatu.jpg" data-href="/media/1/424424/278717" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/96827-004-912DA398/South-Sea-Islanders-laborers-group-Australia-Vanuatu.jpg" alt="Oceania" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/3018-050-9EB93A42/New-Zealand.jpg" data-href="/media/1/424424/155521" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/3018-004-2ED7A892/New-Zealand.jpg" alt="New Zealand." height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/87/3287-004-2D3EF045/Map-Pacific-Islands.jpg" data-href="/media/1/424424/61639" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/87/3287-004-2D3EF045/Map-Pacific-Islands.jpg" alt="Pacific Islands" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/75394-050-C3F58654/World-map-Continents-Oceans-Seas.jpg" data-href="/media/1/424424/69323" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/75394-004-96481117/World-map-Continents-Oceans-Seas.jpg" alt="world map" height="50" /> </a> <a href="/video/distribution-continents/148010" data-href="/media/1/424424/148010" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <div class="position-relative --aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/64/143164-138-EE1CD321/distribution-continents.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Learn how the world is divided into continents" class="col-100" /> <div class="btn btn-sm btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%)"> <em class="material-icons font-14" 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-02-15T00:00:00CST" >Feb 15, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What does Oceania refer to?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Oceania is a collective name for the islands scattered throughout most of the Pacific Ocean. The term, in its widest sense, embraces the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas. However, the most popular usage excludes not only the Ryukyu, Kuril, and Aleutian islands and the Japanese archipelago but also islands that are historically closely related to the Asian mainland, such as Indonesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What is the land area of Oceania?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Oceania, in its most restricted meaning, includes more than 10,000 islands, with a total land area (excluding Australia but including Papua New Guinea and New Zealand) of approximately 317,700 square miles (822,800 square km)." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>How many regions is Oceania divided into?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Oceania has traditionally been divided into four parts: Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia." } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What does Oceania refer to?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Oceania is a collective name for the islands scattered throughout most of the Pacific Ocean. The term, in its widest sense, embraces the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas. However, the most popular usage excludes not only the Ryukyu, Kuril, and Aleutian islands and the Japanese archipelago but also islands that are historically closely related to the Asian mainland, such as Indonesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What is the land area of Oceania?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Oceania, in its most restricted meaning, includes more than 10,000 islands, with a total land area (excluding Australia but including Papua New Guinea and New Zealand) of approximately 317,700 square miles (822,800 square km).</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>How many regions is Oceania divided into?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Oceania has traditionally been divided into four parts: Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.</p></div></div></div></div></div><!--[BEFORE-ARTICLE]--><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><!--[PREMOD1]--><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref57408"></span>Oceania</strong>, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="collective" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collective" data-type="MW">collective</a> name for the islands scattered throughout most of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Pacific-Ocean" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Pacific Ocean</a>. The term, in its widest sense, embraces the entire insular <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/region-geography" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">region</a> between <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Asia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Asia</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Americas" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Americas</a>. A more common definition excludes the Ryukyu, Kuril, and Aleutian islands and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Japan</a> archipelago. The most popular usage delimits Oceania further by eliminating <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Indonesia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Indonesia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Taiwan" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Taiwan</a>, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Philippines</a>, because the peoples and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="cultures" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultures" data-type="MW">cultures</a> of those islands are more closely related historically to the Asian mainland. Oceania then, in its most restricted meaning, includes more than 10,000 islands, with a total land area (excluding Australia, but including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Papua-New-Guinea" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Papua New Guinea</a> and New Zealand) of approximately 317,700 square miles (822,800 square km).</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><!--[MOD1]--><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD2]--><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="278717" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/96827-050-81824C58/South-Sea-Islanders-laborers-group-Australia-Vanuatu.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/424424/278717"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/96827-050-81824C58/South-Sea-Islanders-laborers-group-Australia-Vanuatu.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/96827-050-81824C58/South-Sea-Islanders-laborers-group-Australia-Vanuatu.jpg?w=300" alt="Oceania" data-width="1800" data-height="1058" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/96827-050-81824C58/South-Sea-Islanders-laborers-group-Australia-Vanuatu.jpg" data-href="/media/1/424424/278717">Oceania</a><span>Oceania is traditionally divided into four parts: Australasia, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Oceania has traditionally been divided into four parts: <span id="ref57409"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Australasia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Australasia</a> (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Zealand" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">New Zealand</a>), <span id="ref57410"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Melanesia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Melanesia</a>, <span id="ref57411"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Micronesia-republic-Pacific-Ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Micronesia</a>, and <span id="ref57412"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Polynesia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Polynesia</a>. As recently as 33,000 years ago no human beings lived in the region, except in Australasia. Although disagreeing on details, scientists generally support a theory that calls for a Southeast Asian origin of island peoples. By 2000 about 12 million islanders lived in Oceania (excluding Australia), and many <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="indigenous" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indigenous" data-type="MW">indigenous</a> cultures were revolutionized by intensive contact with non-Oceanic groups who had intruded from various parts of the Western world. (The arts of the region are discussed in several articles; see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Oceanic-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">art and architecture, Oceanic</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Oceanic-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">music and dance, Oceanic</a>; and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Oceanic-literature" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Oceanic literature</a>.) Pop. (2001 est.) including Australia, 31,377,000.</p><!--[MOD2]--><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature font-12"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span> <span class="md-signature font-12">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Michele-Metych/9760897">Michele Metych</a>.</span><!--[END-OF-CONTENT]--><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><!--[AFTER-ARTICLE]--><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <!-- Ortto ebmwprod capture code --> <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":424424,"pageLength":223,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"SMALL","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>