Oceania

Oceania is a name used in geography for the region made up of Australia, Polynesia, Melanesia, and several other island nations in the surrounding area. It is often listed as one of the continents of the world.

The term "Oceania" does not have one single agreed definition. The widest definition of Oceania includes the entire region between continental Asia and the Americas, including Australasia, as well as islands in the Pacific Rim such as the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, and the Aleutian islands.

On the other hand, the Oceania ecozone includes all of Micronesia, Fiji, and all of Polynesia except New Zealand. Sometimes, people use the term 'Oceania' to include only the Polynesian and Melanesian islands in the Pacific Ocean, as separate from Australasia. When Oceania is treated separately from Australia, the region of Oceania is referred to as "Australia and Oceania".^[1]

In the United Nations' geographic regions, Oceania includes Australia and the nations of the Pacific from Papua New Guinea east, but not the Malay Archipelago or Indonesian New Guinea.^[2]

A smaller usage of Oceania as a continent includes only Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and the islands between them. This part of the world is usually called Australasia instead. For these reasons, it is not correct to say that Australasia is part of Oceania, because what is meant by 'Oceania' is not clear. Australasia has an exact definition in biogeography and geology; Australasia includes New Zealand, Australia (including Tasmania), and Melanesia, New Guinea, and the islands just north and east of Australia. All these are south-east of the Bali–Lombok line, also known as the Wallace Line.

Countries in Oceania

Some listed here are part of a larger State.

Languages

Bislama in Vanuatu
Chamorro in Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
Chinese in Kiribati
English in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, etc.
Fijian in Fiji
French in Vanuatu and France's overseas territories
Gilbertese in Kiribati
Hawaiian in Hawaii
Hindi in Fiji
Hiri Motu in Papua New Guinea
Indonesian in South Papua, West Papua, Aru Islands, etc
Japanese in Bonin Islands
Malay in Chrismas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Maori in Cook Islands
Marshallese in Marshall Islands
Nauruan in Nauru
Niuean in Niue
Norfuk in Norfolk Island
Palauan in Palau
Pidgin in Hawaii
Pitkern in Pitcairn Islands
Rapanui in Easter Island
Rarotongan in Cook Islands
Samoan in Samoa and American Samoa
Spanish in Guam, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Easter Island, Galapagos Islands and the Juan Fernandez Islands
Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea
Tokelauan in Tokelau
Tongan in Tonga
Tuvaluan in Tuvalu

References

↑ Society, National Geographic (2012-01-04). "Australia and Oceania: Physical Geography". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
↑ "UNSD — Methodology". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 In free association with New Zealand.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Physiologically part of Oceania

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[1] Society, National Geographic (2012-01-04). "Australia and Oceania: Physical Geography". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

[2] "UNSD — Methodology". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

[freeassociation-3] 1.0 ^1.1 In free association with New Zealand.

[physiology-4] 2.0 ^2.1 Physiologically part of Oceania

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