List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Oceania explained

This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in the geographical region of Oceania. Although it is mostly ocean and spans many tectonic plates, Oceania is occasionally listed as one of the continents.

Most of this list follows the boundaries of geopolitical Oceania, which includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. The main continental landmass of Oceania is Australia.^[1]

Boundaries of Oceania

The boundary between Southeast Asia and Oceania is not clearly defined. For political reasons, the United Nations considers the boundary between the two regions to be the Indonesian–Papua New Guinean border.^[2] Papua New Guinea is occasionally considered Asian as it neighbours Indonesia,^{[3] [4] [5]} but this is rare, and it is generally accepted to be part of Oceania. Biogeographically and geologically, Papua and West Papua provinces are parts of Oceania.

Likewise, there is also no clearly defined boundary between Latin America and Oceania; the mostly uninhabited oceanic Pacific islands near Latin America have been considered by some as part of Oceania, both historically and in present-day times.^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]} Nearly all of these islands have become politically associated with the Americas, but none lie on the respective tectonic plates of those continents, nor were any inhabited by Indigenous peoples of the Americas during the pre-Columbian era.^[11] Some share strong biogeographical affinities to geopolitical Oceania.^[12] The Malay Archipelago has historically been associated with Oceania,^{[13] [14] [15]} however, very few present-day definitions include it as part of Oceania.^{[16] [17]} The Malay Archipelago lies on the continental shelf of Asia; Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands (both adjacent to the Malay Archipelago) lie on the Australian tectonic plate, and are not politically associated with Asia. The Bonin Islands, which have been politically integrated into Japan, are not geologically associated with the Asian continent, and are biogeographically within Micronesia.

Sovereign states

United Nations member states

This section includes all sovereign states located predominantly in Oceania that are member states of the United Nations.^[18] All 14 states are full members of the Pacific Islands Forum.^[19]

Associated states

Two states, the Cook Islands and Niue, are in free association with New Zealand. While maintaining a close constitutional and political relationship with New Zealand, both states have full treaty-making capacity and are members of several United Nations specialized agencies. Both independently engage in diplomatic relations with sovereign states under their own name, and are full members of the Pacific Islands Forum. Because of these features, both act in many ways as fully independent states.^[29]

Flag	Coat of Arms / National Emblem	Map	English short and formal names	Status	Domestic short and formal names	Capital	Population	Area
			Cook Islands	Self-governing in free association with New Zealand. It shares a head of state with New Zealand as well as having shared citizenship, but is independent in its internal affairs.	English: Cook Islands Rarotongan; Cook Islands Maori: Kūki 'Āirani	Avarua	11,124^[30]
			Niue	Self-governing in free association with New Zealand. It shares a head of state with New Zealand as well as having shared citizenship, but is independent in its internal affairs.	English: Niue Niuean: Niuē	Alofi	1,311

Non-sovereign territories

The following are entities considered to be within Oceania that fall into one of these categories:

1. Federal territories of sovereign states located outside these states' mainland.

2. Territories that constitute integral parts of sovereign states in some form other than as federal territories, where a significant part of the sovereign state's landmass is located outside Oceania or the territory is located outside the sovereign state's mainland. Many of these territories are often described as dependencies or autonomous areas.

3. Dependent territories of sovereign states.

Two of these territories (French Polynesia and New Caledonia) are associate members of the Pacific Islands Forum, while five others (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna) hold observer status within the organization.

Flag	Coat of Arms / National Emblem	Map	English short and formal names	Status	Domestic short and formal names	Capital	data-sort-type=number	Population	Area
			American Samoa Territory of American Samoa	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: American Samoa — Territory of American Samoa Samoan: Amerika Sāmoa	Pago Pago	67,242
			Ashmore and Cartier Islands Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands	External territory of Australia	English: Ashmore and Cartier Islands	None	Uninhabited
			Baker Island	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: Baker Island^[31]	None	Uninhabited
			Central Papua Central Papua Province	Province of Indonesia	Indonesian: Papua Tengah	Nabire Regency	1,408,981
			Christmas Island	External territory of Australia	English: Christmas Island – Territory of Christmas Island	Flying Fish Cove / The Settlement	1,843^[32]	1350NaN0
			Clipperton Island	Overseas state private property	French: Île de Clipperton	None	Uninhabited
			Cocos (Keeling) Islands	External territory of Australia	English: Cocos (Keeling) Islands – Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands	West Island / Bantam	544	140NaN0
			Coral Sea Islands Coral Sea Islands Territory	External territory of Australia	English: Coral Sea Islands — Coral Sea Islands Territory	Willis Island	Uninhabited
			Easter Island	Special territory of Chile	Spanish; Castilian: Isla de Pascua Rapanui: Rapa Nui	Hanga Roa	6,148^[33]
			French Polynesia Overseas Country of French Polynesia	Overseas country of France	French: Polynésie française — Pays d'outre-mer de la Polynésie française	Papeete	294,935
			Galápagos Islands	Special territory of Ecuador	Spanish; Castilian: Islas Galápagos	Puerto Baquerizo Moreno	35,000
			Guam Territory of Guam	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: Guam — Territory of Guam Chamorro: Guahan	Hagåtña / Agaña	183,286^[34]
			Hawaii State of Hawaii	State of the United States	English: Hawaii — State of Hawaii Hawaiian: Hawai{{okina	Honolulu	1,404,054
			Highland Papua Highland Papua Province	Province of Indonesia	Indonesian: Papua Pegunungan	Jayawijaya Regency	1,408,641
			Howland Island	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: Howland Island	None	Uninhabited
			Jarvis Island	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: Jarvis Island	None	Uninhabited
			Johnston Atoll	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: Johnston Atoll	None	Uninhabited
			Juan Fernández Islands	Special territory of Chile^[35]	Spanish; Castilian: Archipiélago Juan Fernández	San Juan Bautista	900
			Kingman Reef	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: Kingman Reef	None	Uninhabited
			Midway Atoll	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: Midway Islands	None	Uninhabited
			New Caledonia Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies	Overseas sui generis collectivity of France	French: Nouvelle-Calédonie — Territoire des Nouvelle-Calédonie et Dépendances	Nouméa	256,275
			Norfolk Island Territory of Norfolk Island	External territory of Australia	English: Norfolk Island — Territory of Norfolk Island Norfuk Teratri of Norf'k Ailen	Kingston	2,169
			Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands	Unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States	English: Northern Mariana Islands — Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Chamorro: Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas Carolinian Téél Falúw kka Efáng Ilól Marianas	Saipan	46,050
			Ogasawara Village	Part of Ogasawara Village in Tokyo, Japan	Bonin Islands Japanese: 小笠原群島 () Marcus Island: Japanese: 南鳥島 () Parece Vela Reef: Japanese: 沖ノ鳥島 () Rosario Island: Japanese: 西之島 () Volcano Islands: Japanese: 火山列島 ()	Ōmura (Japanese: 大村)	2,871^[36]
			Palmyra Atoll	Incorporated territory of the United States	English: Palmyra Atoll	None	Uninhabited
			Papua Papua Province	Province of Indonesia	Indonesian: Papua	Jayapura	1,020,190^[37]
			Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Group of Islands	British overseas territory	English: Pitcairn Islands — Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands Pitkern Pitkern Ailen	Adamstown	48
			South Papua South Papua Province	Province of Indonesia	Indonesian: Papua Selatan	Merauke Regency	517,623
			Southwest Papua Southwest Papua Province	Province of Indonesia	Indonesian: Papua Barat Daya	Sorong	603,054
			Tokelau	Dependent territory of New Zealand	Tokelau: Tokelau English: Tokelau	Each Atoll has its own administrative centre.	1,384
			Wake Island	Unincorporated territory of the United States	English: Wake Island	None	Uninhabited
			Wallis and Futuna Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands	Overseas collectivity of France	French: Wallis et Futuna — Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna	Mata-Utu	15,398
			West Papua West Papua Province	Province of Indonesia	Indonesian: Papua Barat	Manokwari	551,791

See also

Oceania-related

• List of Oceanian countries by GDP (PPP)
• List of Oceanian countries by population
  • List of predecessors of sovereign states in Oceania List of sovereign states in Asia and Oceania by Human Development Index

Island countries

• List of Caribbean island countries by population
• List of island countries
• List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Indian Ocean
• List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Eurasia

Notes and References

1. Web site: Fast facts about Australia - Australia in Brief - Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade . 2010-08-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20030820155859/http://www.dfat.gov.au/aib/island_continent.html . 2003-08-20 .
2. Web site: Marcos Diaz Crosses Oceania-Asia Border to Raise Awareness of MDGS | End Poverty 2015 . 2010-08-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100724124146/http://endpoverty2015.org/en/asia/news/marcos-diaz-crosses-oceania-asia-border-raise-awareness-mdgs/13/may/10 . 2010-07-24 .
3. Frank Barton . Thomas . Papua New Guinea: Tenth country of Southeast Asia? . Journal of Geography . 1978 . 77 . 7 . 269–272 . 10.1080/00221347808980139 . 1978JGeog..77..269B . 26 January 2022.
4. 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e00944 . Phylogeny and conservation priority assessment of Asian domestic chicken genetic resources . 2020 . Quan . Jinqiang . Cai . Yuan . Yang . Tianliang . Ge . Qianyun . Jiao . Ting . Zhao . Shengguo . Global Ecology and Conservation . 22 . e00944 . 213962014 . free . 2020GEcoC..2200944Q .
5. Web site: First night-flowering orchid found in Asia . 22 November 2011 .
6. Oceania Bibliography . Helictite: Journal of Australasian Cave Research . 1987 . 25 . 1 . 16 March 2022 . This paper covers the region from Irian Jaya (Western New Guinea, a province of New Guinea) in the west to Galapagos Islands (Equador) and Easter Island (Chile) in the east..
7. Book: Review of the Protected Areas System in Oceania . 1986 . International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources . 17 January 2022 . Easter Island on the east has been included on the basis of its Polynesian and biogeographic affinities even though it is politically apart. The other islands of the eastern Pacific (Galapagos, Juan Fernandez, etc.) have sometimes been included in Oceania..
8. Book: Todd . Ian . Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama . 1974 . Angus & Robertson . 190 . 9780207127618 . 2 February 2022 . [we] can further define the word culture to mean language. Thus we have the French language part of Oceania, the Spanish part and the Japanese part. The Japanese culture groups of Oceania are the Bonin Islands, the Marcus Islands and the Volcano Islands. These three clusters, lying south and south-east of Japan, are inhabited either by Japanese or by people who have now completely fused with the Japanese race. Therefore they will not be taken into account in the proposed comparison of the policies of non - Oceanic cultures towards Oceanic peoples. On the eastern side of the Pacific are a number of Spanish language culture groups of islands. Two of them, the Galapagos and Easter Island, have been dealt with as separate chapters in this volume. Only one of the dozen or so Spanish culture island groups of Oceania has an Oceanic population — the Polynesians of Easter Island. The rest are either uninhabited or have a Spanish - Latin - American population consisting of people who migrated from the mainland. Therefore, the comparisons which follow refer almost exclusively to the English and French language cultures..
9. Book: Brown, Robert . https://books.google.com/books?id=3-0DAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22oceania%22+%22juan%22+%22galapagos%22&pg=PA2 . The countries of the world . 1876 . Oxford University . Oceania: General Characteristics . 1 February 2022.
10. Web site: Oceania Military Guide . 6 January 2022 . GlobalSecurity.org.
11. Book: Flett . Iona . Islands of Inquiry . Haberle . Simon . 2008 . ANU Press . 978-1-921313-89-9 . Clark . Geoffrey . 281–300 . East of Easter: Traces of human impact in the far-eastern Pacific . 10.1.1.593.8988 . 1885/38139 . j.ctt24h8gp.20 . Leach . Foss . O'Connor . Sue . http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p26551/pdf/ch181.pdf.
12. Web site: Udvardy . Miklos D.F. . A Classification of the Biogeographical Provinces of the World . UNESCO . 7 March 2022.
13. Book: Parley . Peter . Tales about Europe, Asia, Africa, America, & Oceania . 1866 . Oxford University . 2 . 12 March 2022 . Oceania consists of Australasia, Polynesia and Malaysia. Australasia means South Asia. It comprises New Holland or Australia, Van Diemen's Land or Tasmania, Papua or New Guinea, Norfolk Island, New Zealand and some smaller islands. Polynesia is the term given to the various islands in the Pacific Ocean, which, as you may see on the map, are situated to the eastward of Australia, including the Philippine Islands. Malaysia is the name given to the islands of the Malay Archipelago, which are principally inhabited by the Malay race, comprising Borneo, the Sunday Isles, Celebes, Moluccas [...].
14. Book: Cornell . Sophia S. . Cornell's First Steps in Geography . 1859 . The University of Michigan . 11 March 2022.
15. Book: Chambers's New Handy Volume American Encyclopædia: Volume 9 . 1885 . The University of Virginia . 657 . 13 March 2022 . the whole region has sometimes been called Oceania, and sometimes Australasia—generally, however, in modern times, to the exclusion of the islands in the Indian archipelago, to which certain writers have given the name of Malaysia [...] we have the three geographical divisions of Malaysia, Australasia and Polynesia, the last mentioned of which embraces all the groups and single islands not included under the other two. Accepting this arrangement, still the limits between Australasia and Polynesia have not been very accurately defined; indeed, scarcely any two geographers appear to be quite agreed upon the subject; neither shall we pretend to decide in the matter. The following list, however, comprises all the principal groups and single island not previously named as coming under the division of Australasia: 1. North of the equator—The Ladrone or Marian islands. the Pelew islands, the Caroline islands, the Radack and Ralick chains, the Sandwich islands, Gilbert's or Kingstnill's archipelago. and the Galapagos. 2. South of the equator—The Ellice group, the Phoenix and Union groups. the Fiji islands, the Friendly islands, the Navigator's islands. Cook's or Harvey islands, the Society islands. the Dangerous archipelago, the Marquesas islands, Pitcairn island, and Easter island..
16. Book: Henderson . John William . Area Handbook for Oceania . 1971 . U.S. Government Printing Office . 5 . 11 March 2022.
17. Web site: Oceania | Definition, Population, & Facts | Britannica. www.britannica.com. 9 April 2024 .
18. Web site: United Nations Member States . United Nations . 15 February 2012.
19. Web site: Member Countries . Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat . 15 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120511202943/http://www.forumsec.org/pages.cfm/about-us/member-countries/ . 11 May 2012 . dead .
20. Web site: Field Listing :: Names . https://web.archive.org/web/20070613002925/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2142.html . dead . June 13, 2007 . CIA . 15 August 2011.
21. Web site: UNGEGN List of Country Names . United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names . 2007 . 15 August 2011.
22. Web site: List of countries, territories and currencies . Europa . 9 August 2011 . 23 August 2011.
23. Web site: 1974 . ISO 3166 . 2022-07-24 . International Organization for Standardization.
24. Web site: Field Listing :: Capital . https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003402/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2057.html . dead . June 13, 2007 . CIA . 23 August 2011.
25. Web site: UNGEGN World Geographical Names . United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names . 29 July 2011 . 23 August 2011.
26. Web site: Field Listing :: Area . https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003039/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html . dead . June 13, 2007 . CIA . 23 August 2011.
27. Australia has two external territory in the Antarctic, the Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the claimed Australian Antarctic Territory.
28. New Zealand has five island groups in the Subantarctic. New Zealand claims territory in the Antarctic as the Ross Dependency.
29. Web site: Gillard . Charles Andrew . 2012 . Sovereignty, Self-Determination and the South-West Pacific . 27 January 2014 . University of Waikato.
30. Web site: Country Comparison :: Population . https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004507/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html . dead . June 13, 2007 . CIA . July 2012 . 2 September 2012.
31. Web site: How are U.S. states, territories, and commonwealths designated in the Geographic Names Information System? . U.S. Geological Survey . 24 November 2020.
32. Web site: Australian Government – Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. 2016 Census: Christmas Island. 10 January 2018.
33. Web site: es . COMUNAS: ACTUALIZACIÓN POBLACIÓN 2002-2012 Y PROYECCIONES 2013-2020 . National Statistics Institute . 20 April 2015.
34. Web site: Guam . CIA . 23 August 2011.
35. Web site: Weekly Analysis: Chile's Pacific Presence. | 36th Parallel Assessments (NZ) . 27 April 2012 .
36. http://www.soumu.metro.tokyo.jp/07ogasawara/guidance/summary.html 管内概要｜小笠原支庁
37. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2022.