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.
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. Papua New Guinea is occasionally considered Asian as it neighbours Indonesia, but this is rare, and it is generally accepted to be part of Oceania. Geologically, the six Indonesian provinces in Western New Guinea and Aru Islands in Maluku Province are parts of the Australian continental shelf. Biogeographically, the Wallace line separates Asia from Wallacea, a transitional zone, while the Lydekker line separates it from Australia. Weber Line is the midpoint, at which Asian and Australian fauna and flora are approximately equally represented.
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. 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. Some share strong biogeographical affinities to geopolitical Oceania. The Malay Archipelago has historically been associated with Oceania, however, very few present-day definitions include it as part of Oceania. 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. All 14 states are full members of the Pacific Islands Forum. Flag Coat of Arms / National Emblem Map English short, formal names, and ISO Domestic short and formal name(s) Capital Population Area AustraliaAustralia has two external territory in the Antarctic, the Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the claimed Australian Antarctic Territory.Commonwealth of AustraliaAUS Canberra FijiRepublic of FijiFJI Fiji Hindi फीजी/Fiji - रिपब्लिक ऑफ फीजी/ Ripablik ăph Phījī Suva KiribatiRepublic of KiribatiKIR South Tarawa Bairiki Marshall IslandsRepublic of the Marshall IslandsMHL Majuro Federated States of MicronesiaFSM Palikir NauruRepublic of NaoeroNRU No official Capital Government offices are in Yaren 10,834 New ZealandNew Zealand has five island groups in the Subantarctic. New Zealand claims territory in the Antarctic as the Ross Dependency.NZL Wellington PalauRepublic of PalauPLW Ngerulmud Papua New GuineaIndependent State of Papua New GuineaPNG Port Moresby SamoaIndependent State of SamoaWSM Apia Solomon IslandsSLB Honiara TongaKingdom of TongaTON Nukuʻalofa TuvaluTUV Funafuti VanuatuRepublic of VanuatuVUT Port Vila
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.
FlagCoat 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. Avarua 11,124 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. 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 CapitalPopulation Area American SamoaTerritory of American Samoa Unincorporated territory of the United States Pago Pago 67,242 Ashmore and Cartier IslandsTerritory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands External territory of Australia None Uninhabited Baker Island Unincorporated territory of the United States None Uninhabited Central PapuaCentral Papua Province Province of Indonesia Nabire Regency 1,408,981 Christmas Island External territory of Australia Flying Fish Cove / The Settlement 1,843 Clipperton Island Overseas state private property None Uninhabited Cocos (Keeling) Islands External territory of Australia West Island / Bantam 544 Coral Sea IslandsCoral Sea Islands Territory External territory of Australia Willis Island Uninhabited Easter Island Special territory of Chile Hanga Roa 6,148 French PolynesiaOverseas Country of French Polynesia Overseas country of France Papeete 294,935 Galápagos Islands Special territory of Ecuador Puerto Baquerizo Moreno 35,000 GuamTerritory of Guam Unincorporated territory of the United States Hagåtña / Agaña 183,286 HawaiiState of Hawaii State of the United States Honolulu 1,404,054 Highland PapuaHighland Papua Province Province of Indonesia Jayawijaya Regency 1,408,641 Howland Island Unincorporated territory of the United States None Uninhabited Jarvis Island Unincorporated territory of the United States None Uninhabited Johnston Atoll Unincorporated territory of the United States None Uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands Special territory of Chile San Juan Bautista 900 Kingman Reef Unincorporated territory of the United States None Uninhabited Midway Atoll Unincorporated territory of the United States None Uninhabited New CaledoniaTerritory of New Caledonia and Dependencies Overseas sui generis collectivity of France Nouméa 256,275 Norfolk IslandTerritory of Norfolk Island External territory of Australia Norfuk: Teratri of Norf'k Ailen Kingston 2,169 Northern Mariana IslandsCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States Carolinian: Téél Falúw kka Efáng Ilól Marianas Saipan 46,050 Ogasawara Village Part of Ogasawara Village in Tokyo, Japan Bonin Islands: ()Marcus Island: ()Parece Vela Reef: ()Rosario Island: ()Volcano Islands: () Ōmura () 2,871管内概要｜小笠原支庁 (in Japanese). Palmyra Atoll Incorporated territory of the United States None Uninhabited PapuaPapua Province Province of Indonesia Jayapura 1,020,190Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2022. Pitcairn IslandsPitcairn Group of Islands British overseas territory Pitkern: Pitkern Ailen Adamstown 48 South PapuaSouth Papua Province Province of Indonesia Merauke Regency 517,623 Southwest PapuaSouthwest Papua Province Province of Indonesia Sorong 603,054 Tokelau Dependent territory of New Zealand Each Atoll has its own administrative centre. 1,384 Wake Island Unincorporated territory of the United States None Uninhabited Wallis and FutunaTerritory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands Overseas collectivity of France Mata-Utu 15,398 West PapuaWest Papua Province Province of Indonesia 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
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