There are only 14 countries in Oceania, including Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia, making it the smallest continent by both land and population. More than 40 million people call Oceania home, making it the second-largest continent.
There are 24.7 million people in Australia and 4.7 million people in New Zealand, making them two of the continent’s most populous nations. Papua New Guinea is an island country with 8.4 million people, making it larger than New Zealand.
After these three nations, the population drops substantially. Arcadia is an archipelago made up of small, isolated islands.
Some of the most well-known island states, such as Fiji (912.441), Solomon Islands (623.381), and New Caledonia (279.821), are substantially smaller than their larger counterparts.
Niue, situated in the South Pacific Ocean, is the smallest island in Oceania, with a population of only 1,319. Tokelau, a remote series of atolls located between Hawaii and New Zealand, is the second smallest island in Oceania.
Oceania, while being the smallest continent, is nonetheless a big region. On its own, Australia is the sixth-largest nation in the world, with an area of 7.7 million km2 (the United States is the fourth-largest). There are five time zones on the island, making it the world’s biggest island.
People in Oceania have very different life expectancies, economic positions in the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI), financial markets, the general quality of life, and scores on the HDI.
Also See: Countries in North America 2022
It’s safe to say that Australia and New Zealand are the two most developed countries in Oceania, but countries like Tuvalu and Kiribati have a long way to go before they can support healthy populations.
Rank | Country | 2022 Population | Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
23 | Tokelau | 1.3780 | 0.0036 |
22 | Niue | 1.6220 | 0.0019 |
21 | Nauru | 10.9030 | 0.0025 |
20 | Wallis and Futuna | 10.9820 | -0.0101 |
19 | Tuvalu | 12.0660 | 0.0113 |
18 | Cook Islands | 17.5710 | 0.0003 |
17 | Palau | 18.2330 | 0.0035 |
16 | American Samoa | 55.0300 | -0.0013 |
15 | Northern Mariana Islands | 58.2690 | 0.0061 |
14 | Marshall Islands | 60.0570 | 0.0075 |
13 | Tonga | 107.7490 | 0.0093 |
12 | Micronesia | 117.4890 | 0.0106 |
11 | Kiribati | 123.4190 | 0.0167 |
10 | Guam | 171.5190 | 0.0079 |
9 | Samoa | 202.2390 | 0.0104 |
8 | French Polynesia | 284.1640 | 0.0058 |
7 | New Caledonia | 290.9150 | 0.0094 |
6 | Vanuatu | 321.8320 | 0.0234 |
5 | Solomon Islands | 721.1590 | 0.0244 |
4 | Fiji | 909.4660 | 0.0073 |
3 | New Zealand | 4898.2030 | 0.0077 |
2 | Papua New Guinea | 9292.1690 | 0.0190 |
1 | Australia | 26068.7920 | 0.0109 |