Australia and Oceania Map

Oceania is separated into a few major regions: Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Australasia includes the countries of Australia and New Zealand, along with Australian territories on islands such as Christmas Island. Melanesia includes the nations of Fiji and Papua New Guinea, as well as other island nations. Micronesia is comprised of the Federated States of Micronesia, as well as the U.S. territory of Guam, and the Marshall Islands. Polynesia is a large region consisting of the US state of Hawaii and American Samoa, New Zealand's Cook Islands and Tokelau, French Polynesia, Easter Island, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

Oceania also includes the thousands and thousands of coral reef islands off the coasts of these countries. Some definitions for Oceania include all the nations and territories in the Pacific Ocean between North and South America and Asia, which would also mean Taiwan and Japan were part of Oceania rather than Asia. Oceania is a not just a geographic region and ecozone, it is also a geopolitical region, defined by the United Nations to include Australia, New Zealand, and other island nations that are not generally considered part of the Asian continent.

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Last Updated On : January 09, 2013