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What are the countries that belong to Australia and Oceania region

Oceania is a region made up of thousands of islands throughout the Central and South Pacific Ocean. It includes Australia, the smallest continent in terms of total land area. Most of Australia and Oceania is under the Pacific, a vast body of water that is larger than all the Earth’s continental landmasses and islands combined. The name “Oceania” justly establishes the Pacific Ocean as the defining characteristic of the region.

Oceania is dominated by the nation of Australia. The other two major landmasses are the microcontinent of Zealandia, which includes the country of New Zealand, and the western half of the island of New Guinea, made up of the nation of Papua New Guinea. Oceania also includes three island regions: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia (including the U.S. state of Hawaii).

Melanesia includes the independent nations of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and the islands of New Caledonia, a “sui generis collectivity” of France.

Micronesia includes the independent nations of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Kiribati, and Nauru; the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth in political union with the United States; and Guam and Wake Island, two territories of the United States.

Polynesia includes the independent nations of Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu; the Cook Islands and Nieu, two self-governing islands in free association with New Zealand; Tokelau, an island territory of New Zealand; French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna, two French overseas collectivities; American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States; and the Pitcairn Islands, a British overseas territory.