Oceania is the continent of Australia plus the thousands of islands of the Pacific. You compared it with other continents in The Continents Compared. It has fourteen countries: one large one, a few middle-sized ones, and many tiny island nations.
Key idea
Australia covers a whole continent. New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are next in size. The Pacific islands are grouped in three regions: Melanesia (Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji), Micronesia (Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati) and Polynesia (Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu). The UN groups New Zealand with Australia.
Why it works
The three names come from Greek: Melanesia means "black islands", Micronesia "small islands" and Polynesia "many islands". Micronesia's islands are mostly tiny coral atolls north of the equator. Polynesia is a huge triangle with Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island at its corners. Many Pacific islands still belong to other countries, such as France's New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
Worked example: How far is New Zealand?
Is New Zealand right next to Australia?
- New Zealand lies across the Tasman Sea, southeast of Australia.
- Sydney to Auckland is about 2,150 km (1,300 miles).
Answer: No; it is about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away.
Worked example: An island shared
Which country shares the island of New Guinea with Papua New Guinea?
- Papua New Guinea is the eastern half.
- The western half belongs to Indonesia.
Answer: Indonesia.
Common mistake
Many maps squeeze New Zealand into a corner next to Australia, so people think it is part of Australia. New Zealand is a separate country about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) to the southeast, across the Tasman Sea.