|
The term was coined as Océanie ca. 1812 by geographer Conrad Malte-Brun.[6] The word Océanie is a French language word derived from the Greek word ὠκεανός (ōkeanós), ocean. Definitions See also: List of Oceanian countries by population and List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Oceania A map of Oceania from the CIA World Factbook As an ecozone, Oceania includes all of Micronesia, Fiji, and all of Polynesia except New Zealand. New Zealand, along with New Guinea and nearby islands, part of Philippines islands, Australia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia, constitute the separate Australasian ecozone. In geopolitical terms, however, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia are almost always considered part of Oceania, and Australia and Papua New Guinea are usually considered part of Oceania too. Sometimes Papua province in Indonesia may be included, as Puncak Jaya is often considered the highest peak in Oceania. Physiography Oceania was originally conceived as the lands of the Pacific Ocean, stretching from the Strait of Malacca to the coast of the Americas. It comprised four regions: Polynesia, Micronesia, Malaysia (now called the Malay Archipelago), and Melanesia (now called Australasia).[13] Included are parts of three geological continents, Eurasia, Australia, and Zealandia, as well the non-continental volcanic islands of the Philippines, Wallacea, and the open Pacific. It extends to Sumatra in the west, the Bonin Islands in the northwest, the Hawaiian Islands in the northeast, Rapa Nui and Sala y Gómez Island in the east, and Macquarie Island in the south, but excludes Taiwan, the Japanese archipelago (including the Ryukyu Islands), and Aleutian Islands of the margins of Asia.[14][15] The states that occupy Oceania that are not included in geopolitical Oceania are Indonesia, Malaysia (through Malaysian Borneo), Brunei, the Philippines, and East Timor. The islands of the geographic extremes are politically integral parts of Japan (Bonin), the United States (Hawaii), and Chile (Easter Island). A smaller geographic definition also exists, which excludes the land on the Sunda Plate, but includes Indonesian New Guinea as part of the Australian continent. Biogeography Aoraki / Mount Cook, located on the South Island of New Zealand Biogeographically, Oceania is used as a synonym for either the Australasian ecozone (Wallacea and Australasia) or the Pacific ecozone (Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia apart either from New Zealand[11] or from mainland New Guinea[12]). Ecogeography Oceania is one of eight terrestrial ecozones, which constitute the major ecological regions of the planet. The Oceania ecozone includes all of Micronesia, Fiji, and all of Polynesia except New Zealand. New Zealand, New Guinea, Melanesia apart from Fiji, and Australia constitute the separate Australasian ecozone. The Malay Archipelago is part of the Indomalaya ecozone. Related to these concepts are Near Oceania, that part of western Island Melanesia which has been inhabited for tens of millennia, and Remote Oceania which is more recently settled.[16] Geopolitics In the geopolitical conception used by the United Nations, International Olympic Committee, and many atlases, Oceania includes Australia and the nations of the Pacific from Papua New Guinea east, but not the Malay Archipelago or Indonesian New Guinea.[17][18][19] Other definitions The term is often used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate islands.[7][8][9][10] New Zealand forms the south-western corner of the Polynesian Triangle. Its indigenous Māori constitute one of the major cultures of Polynesia. It is also, however, considered part of Australasia.[17] The widest definition of Oceania includes the entire region between continental Asia and the Americas, thereby including islands in the Pacific Rim such as the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, and the Aleutian islands.[20] Satellite image of Oceania Ethno-cultural definition of Oceania History Main articles: History of Oceania and History of the Pacific Islands Demographics Main article: Demographics of Oceania Oceania An orthographic projection of geographic Oceania. Wider Geographic Oceania. Little of the South Pacific is apparent at this scale, though Hawaii is just visible near the eastern horizon. Area 10,975,600 km2 (4,237,700 sq mi) Population 37.8 million (2010) Time Zones UTC+7 (Western Indonesian Time) to UTC-6 (Easter Island) Largest Cities Jakarta Manila Sydney Bandung Melbourne Surabaya Medan Narrower Geographic Oceania. Narrower Geographic Oceania. Island Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia (apart from New Zealand) Area 183,000 km2 (71,000 sq mi) Population 5.2 million (2008) Time Zones UTC+9 (Palau) to UTC-6 (Easter Island) Largest Cities Honolulu Nouméa Suva Papeete Honiara The demographic table below shows the subregions and countries of geopolitical Oceania.[17] The countries and territories in this table are categorized according to the scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations. The information shown follows sources in cross-referenced articles; where sources differ, provisos have been clearly indicated. These territories and regions are subject to various additional categorisations, of course, depending on the source and purpose of each description. Name of region, followed by countries and their flags[21] Area (km²) Population Population density (per km²) Capital ISO 3166-1 Australasia[22] Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australia) 199 Australia 7,686,850 23,034,879 2.7 Canberra AU Christmas Island[23] (Australia) 135 1,493 3.5 Flying Fish Cove CX Cocos (Keeling) Islands[23] (Australia) 14 628 45.1 West Island CC Coral Sea Islands (Australia) 10 4 New Zealand[24] 268,680 4,465,900 16.5 Wellington NZ Norfolk Island (Australia) 35 2,302 61.9 Kingston NF Melanesia[25] Fiji 18,270 856,346 46.9 Suva FJ New Caledonia (France) 19,060 240,390 12.6 Nouméa NC Papua (Indonesia) 319,036 3,486,432 11 Jayapura PA West Papua (Indonesia) 140,375 760,855 5.4 Manokwari PB Papua New Guinea[26] 462,840 5,172,033 11.2 Port Moresby PG Solomon Islands 28,450 494,786 17.4 Honiara SB Vanuatu 12,200 240,000 19.7 Port Vila VU Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia 702 135,869 193.5 Palikir FM Guam (United States) 549 160,796 292.9 Hagåtña GU Kiribati 811 96,335 118.8 South Tarawa KI Marshall Islands 181 73,630 406.8 Majuro MH Nauru 21 12,329 587.1 Yaren (de facto) NR Northern Mariana Islands (United States) 477 77,311 162.1 Saipan MP Palau 458 19,409 42.4 Melekeok[27] PW Wake Island Wake Island (United States) 2 12 Wake Island UM Polynesia American Samoa (United States) 199 68,688 345.2 Pago Pago, Fagatogo[28] AS Cook Islands (New Zealand) 240 20,811 86.7 Avarua CK Easter Island (Chile) 164 5,761 31 Hanga Roa CL French Polynesia (France) 4,167 257,847 61.9 Papeete PF Hawaii (United States) 16,636 1,360,301 81.8 Honolulu US Niue (New Zealand) 260 2,134 8.2 Alofi NU Pitcairn Islands (United Kingdom) 5 47 10 Adamstown PN Samoa 2,944 179,000 63.2 Apia WS Tokelau (New Zealand) 10 1,431 143.1 Nukunonu TK Tonga 748 106,137 141.9 Nukuʻalofa TO Tuvalu 26 11,146 428.7 Funafuti TV Wallis and Futuna (France) 274 15,585 56.9 Mata-Utu WF Total 8,845,025 39,155,699 4.4 Total minus mainland Australia 1,158,175 17,127,699 14.8 North Pacific OceanSouth Pacific Ocean Equator Tropic of Capricorn Australia New Zealand NZ Hawaii WK Micronesia Palau Papua New Guinea Indonesia Easter Island French Polynesia Cook Islands New Caledonia Fiji Tuvalu Kiribati Solomon Islands Tokelau Marshall Islands Nauru Philippines Vanuatu Timor Leste Tonga PN Guam NF Northern Mariana WS AS WF Niue CC CXThis template: view talk edit Map of Nations and territories of Oceania including Australia and New Zealand Geographic map of islands of Oceania Archaeogenetics Archaeology, linguistics, and existing genetic studies indicate that Oceania was settled by two major waves of migration. The first migration took place approximately 40 thousand years ago and these migrants, Papuans, colonized much of Near Oceania. Approximately 3.5 thousand years ago, a second expansion of Austronesian speakers arrived in Near Oceania and the descendants of these people spread to the far corners of the Pacific, colonizing Remote Oceania.[29] Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies quantify the magnitude of the Austronesian expansion and demonstrate the homogenizing effect of this expansion. With regards to Papuan influence, autochthonous haplogroups support the hypothesis of a long history in Near Oceania, with some lineages suggesting a time depth of 60 thousand years. Santa Cruz, a population located in Remote Oceania, is an anomaly with extreme frequencies of autochthonous haplogroups of Near Oceanian origin.[29] Religion The predominant religion in Oceania is Christianity.[30] Traditional religions are often animist and prevalent among traditional tribes is the belief in spirits (masalai in Tok Pisin) representing natural forces.[31] In recent Australian and New Zealand censuses, large proportions of the population say they belong to "No religion" (which includes atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism, and rationalism). In Tonga, everyday life is heavily influenced by Polynesian traditions and especially by the Christian faith. The Ahmadiyya mosque in Marshall Islands is the only mosque in Micronesia.[32] Another one in Tuvalu belongs to the same sect. The Bahá'í House of Worship in Tiapapata, Samoa is one of seven designations administered in the Bahá'í Faith. Sport Pacific Games The Pacific Games (formerly known as the South Pacific Games) is a multi-sport event, much like the Olympics on a much smaller scale, with participation exclusively from countries around the Pacific. It is held every four years and began in 1963. Australia and New Zealand do not compete at the Pacific Games. Association football (soccer) Main article: Soccer in Oceania The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of six association football confederations[33] under the auspices of FIFA, the international governing body of the sport. The OFC is the only confederation without an automatic qualification to the World Cup. Currently the winner of the OFC qualification tournament must play off against a North, Central American and Caribbean confederation side to qualify for the World Cup.[34][35] Currently, Vanuatu is the only country in Oceania to call football (soccer) its national sport. However,it is the most popular sport in Kiribati, Solomon and Tuvalu, and has a significant (and growing) popularity in Australia. Oceania has been represented at five World Cup finals tournaments — Australia in 1974, 2006, 2010, and 2014, and New Zealand in 1982 and 2010. In 2006, Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation and qualified for the 2010 World cup as an Asian entrant. New Zealand qualified through the Oceania Confederation, winning its playoff against Bahrain. This made 2010 the first time that two countries from (geographic) Oceania had qualified at the same time, albeit through different confederations. Australian rules football Main article: Australian rules football in Oceania Australian rules football is the national sport in Nauru[36] and is the most popular football code in Australia in terms of attendance.[37] It has a large following in Papua New Guinea, where it is the second most popular sport after Rugby League.[38] Cricket Main article: Cricket in Oceania Fans welcome to the Australian team after winning 2007 Cricket World Cup Cricket is a popular summer sport in Australia and New Zealand. Australia had ruled International cricket as the number one team for more than a decade, and have won four Cricket World Cups and have been runner-up for two times, making them the most successful cricket team. New Zealand is also considered a strong competitor in the sport, with the New Zealand cricket team, also called the Black Caps, enjoying success in many competitions. Both Australia and New Zealand are Full members of the ICC. Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea are some of the Associate/Affiliate members of the ICC from Oceania that are governed by ICC East Asia-Pacific. Backyard cricket and Beach cricket, which are simplified variants of cricket played at home or on a sand beach, are also popular recreational sports in Australia. Cricket is culturally a significant sport for summer in Oceania. The Boxing Day Test is very popular in Australia, conducted every year on 26 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne. Rugby League Main article: Rugby league in Oceania Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea[39] (the second most populous country in Oceania after Australia) and is very popular in Australia[40] and attracts significant attention across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.[41] Australia and New Zealand are two of the most successful sides in the world.[42] Australia has won the Rugby League World Cup a record ten times (most recently defeating New Zealand 34-2 in 2013) while New Zealand won their first World Cup in 2008. Australia hosted the second tournament in 1957. Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted it in 1968 and 1977. New Zealand hosted the final for the first time in 1985–1988 tournament and Australia hosted the tournament again in 2008. Rugby Union Main article: Rugby union in Oceania Fiji playing the Cook Islands at seven-a-side rugby Rugby union is one of the region's most prominent sports,[43] and is the national sport of New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. Fiji's sevens team is one of the most successful in the world, as is New Zealand's. New Zealand and Australia have won the Rugby World Cup a record two times each (tied with South Africa who have also won it two times). New Zealand won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 which was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Australia hosted it in 2003 and New Zealand hosted it in 2011. Oceania (UK /ˌoʊʃɪˈɑːniə, ˌoʊsɪ-/[1] or US /ˌoʊʃiːˈæniə/),[2] also known as Oceanica,[3] is a region centred on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean.[4] Opinions of what constitutes Oceania range from its three subregions of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia[5] to, more broadly, the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago.[6] The term is often used more specifically to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate islands[7][8][9][10] or biogeographically as a synonym for either the Australasian ecozone (Wallacea and Australasia) or the Pacific ecozone (Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia apart either from New Zealand[11] or from mainland New Guinea).[12] |
About us|Jobs|Help|Disclaimer|Advertising services|Contact us|Sign in|Website map|Search|
GMT+8, 2015-9-11 20:40 , Processed in 0.132285 second(s), 16 queries .
