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Redirect|South West Pacific|the World War II theater (warfare)|theatre |South West Pacific theatre of World War IIOther usespp-move-indef Oceania is a region centered on the island s of the tropical Pacific Ocean .For a history of the term, see Douglas & Ballard (2008) Foreign bodies: Oceania and the science of race 1750–1940 Opinions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the Pacific Ocean|South Pacific ( Ethnology|ethnologically divided into the subregion s of Melanesia , Micronesia , and Polynesia http://www.bartleby.com/65/oc/Oceania.html "Oceania". 2005. The Columbia Encyclopedia , 6th ed. Columbia University Press.) to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas , including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago . The term is sometimes used more specifically to denote a continent comprising Australia (continent)|Australia and proximate islands, http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings, United Nations Statistics Division. Revised August 28, 2007. Accessed on line October 11, 2007. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/world/referencemap_image_view The Atlas of Canada. Revised Date Modified: August 17, 2004. Accessed on line January 31, 2011.cite web|url= http://mx.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557382/Ocean%C3%ADa.html |title=Encarta Mexico "Oceanía" |publisher=Mx.encarta.msn.com |date= |accessdate=2009-04-17|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query? id=1257053672622272|archivedate=2009-11-01|deadurl=yescite book|last=Lewis |first=Martin W. |authorlink= |coauthors=Kären E. Wigen |title=The Myth of Continents: a Critique of Metageography |year=1997 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |id=ISBN 0-520-20742-4, ISBN 0-520-20743-2 |pages=32 |chapter= |quote= Interestingly enough, the answer from a scholar who sought to calculate the number of continents conformed almost precisely to the conventional list: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania (Australia plus New Zealand), Africa, and Antarctica. 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 ZealandUdvardy. 1975. A classification of the biogeographical provinces of the world or from mainland New GuineaSteadman. 2006. Extinction & biogeography of tropical Pacific birds ).
Etymology
The term was coined as Océanie ca. 1812 by geographer Conrad Malte-Brun .OED|Oceania The word Océanie derives from the Greek language|Greek word polytonic| wikt:??ea???|??ea??? ( okeanós ), ocean.clear
Definitions
Oceania
Demonym
Area
Population
Countries
Dependencies
Languages
Time Zones
Largest Cities
See also|List of Oceanian countries by population|List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Oceania
Physiography
Oceania was originally conceived as the lands of the Pacific Ocean, stretching from the Straits 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 ).Cite journal | last = D'Urville | first = Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont | authorlink = Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont D'Urville | coauthors = Isabel Ollivier, Antoine de Biran, and Geoffrey Clark | title = On the Islands of the Great Ocean | journal = The Journal of Pacific History | volume = 38 | issue = 2 | pages = | publisher = Taylor & Francis, Ltd. | location = | date = | url = http://www.jstor.org/stable/25169637 | issn = | doi = | id = | accessdate = Included are parts of three geological continents, Eurasia , Australia (continent)|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.MacKay (1864, 1885) Elements of Modern Geography , p 283Douglas & Ballard (2008) Foreign bodies: Oceania and the science of race 1750–1940
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 Australia (continent)|Australian continent .
Biogeography
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 or from mainland New Guinea).
Ecogeography
Oceania is one of eight terrestrial ecozone s, 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 Australasia 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.Ben Finney, The Other One-Third of the Globe, Journal of World History , Vol. 5, No. 2, Fall, 1994.
Geopolitics
Other definitions
The term is sometimes used more specifically than in the geopolitical conception, to denote a continent comprising Australia (continent)|Australia and proximate islands.
New Zealand forms the south-western corner of the Polynesian Triangle . Its indigenous Maori people|Maori constitute one of the major cultures of Polynesia. It is also, however, considered part of Australasia.
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. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9056698/Oceania Britannica Online Encyclopedia
The demographic table below shows the subregions and countries of geopolitical Oceania. 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.
Area (km²)
Population
Population density (per km²)
Capital
ISO 3166-1
Australasia The use and scope of this term varies. The UN designation for this subregion is "Australia and New Zealand."
flag>Australia
7,686,850
22,028,000
2.7
Canberra
AU
flag>New Zealand New Zealand is often considered part of Polynesia rather than Australasia .
Melanesia Excludes parts of Indonesia, island territories in Southeast Asia (UN region) frequently reckoned in this region.
flag>Fiji
18,270
856,346
46.9
Suva
FJ
flag>New Caledonia ( France )
19,060
240,390
12.6
Nouméa
NC
flag>Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea is often considered part of Australasia and Melanesia . It is sometimes included in the Malay Archipelago of Southeast Asia .
On 7 October 2006, government officials moved their offices in the former capital of Koror to Melekeok, located 20 km northeast of Koror on Babeldaob>Babelthuap Island .
Map of Nations and territories of Oceania including Australia and New Zealand
Religion
The predominant religion in Oceania is Christianity .citation needed|date=June 2011 Traditional religions are often animist and prevalent among traditional tribes is the belief in evil spirits ( masalai in Tok Pisin ), which are blamed for "poisoning" people, causing calamity and death. In recent Australian and New Zealand censuses, large proportions of the population say they belong to "No religion" (which includes Humanism , Atheism , Agnosticism , and Rationalism ). In Tonga , everyday life is heavily influenced by Polynesian culture|Polynesian traditions and especially by the Christian faith. The Bahá'í House of Worship in Tiapapata, Samoa is one of seven designations administered in the Baha'i faith .
Sport
Pacific Games
The Pacific Games (formerly known as the South Pacific Games) is a multi-sport event, much like the Olympics, (albeit on a much smaller scale), with participation exclusively from countries around the Pacific. It is held every four years and began in 1963.
Rugby League
Rugby league is a popular sport throughout Oceania, and is the national sport of Papua New Guineacite web|url= http://groups.msn.com/PNGKumuls/history.msnw? pgmarket=en-us |title=MSN Groups Closure Notice |publisher=Groups.msn.com |date=2008-10-23 |accessdate=2009-04-17 (the second most populous country in Oceania after Australia) and is very popular in Australiacite web|url= http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/football/ |title=Football in Australia - Australia's Culture Portal |publisher=Cultureandrecreation.gov.au |date=2008-03-28 |accessdate=2009-04-17 and attracts significant attention across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands .cite web|url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/R/RugbyLeagueFootball/RugbyLeagueFootball/en |title=Rugby League Football - 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand |publisher=Teara.govt.nz |date=1908-06-13 |accessdate=2009-04-17
Australia national rugby league team|Australia and New Zealand national rugby league team|New Zealand are two of the most successful sides in the world.cite news|url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/nov/05/england-rugby-league-australia-new-zealand |title=southern hemisphere sides are a class apart |publisher=guardian.co.uk |date=2009-11-05 |accessdate=2010-06-17 | location=London | first=Andy | last=Wilson Australia has won the Rugby League World Cup a record nine times while New Zealand won their first World Cup in 2008 Rugby League World Cup|2008 . Australia hosted the second tournament in 1957 Rugby League World Cup|1957 . Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted it in 1968 Rugby League World Cup|1968 and 1977 Rugby League World Cup|1977 . New Zealand hosted the final for the first time in 1985 - 1988 Rugby League World Cup|1985 - 1988 tournament and Australia hosted the last tournament in 2008 Rugby League World Cup|2008 .
Rugby Union
Rugby union is one of the region's most prominent sports,cite web|url= http://realtravel.com/tag-z3461145-314.html |title=Oceania Rugby Vacations |publisher=Real Travel |date= |accessdate=2009-04-17Dead link|date=February 2010 and is the national sport of New Zealand,cite web|url= http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_national_sports_are_there |title=How many national sports are there |publisher=WikiAnswers |date= |accessdate=2009-04-17 Samoa,Fiji and Tonga.Fiji national rugby union team (sevens)|Fiji's sevens team is one of the most successful in the world, as is New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens)|New Zealand's .
New Zealand and Australia have won the Rugby World Cup a record two times (tied with South Africa national rugby union team|South Africa who have also won it two times). New Zealand won the inaugural World Cup in 1987. Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted the World Cup in 1987. Australia hosted it in 2003 and New Zealand also hosted it in 2011, which they then went on to win.
Cricket
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 Cup s 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 List of International Cricket Council members#Full Members|Full members of the International Cricket Council|ICC . Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea are some of the List of International Cricket Council members|Associate/Affiliate members of the ICC from Oceania that are governed by ICC East Asia-Pacific . Beach Cricket , a greatly simplified variant of cricket played on a sand beach, is also a popular recreational sport 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.
Australian rules football
Main|Australian rules football in Oceania Australian rules football is the national sport in Naurucite web|url= http://solomonstarnews.com/index.php? option=com_content& task=view& id=1023& change=100& changeown=101& Itemid=42 |title=Nauru AFL team to play in International Cup |publisher=solomonstarnews.com |date=2008-04-16 |accessdate=2009-04-17 and is the most popular football code in Australia.cite web|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/44079/Australian-rules-football |title=Australian rules football (sport) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Britannica.com |date= |accessdate=2009-04-17 It is also popular in Papua New Guinea.cite web|url= http://www.afl-png.com/aboutus.html |title=pure AFL ... purely Papua New Guinea |publisher=Afl Png |date= |accessdate=2009-04-17Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot
Association football (soccer)
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of six association football confederationscite web |url= http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/confederations/index.html |title= FIFA confederations |publisher=Fifa.com |date= |accessdate=2009-04-17 under the auspices of FIFA , the international governing body of the sport. The OFC is the only confederation without an automatic qualification to the FIFA World Cup|World Cup Finals . Currently the winner of the OFC qualification tournament must play off against an Asian Football Confederation|Asian confederation side to qualify for the World Cup. http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/2010fwc-qualficationformat-oceania-v11-e_57821.pdf FIFA world cup 2010 - Oceania preliminary competition cite web|url= http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/tournament/index.html |title= FIFA world cup 2010 - qualifying rounds and places available by confederation |publisher=Fifa.com |date=2009-04-03 |accessdate=2009-04-17
Currently, Vanuatu is the only country in Oceania to call football (soccer) its national sport.
Oceania has been represented at four World Cup finals tournaments — Australia national association football team|Australia in 1974 FIFA World Cup|1974 , 2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup|2010 , and New Zealand national football team|New Zealand in 1982 FIFA World Cup|1982 and 2010 FIFA World Cup|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. 2010 was the first time two countries from Oceania had qualified at the same time, albeit through different confederations.
See also
portal|Geography|Oceania commonsmain|Outline of Oceaniacol-begincol-break
Art of Oceania
Economy of Oceania
Europeans in Oceania
Festival of Pacific Arts & nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/continents/australia-oceania/ "Australia and Oceania" from http://travel.nationalgeographic.com National Geographic
Navboxes|title = Articles related to Oceania |list = Countries and territories of OceaniaList of Oceanian capitals by regionRegions of the worldContinents of the world|state=collapsed Category:Oceania| Category:Continents Category:Pacific Ocean
