What is Oceania?
Oceania is a word for a large region that includes Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. The term was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d’Urville. Today, the term is occasionally used to describe a continental area, in lieu of focusing only on Australia. Altogether, the population of Oceania is about 36 million, with all but 11 million living in Australia or New Zealand. There are about 19 countries that either exist entirely within or overlap with Oceania, not counting several territories of France, the UK, Chile, the USA, and Australia. Spanning an area of ocean about the size of South America, three primary areas of Oceania consist of nothing but small islands — Melanesia, which is directly north of Australia, Micronesia, which is north of that, and Polynesia, which is to the east. Oceania is unusual for being the most recent continental area to be opened up to colonization from the rest of the world — while the America
