The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to Oceania.
Oceania is a geographical, and geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term is also sometimes used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate Pacific islands. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The boundaries of Oceania are defined in a number of ways. Most definitions include parts of Australasia such as Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, and parts of Maritime Southeast Asia. [5] [6] [7] Ethnologically, the islands of Oceania are divided into the subregions of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. [8]
Sovereign states and dependencies (listed in italic) that have at least some territory lying within Oceania:
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.