Skip to content
Nations Inquiry — home

Sub-region of Oceania · Country Index 2026

Melanesia

How are the countries of Melanesia doing?

Half of Melanesia’s 4 placed countries sit at or above 107th of 183 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 16th of 22 sub-regions. Fiji is placed highest, 64th; Papua New Guinea lowest, 144th. None reaches the world’s top fifth. 1 more of its 5 countries and territories is not placed.

Share

Share this page

MelanesiaUN M49 054

Melanesia, shown in red on a map of the world

107th

median position of 183 · 16th of 22 sub-regions

Oceania →median 97th

01Who is in it

The countries of Melanesia

Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.

02The region

About Melanesia

The south-western Pacific arc, from Papua New Guinea to Fiji.

Melanesia is the arc of islands in the south-western Pacific from New Guinea to Fiji, taking in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Many of its islands are mountainous and volcanic, covered in tropical forest, and lie along the edge of the Pacific tectonic plate.

People reached New Guinea tens of thousands of years ago, and later seafarers carried settlement further east across the islands. The region is one of the most linguistically diverse places on Earth, with hundreds of languages spoken in Papua New Guinea alone. Most of its states became independent in the 1970s and 1980s, and New Caledonia remains linked to France.

03Where

Melanesia on the map

Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.

Country Index position: 1st183rdMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks

04Country Index 2026

Where Melanesia’s countries place

Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 183, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.

The full Country Index 2026
Melanesia’s 4 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountryIn the world1st183rd
1Fiji64 / 183between 59th and 70th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
2Vanuatu107 / 183between 98th and 116th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
3Solomon Islands124 / 183between 119th and 138th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
4Papua New Guinea144 / 183between 138th and 147th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics

A further 1 of its countries and territories is not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. New Caledonia.

Melanesia among the 22 sub-regions with a median

16th of 22. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Western Europe8thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  2. Northern Europe11thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 26th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from Australia 17th to New Zealand 19th.
  4. Northern America24thPlaced countries run from Canada 24th to United States 37th.
  5. Southern Europe31stPlaced countries run from Slovenia 14th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 62nd.
  6. Eastern Asia42ndPlaced countries run from South Korea 13th to Mongolia 75th.
  7. Eastern Europe43rdPlaced countries run from Czechia 10th to Russia 73rd.
  8. Central America80thPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  9. Caribbean81stPlaced countries run from Barbados 67th to Haiti 173rd.
  10. South America83rdPlaced countries run from Uruguay 35th to Venezuela 133rd.
  11. South-eastern Asia86thPlaced countries run from Singapore 25th to Myanmar 159th.
  12. Polynesia89thPlaced countries run from Samoa 89th to Tonga 97th.
  13. Western Asia95thPlaced countries run from Cyprus 33rd to Yemen 181st.
  14. Central Asia102ndPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 61st to Turkmenistan 158th.
  15. Southern Asia106thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 52nd to Afghanistan 175th.
  16. Melanesia107thPlaced countries run from Fiji 64th to Papua New Guinea 144th.
  17. Micronesia109thPlaced countries run from Kiribati 109th to Kiribati 109th.
  18. Northern Africa116thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 104th to Sudan 179th.
  19. Southern Africa121stPlaced countries run from South Africa 93rd to Eswatini 147th.
  20. Western Africa148thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 94th to Guinea-Bissau 171st.
  21. Eastern Africa153rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 45th to South Sudan 183rd.
  22. Middle Africa166thPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 115th to Chad 180th.
  23. Oceania, the whole continent97th
  24. The world’s midpoint91st
1st183rdmedian

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

05By subject

Topic by topic

Every country’s position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field; select a cell for the country’s page on the topic. Strongest for Melanesia: Environment & Sustainability, 2nd of 21 sub-regions. Weakest: Risk & Resilience, 21st of 22.

All topics
Melanesia: each country’s position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among sub-regions.
Environment & SustainabilityPeace & SecurityDemocracy & Civil LibertiesGovernance & InstitutionsGender & EqualityWork & LabourEducation & KnowledgeMobility & TradePoverty & InequalityDevelopment & Human CapitalEnergyFood & AgricultureHealth & WellbeingDigital & TechnologyEconomy & InnovationRisk & ResilienceMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
Fiji36 of 18619 of 17779 of 19850 of 194102 of 183130 of 18285 of 198105 of 17780 of 15985 of 19642 of 16557 of 184125 of 200137 of 19856 of 176108 of 193No standingNo standing
Vanuatu18 of 18617 of 17757 of 19898 of 194105 of 18388 of 182106 of 198154 of 17787 of 159123 of 196No standing153 of 184129 of 200133 of 198132 of 176163 of 193No standingNo standing
Solomon Islands7 of 18639 of 17783 of 198121 of 194137 of 18339 of 182134 of 19877 of 177No standing151 of 196129 of 165170 of 184145 of 200185 of 198125 of 176174 of 193No standingNo standing
Papua New Guinea14 of 18681 of 177112 of 198142 of 194139 of 183150 of 182172 of 19867 of 177No standing164 of 19695 of 165117 of 184171 of 200142 of 198147 of 176190 of 193No standingNo standing
New CaledoniaNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing115 of 182No standing108 of 177No standingNo standing101 of 165No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Region median14th of 18619th of 17779th of 19898th of 194105th of 183115th of 182106th of 198105th of 17780th of 159123rd of 19695th of 165117th of 184129th of 200137th of 198125th of 176163rd of 193——
Among sub-regions2nd of 212nd of 2010th of 2213th of 2214th of 2114th of 2115th of 2215th of 2215th of 2116th of 2216th of 2116th of 2216th of 2217th of 2217th of 2121st of 22——

Columns run from the topic where Melanesia places best among sub-regions to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.

06In numbers

Melanesia in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Melanesia’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.

All statistics

  • Population

    people · log scale

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · no better end

    New CaledoniaVanuatuSolomon IslandsFijiPapua New Guinea496world median 6,541,4131,438,069,596

  • Land area

    km²

    FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end

    VanuatuFijiNew CaledoniaSolomon Islands0.4world median 87,58916,376,870

  • GDP per person

    international $, PPP · log scale

    World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better

    No reading: New Caledonia

    Solomon IslandsVanuatuPapua New GuineaFiji1,067world median 17,265139,593

  • Life expectancy

    years at birth

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · higher is better

    Papua New GuineaFijiSolomon IslandsVanuatuNew Caledonia54.46world median 74.6386.37

  • Human development

    HDI, 0–1

    UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better

    No reading: New Caledonia

    Papua New GuineaSolomon IslandsVanuatuFiji0.388world median 0.7620.972

  • Unemployment

    % of the labour force

    ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better

    Solomon IslandsPapua New GuineaVanuatuFijiNew Caledonia0.13world median 5.08434.2
Every value for Melanesia’s countries
CountryPopulation 2023Land area 2024GDP per person 2025Life expectancy 2023Human development 2023Unemployment 2025
Fiji924,145rank 16218,333rank 15313,961rank 10767.32rank 1760.731rank 1115.347rank 85
New Caledonia289,870rank 17918,576rank 152—78.77rank 60—11.17rank 30
Papua New Guinea10,389,635rank 93452,860rank 544,456rank 15266.13rank 1880.576rank 1602.571rank 158
Solomon Islands800,005rank 16527,990rank 1412,382rank 17570.53rank 1520.584rank 1561.431rank 174
Vanuatu320,409rank 17812,189rank 1583,867rank 15871.48rank 1460.621rank 1465.073rank 93

07In records

Melanesia in records

The member at the extreme of each statistic, read from its newest edition. Where two members share the top, no record is named.

08Latest editions

Who rose and fell in the published ranks

The moves of Melanesia’s countries between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.

Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Human Development Index: reference years 2022 (192 countries ranked) → 2023 (193 ranked), both from its 2025 report.

Improved most

rank before → after
  1. Fiji114 → 111+3

Declined most

rank before → after
  1. Papua New Guinea158 → 160−2
  2. Vanuatu145 → 146−1
  3. Solomon Islands155 → 156−1
Every country in the Human Development Index

09In context

Across the border

The countries outside Melanesia that share a land border with one of its members, with their world positions, and the sub-regions they belong to. Land borders only, as drawn on the map.

South-eastern Asia

The neighbouring sub-regions

10Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The rest of Oceania

11Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Melanesia?

5 countries and territories: Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification.

Which country in Melanesia is placed highest?

Fiji, placed 64th of 183 in the Country Index 2026. Papua New Guinea is placed lowest, 144th. 4 of the region’s 5 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Melanesia compare with other regions?

Half of its 4 placed countries sit at or above 107th of 183, which places it 16th of 22 sub-regions. The median across Oceania is 97th. The middle of the whole field is 91st. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Melanesia?

12,724,064 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 5 countries and territories.

What is the largest country in Melanesia?

By land area, Papua New Guinea: 452,860 square kilometres (2024). By population, Papua New Guinea: 10,389,635 people (2023).

How a region’s figure is made
  1. Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
  2. Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
  3. The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
  4. A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Melanesia: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/melanesia

Feedback

Feedback

How are we doing?

Two answers are required — a rating and your email. The rest is up to you.