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Continent · Country Index 2026

Oceania

How do the countries of Oceania compare?

Half of Oceania’s 9 placed countries sit at or above 97th of 183 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 4th of 5 continents. Australia is placed highest, joint 17th; Papua New Guinea lowest, 144th. 2 reach the world’s top fifth. 12 more of its 21 countries and territories are not placed.

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OceaniaUN M49 009

Oceania, shown in red on a map of the world

97th

median position of 183 · 4th of 5 continents

Every region →world midpoint 91st

01Its sub-regions

The 4 sub-regions of Oceania

Each card gives the sub-region’s median position and a bar from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country; the photographs are the three most populous members with a banner. Every country follows below.

Every country in Oceania

Australia and New Zealandmedian 17th

Melanesiamedian 107th

Micronesiamedian 109th

Polynesiamedian 89th

02The region

About Oceania

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific island states, in the UN's four sub-regions.

Oceania is made up of Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the Pacific, scattered across the largest ocean on Earth. The UN divides it into four sub-regions: Australia and New Zealand, and the island groups of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.

Aboriginal Australians have lived on their continent for tens of thousands of years, and the remote Pacific islands were among the last places on Earth to be settled, by seafarers who crossed vast distances of open ocean. European colonisation followed from the eighteenth century. Many island states became independent from the 1960s onward, while others remain territories of, or in association with, the United States, France or New Zealand.

03Where

Oceania 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.

Beyond this frame, across the date line: American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tonga.

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

04Country Index 2026

Where Oceania’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
Oceania’s 9 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountrySub-regionIn the world1st183rd
1AustraliaAustralia and New Zealand17 / 183between 13th and 23rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
2New ZealandAustralia and New Zealand19 / 183between 13th and 23rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
3FijiMelanesia64 / 183between 59th and 70th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
4SamoaPolynesia89 / 183between 80th and 95th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
5TongaPolynesia97 / 183between 88th and 114th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
6VanuatuMelanesia107 / 183between 98th and 116th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
7KiribatiMicronesia109 / 183between 100th and 122nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 16 topics
8Solomon IslandsMelanesia124 / 183between 119th and 138th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
9Papua New GuineaMelanesia144 / 183between 138th and 147th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics

A further 12 of its countries and territories are not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and Tuvalu.

Oceania among the 5 continents with a median

4th of 5. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Europe26thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to Russia 73rd.
  2. Americas81stPlaced countries run from Canada 24th to Haiti 173rd.
  3. Asia91stPlaced countries run from South Korea 13th to Yemen 181st.
  4. Oceania97thPlaced countries run from Australia 17th to Papua New Guinea 144th.
  5. Africa148thPlaced countries run from Mauritius 45th to South Sudan 183rd.
  6. 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

Each sub-region’s median position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field. Strongest for Oceania: Environment & Sustainability, 1st of 5 continents. Weakest: Digital & Technology, 5th of 5.

All topics
Oceania: each sub-region’s median position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among continents.
Environment & SustainabilityPeace & SecurityDemocracy & Civil LibertiesEducation & KnowledgeRisk & ResilienceGender & EqualityMobility & TradePoverty & InequalityDevelopment & Human CapitalEconomy & InnovationEnergyFood & AgricultureGovernance & InstitutionsHealth & WellbeingWork & LabourDigital & TechnologyMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
Australia and New Zealand80 of 1865 of 1777 of 19818 of 19826 of 1939 of 18323 of 177No standing11 of 19627 of 176No standing54 of 1842 of 19438 of 2004 of 18230 of 198No standingNo standing
Melanesia14 of 18619 of 17779 of 198106 of 198163 of 193105 of 183105 of 17780 of 159123 of 196125 of 17695 of 165117 of 18498 of 194129 of 200115 of 182137 of 198No standingNo standing
MicronesiaNo standingNo standing29 of 19878 of 19889 of 193No standing68 of 17772 of 159134 of 196No standing105 of 165126 of 184157 of 194141 of 200No standing184 of 198No standingNo standing
Polynesia25 of 186No standing67 of 19891 of 19894 of 19356 of 18373 of 17715 of 159115 of 19691 of 17676 of 165128 of 184124 of 19498 of 200128 of 182159 of 198No standingNo standing
Oceania median25th of 18619th of 17743rd of 19890th of 19894th of 19394th of 18375th of 17772nd of 159125th of 196125th of 17695th of 165126th of 184121st of 194126th of 200103rd of 182159th of 198——
Among continents1st of 51st of 52nd of 52nd of 52nd of 53rd of 53rd of 53rd of 54th of 54th of 54th of 54th of 54th of 54th of 54th of 55th of 5——

Columns run from the topic where Oceania places best among continents 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

Oceania in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Oceania’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

    NiueAustralia496world median 6,541,4131,438,069,596

  • Land area

    km²

    FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end

    NauruAustralia0.4world median 87,58916,376,870

  • GDP per person

    international $, PPP · log scale

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

    No reading: American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands

    Solomon IslandsAustralia1,067world median 17,265139,593

  • Life expectancy

    years at birth

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

    NauruFrench Polynesia54.46world median 74.6386.37

  • Human development

    HDI, 0–1

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

    No reading: American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands

    Papua New GuineaAustralia0.388world median 0.7620.972

  • Unemployment

    % of the labour force

    ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better

    No reading: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Tuvalu

    Solomon IslandsFrench Polynesia0.13world median 5.08434.2
Every value for Oceania’s countries
CountryPopulation 2023Land area 2024GDP per person 2025Life expectancy 2023Human development 2023Unemployment 2025
American Samoa47,521rank 203199rank 204—72.85rank 130——
Australia26,451,124rank 547,688,287rank 660,194rank 2383.92rank 90.958rank 74.09rank 114
Cook Islands14,222rank 217240rank 202—75.28rank 106——
Fiji924,145rank 16218,333rank 15313,961rank 10767.32rank 1760.731rank 1115.347rank 85
French Polynesia281,118rank 1813,521rank 170—84.07rank 6—11.66rank 26
Guam166,506rank 186541rank 187—77.21rank 82—5.569rank 79
Kiribati132,530rank 187811rank 1793,364rank 16466.47rank 1840.644rank 140—
Marshall Islands38,827rank 211181rank 2067,660rank 13366.95rank 1810.733rank 108—
Micronesia112,630rank 190701rank 1843,935rank 15767.2rank 1780.615rank 149—
Nauru11,875rank 21821rank 21812,135rank 11462.11rank 2080.703rank 124—
New Caledonia289,870rank 17918,576rank 152—78.77rank 60—11.17rank 30
New Zealand5,172,836rank 123263,310rank 7548,233rank 3882.09rank 320.938rank 175.076rank 92
Niue1,817rank 221259rank 201—69.98rank 157——
Northern Mariana Islands45,143rank 206457rank 190—78.81rank 59——
Palau17,727rank 215460rank 18919,699rank 8369.27rank 1620.786rank 84—
Papua New Guinea10,389,635rank 93452,860rank 544,456rank 15266.13rank 1880.576rank 1602.571rank 158
Samoa216,663rank 1832,780rank 1717,963rank 13071.7rank 1420.708rank 1224.996rank 97
Solomon Islands800,005rank 16527,990rank 1412,382rank 17570.53rank 1520.584rank 1561.431rank 174
Tonga104,597rank 192720rank 1837,413rank 13472.89rank 1270.769rank 922.008rank 166
Tuvalu9,816rank 21926rank 2175,776rank 14367.1rank 1790.689rank 129—
Vanuatu320,409rank 17812,189rank 1583,867rank 15871.48rank 1460.621rank 1465.073rank 93

07In records

Oceania 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 Oceania’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
  2. Marshall Islands110 → 108+2
  3. Australia8 → 7+1

Declined most

rank before → after
  1. Palau81 → 84−3
  2. Micronesia147 → 149−2
  3. Papua New Guinea158 → 160−2
Every country in the Human Development Index

09In context

Across the border

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

The neighbouring continents

10Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The other continents

11Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Oceania?

Oceania holds 21 countries and territories on this site, in 4 UN sub-regions: Australia and New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification.

Which country in Oceania is placed highest?

Australia, placed joint 17th of 183 in the Country Index 2026. Papua New Guinea is placed lowest, 144th. 9 of the region’s 21 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Oceania compare with other regions?

Half of its 9 placed countries sit at or above 97th of 183, which places it 4th of 5 continents. The middle of the whole field is 91st. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Oceania?

45,549,016 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 21 countries and territories.

What is the largest country in Oceania?

By land area, Australia: 7,688,287 square kilometres (2024). By population, Australia: 26,451,124 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). Oceania: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/oceania

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