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Sub-region of Oceania · Country Index 2026
Polynesia
How are the countries of Polynesia doing?
Polynesia’s two placed countries are Samoa, 64th of 174 in the Country Index 2026, and Tonga, 87th. The region’s median is the better of the two, 64th, which places the region 8th of 21 sub-regions. 5 more of its 7 countries and territories are not placed.
01Who is in it
The countries of Polynesia
Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.
Photo: Peter Craig, National Park Service · Public domain, greyscale
- Capital
- Pago Pago
- People, 2023
- 47,521
- Land, 2024
- 199 km²
Not placed in the Country Index — standings on 0 of 12 topics
Photo: Benedict Adam · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Avarua
- People, 2023
- 14,222
- Land, 2024
- 240 km²
Not placed in the Country Index — standings on 2 of 12 topics
Placed highest on Education & Knowledge, joint 60th of 182
Photo: mcclave · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Papeete
- People, 2023
- 281,118
- Land, 2024
- 3,521 km²
Not placed in the Country Index — standings on 2 of 12 topics
Placed highest on Work & Labour, 128th of 182
Photo: File: Msdstefan at de.wikipedia derivative work: Lkcl it · CC BY-SA 2.0 de, greyscale
- Capital
- Alofi
- People, 2023
- 1,817
- Land, 2024
- 259 km²
Not placed in the Country Index — standings on 1 of 12 topics
Placed highest on Health & Wellbeing, 141st of 201
Photo: Neil derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Apia
- People, 2023
- 216,663
- Land, 2024
- 2,780 km²
Country Index64th of 174
Placed highest on Environment & Sustainability, 16th of 161
Photo: Haanofonua derivative work: Massimo Telò · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Nukuʻalofa
- People, 2023
- 104,597
- Land, 2024
- 720 km²
Country Index87th of 174
Placed highest on Democracy & Civil Liberties, 46th of 198
Photo: mrlins derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Funafuti
- People, 2023
- 9,816
- Land, 2024
- 26 km²
Not placed in the Country Index — standings on 6 of 12 topics
Placed highest on Risk & Resilience, 10th of 191
02The region
About Polynesia
The central and southern Pacific islands, from Samoa to French Polynesia.
Polynesia is the great triangle of the central and southern Pacific with Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island at its corners. In the UN’s classification the sub-region covers the islands within it — Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, Niue and French Polynesia among them — while New Zealand is counted with Australia and Hawaii with the United States.
Polynesian navigators settled these islands over many centuries, finding their way across open ocean by the stars, the swells and the flight of birds. European contact came from the sixteenth century, and many islands became colonies or protectorates of Britain, France, New Zealand or the United States. Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu are independent states, while the Cook Islands and Niue are self-governing in free association with New Zealand.
03Where
Polynesia 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: Tuvalu.
Country Index position: 1st174thMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks
04Country Index 2026
Where Polynesia’s countries place
Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 174, 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.
| In region | Country | In the world | 1st174th |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Samoa | 64 / 174between 59th and 81st if any one key were dropped · standings on 10 of 12 topics | |
| 2 |  Tonga | 87 / 174between 80th and 94th if any one key were dropped · standings on 9 of 12 topics |
A further 5 of its countries and territories are not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 9 of its 12 voting topics. American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue and Tuvalu.
Polynesia among the 21 sub-regions with a median
8th of 21. Nothing is weighted by population or size.
- 1Western Europe7th7 of 9Placed countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 25th.
- 2Northern Europe9th10 of 13Placed countries run from Ireland 2nd to Latvia 27th.
- 3Australia and New Zealand13th2 of 2Placed countries run from New Zealand 13th to Australia 14th.
- 4Eastern Asia18th4 of 8Placed countries run from South Korea 16th to Mongolia 80th.
- 5Northern America20th2 of 4Placed countries run from Canada 20th to United States 33rd.
- 6Southern Europe30th12 of 17Placed countries run from Slovenia 15th to Albania 57th.
- 7Eastern Europe41st10 of 10Placed countries run from Czechia 12th to Russia 85th.
- 8Polynesia64th2 of 7Placed countries run from Samoa 64th to Tonga 87th.
- 9South America74th12 of 12Placed countries run from Uruguay 35th to Venezuela 139th.
- 10Caribbean76th9 of 24Placed countries run from Barbados 55th to Haiti 168th.
- 11Western Asia80th17 of 19Placed countries run from Cyprus 36th to Yemen 172nd.
- 12South-eastern Asia90th11 of 11Placed countries run from Singapore 21st to Myanmar 152nd.
- 13Central America92nd8 of 8Placed countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 132nd.
- 14Central Asia104th5 of 5Placed countries run from Kazakhstan 62nd to Turkmenistan 133rd.
- 15Melanesia108th4 of 5Placed countries run from Fiji 66th to Papua New Guinea 145th.
- 16Southern Asia109th9 of 9Placed countries run from Maldives 50th to Afghanistan 171st.
- 17Southern Africa113th5 of 5Placed countries run from South Africa 94th to Eswatini 138th.
- 18Northern Africa125th6 of 6Placed countries run from Tunisia 105th to Sudan 173rd.
- 19Western Africa141st15 of 16Placed countries run from Ghana 99th to Mauritania 166th.
- 20Eastern Africa142nd15 of 19Placed countries run from Mauritius 46th to Somalia 174th.
- 21Middle Africa150th9 of 9Placed countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 95th to Chad 170th.
- Micronesia—none placed
- Oceania, the whole continent66th
- The world’s midpoint87th
1st174thmedianplaced
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 Polynesia: Environment & Sustainability, 2nd of 21 sub-regions. Weakest: Governance & Institutions, 18th of 22.
| Environment & Sustainability | Risk & Resilience | Democracy & Civil Liberties | Education & Knowledge | Mobility & Connectivity | Health & Wellbeing | Gender & Equality | Development & Human Capital | Work & Labour | Governance & Institutions | Economy & Innovation | Peace & Security | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samoa | 16 of 161 | 41 of 191 | 33 of 198 | 52 of 182 | 70 of 147 | 96 of 201 | 116 of 178 | 128 of 194 | 152 of 182 | 125 of 193 | No standing | No standing |
| Tonga | 124 of 161 | 71 of 191 | 46 of 198 | 60 of 182 | No standing | 89 of 201 | 145 of 178 | 104 of 194 | 103 of 182 | 134 of 193 | No standing | No standing |
 American Samoa | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing |
 Cook Islands | No standing | No standing | No standing | 60 of 182 | No standing | 93 of 201 | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing |
 French Polynesia | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | 115 of 147 | No standing | No standing | No standing | 128 of 182 | No standing | No standing | No standing |
 Niue | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | 141 of 201 | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing | No standing |
 Tuvalu | No standing | 10 of 191 | 19 of 198 | 35 of 182 | No standing | 147 of 201 | No standing | 142 of 194 | No standing | 174 of 193 | No standing | No standing |
| Region median | 16th of 161 | 41st of 191 | 33rd of 198 | 52nd of 182 | 70th of 147 | 96th of 201 | 116th of 178 | 128th of 194 | 128th of 182 | 134th of 193 | — | — |
| Among sub-regions | 2nd of 21 | 4th of 22 | 6th of 22 | 8th of 22 | 11th of 21 | 12th of 22 | 14th of 21 | 17th of 22 | 17th of 21 | 18th of 22 | — | — |
Columns run from the topic where Polynesia 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
Polynesia in 6 numbers
Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Polynesia’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.
GDP per person
international $, PPP · log scale
World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better
No reading: American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue
Human development
HDI, 0–1
UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better
No reading: American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue
Unemployment
% of the labour force
ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better
No reading: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu
Every value for Polynesia’s countries
| Country | Population 2023 | Land area 2024 | GDP per person 2025 | Life expectancy 2023 | Human development 2023 | Unemployment 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Samoa | 47,521rank 203 | 199rank 204 | — | 72.85rank 130 | — | — |
| Cook Islands | 14,222rank 217 | 240rank 202 | — | 75.28rank 106 | — | — |
| French Polynesia | 281,118rank 181 | 3,521rank 170 | — | 84.07rank 6 | — | 11.66rank 26 |
| Niue | 1,817rank 221 | 259rank 201 | — | 69.98rank 157 | — | — |
| Samoa | 216,663rank 183 | 2,780rank 171 | 7,963rank 130 | 71.7rank 142 | 0.708rank 122 | 4.996rank 97 |
| Tonga | 104,597rank 192 | 720rank 183 | 7,413rank 134 | 72.89rank 127 | 0.769rank 92 | 2.008rank 166 |
| Tuvalu | 9,816rank 219 | 26rank 217 | 5,776rank 143 | 67.1rank 179 | 0.689rank 129 | — |
07In records
Polynesia 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.
Most populous
281,118
people
Largest by land area
3,521
square kilometres
Highest GDP per person
7,963
international $ at purchasing power parity
Longest life expectancy
84.07
years at birth
Highest human development
0.769
on the Human Development Index, 0–1
Lowest unemployment
2.008
% of the labour force
08Latest editions
Who rose and fell in the published ranks
The moves of Polynesia’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.
Declined most
rank before → after- Tonga91 → 92−1
Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Gender Inequality Index: reference years 2022 (172 countries ranked) → 2023 (172 ranked), both from its 2025 report.
Every country in the Gender Inequality IndexRanks as published by Oxford Insights in the Government AI Readiness Index: the 2024 edition (188 countries ranked) → the 2025 edition (195 ranked).
Improved most
rank before → afterNo country moved this way.
09Keep reading
Explore further
The rest of Oceania
Australia and New Zealand
Countries: Australia, New Zealand.13th
median of 174 · 2 of 2 placed
New Zealand 13th → Australia 14th
Melanesia
Countries: Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.108th
median of 174 · 4 of 5 placed
Fiji 66th → Papua New Guinea 145th
Micronesia
Countries: Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau.—
no country placed · 0 of 7 placed
10Method
Questions, method and sources
Which countries are in Polynesia?
7 countries and territories: American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification.
Which country in Polynesia is placed highest?
Samoa, placed 64th of 174 in the Country Index 2026. Tonga is placed lowest, 87th. 2 of the region’s 7 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.
How does Polynesia compare with other regions?
Its median is 64th of 174 — with two placed countries, the better of the two positions, which places it 8th of 21 sub-regions. The median across Oceania is 66th. The middle of the whole field is 87th. Nothing is weighted by population or size.
How many people live in Polynesia?
675,754 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 7 countries and territories.
What is the largest country in Polynesia?
By land area, French Polynesia: 3,521 square kilometres (2024). By population, French Polynesia: 281,118 people (2023).
How a region’s figure is made
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- American Samoa — Peter Craig, National Park Service, Public domain
- Cook Islands — Benedict Adam, CC BY 2.0
- French Polynesia — mcclave, CC BY 2.0
- Niue — File: Msdstefan at de.wikipedia derivative work: Lkcl it, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- Samoa — Neil derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.0
- Tonga — Haanofonua derivative work: Massimo Telò, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Tuvalu — mrlins derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Polynesia: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/polynesia