Oceania

We explain what Oceania is and its physical and cultural characteristics. In addition, how is its economy, religion and the history of this continent.

What is Oceania?

Oceania is one of the six continents on the planet and the smallest of all. It is located south of the Pacific Ocean, west of the Indian Ocean and southeast of the Asian continent. It has an approximate extension of 8.7 million square kilometers, representing 5.9 % of the total land surface of the planet.

A particularity that Oceania presents is that 88 % of Its surface is occupied by a single country, Australia. The remaining 13 countries that make up the continent and the 15 colonial territories are distributed in the remaining 12 % of surface. Some of those countries are extensive, such as New Zealand or Papua New Guinea, and others are very small, such as Nauru or Vanuatu, which barely reach 20 square kilometers of extension.

Why is it called that? Name Oceania comes from the Greek Okeanoswhich means “ocean.” It was named in the early nineteenth century because it is a continent that is composed of thousands of islands distributed by the Pacific Ocean. This name reflects the importance of the ocean for this continent both in terms of its location and its culture and economy.

• See also: continents

Characteristics of Oceania

• The predominant climate is warm and dry.
• Flora and fauna is very diverse due to tropical, subtropical, marine, tundra and high mountain ecosystems that favor their development.
• The main endemic species of animals are: the koalas, the kangaroos, the demons of Tasmania, the Ornitorrincos and the broom tail possum.
• Most of the territory is occupied by Australia, the largest country on the continent. The rest of Oceania is made up of thousands of small islands.
• The most spoken language is English. To a lesser extent, Tok Pisin, Hindi and French are also spoken.

Extension, population and countries of Oceania

Most of the Oceania surface is located in the Pacific Oceanrelatively isolated from the rest of the continents. On a radius of 8000 kilometers from Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, only Australia, some islands of Southeast Asia and Antarctica appear.

Oceania has a total area of ​​8.7 million square kilometersof which 7.7 million correspond to Australia, the largest country in the continent and the largest sixth in the world.

In addition to Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Tasmania (which belongs to Australia), which are the most important islands on the continent, the rest of Oceania is made up of thousands of small islands. It’s about very small countries and colonies.

Oceania is made up of 14 independent countries and more than 15 colonies that depend politically on the United States, Great Britain, France, Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

The total population of the continent amounts to 42 million inhabitants, which represents only 0.5 % of the world total. Most of the population (92.1 %) is concentrated in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, with a strong presence of immigrants and descendants of European settlers.

The rest of the population is distributed among the island countries of micronsia, melanesia and Polynesia, where native ethnic groups have greater presence.

The most populous country in Oceania is Australiawith more than 25 million inhabitants. Because of its great extension and its relative population is one of the countries of the world with lower population density with only 3.2 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The second most populated country is Papua New Guinea, with almost 9 million inhabitants, and the third is New Zealand with a little more than 5 million. Regarding dependent territories, the most populous colony is French Polynesia with 285,000 inhabitants.

Physical-Natural characteristics of Oceania

Most of Oceania has a warm and dry climate, which are the climatic conditions that Australia has, the country that occupies more than 85 % of its surface. This extensive country It has much of its territory occupied by warm and dry desertswith high temperatures and rainfall that does not exceed 350 millimeters per year.

New Zealand and the islands of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, which are in southernmost latitudes, have a more temperate and rainy climate.

Oceania’s relief can be differentiated into three types, according to its characteristics and geological origin.

• Australian plain. Most of the relief of the continent is conditioned by the relief of Australia, which is a scarce planning without the presence of large mountains or mountain ranges.
• The volcanic islands. The islands that are part of the volcanic mountain ranges are characterized by their high altitude, which can exceed 4000 meters high.
• The Atolls. An atoll is a coral island that forms when corals grow in shallow waters and build a reef around a volcanic island. With the passage of geological time that volcanic island can disappear, which leaves as a result the coral ring that has formed around it. Some Oceania countries such as Nauru and Tuvalu are formed on Atolls.

The climatic conditions determine the hydrological characteristics of Oceania. There are no large water courses on the continent. The most extensive is the Murray River, in Australia, with about 2500 kilometers of extension. In mountainous and volcanic areas, rivers have a lot of slope and speed and are used to produce hydroelectric energy. In the small Pacific islands the small surface does not allow the development of large water courses.

Flora and fauna

Regarding the flora and fauna, there is an important biodiversity in Oceania in its tropical, subtropical, marine, tundra and high mountain ecosystems. These ecosystems are characterized by the numerous endemic species that house, such as the Koalas, the kangaroos, the demons of Tasmania, the Ornitorrincos and the broom tail possum.

Oceania culture and religion

The languages ​​that are most spoken in Oceania are:

• English. It is mainly spoken in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, and is the most used language in the ocean continent with more than 20 million people who use it as a native language.
• Tok Pisin. It is mainly spoken in Papua New Guinea, and is the language used by more than 2 million people.
• Hindi. It is spoken on the island of Fiji. It is estimated that it is spoken by more than 450,000 people.
• French. There is talk in Nueva Caledonia, Vanuatu and French Polynesia, among other places. It is spoken by more than 100,000 people.

In addition to these main languages, Spanish is spoken on Easter Island, which is a Chilean colony, and hundreds of languages ​​belonging to the original peoples of Oceania, such as Malay Polynesian and Maori.

As for religion, The majority of the population of Oceania practices Protestant Christianity. This is because many Oceanic countries were English colonies and in England most people are of Protestant religion. Second, Catholic Christianity is also very present, and to a much lesser extent is followed by other religions such as Islamism, Buddhism, Hinduism and religions professing the native peoples of Oceania.

Economic activities of Oceania

Oceania contributes just 1 % of the total world productionso it is not a continent of much weight in world economy and commerce.

Australia and New Zealand, mainly, stand out for the development of products related to the primary sector and are among the first world producers and exporters of sheep and wool. His subsoil is also very rich in minerals and hydrocarbons, and are two of the world’s leading producers and exporters of bauxite, coal, iron and aluminum.

The small Pacific islands, on the other hand, have their economies much less developed, and are based on subsistence agriculture, fishing and in some cases tourism.

Political characteristics of Oceania

The continent is divided into 14 countries, of which the vast majority are former British colonies, and about 15 units of European states such as France, the United Kingdom, Chile and the United States. Australia and New Zealand also have extraterritorial colonial territories.

The 14 oceanic countries can be ordered as follows:

• Great islands. They are those islands that have more than 200,000 square kilometers of extension. This group includes Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
• Small islands. They are those that have less than 200,000 square kilometers of extension, although most have less than 1000 square kilometers. It includes, from greater to lesser extent, to Solomon, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa Occidental, Kiribati, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Marshall, Tuvalu and Nauru. These last two, with 25 and 21 square kilometers respectively, are two of the smallest countries in the world.

All these countries have full representation in the United Nations Organization. In addition, many of them are part of the Commonwealththe organization that brings together the states that were British colonies. They also participate in regional blocks such as Pacific Islands forum.

History of Oceania

The history of Oceania dates back to the times when Polynesian and Melanesios peoples settled in the Pacific Islands. These peoples developed their own cultures and languages ​​and have lived in this continent for thousands of years.

In the seventeenth and 18th century Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, British and French explorers began to reach these Pacific Islands. In 1770, Captain James Cook of Great Britain arrived in Australia and New Zealand. From that moment on, the European colonization of the region began.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the European powers established colonies in Oceania. Australia and New Zealand became British colonies, while other islands in the region were colonized by France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and also Britain.

From the twentieth century the decolonization process began. Australia became independent in 1901 and New Zealand in 1907. The rest of the countries did so in the second half of the twentieth century, mainly after World War II.

References

• Geoencyclopedia (2022). Oceania. Geoencyclopedia
• Méndez, F. and Molinero, F. (1998). Spaces and societies. Introduction to the regional geography of the world. Ariel.
• Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Sydney (2020). Australia. Economic and Commercial Report. Ivace
• UN (SF). Pacific Islands forum. Department of Political Affairs and Peace Consolidation. DPPA
• Padilla, N (2022). Natural Bases of Oceania. Nulan
  Rodao, F. (2005). Oceania: Between the rise of large countries and the troubles of microstates. Asia Pacific Yearbook.

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