List of islands in the Pacific Ocean

This is a list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, collectively called the Pacific Islands. Three major groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean are Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Depending on the context, Pacific Islands may refer to countries and islands with common Austronesian origins, islands once or currently colonized, or Oceania. This list is organized by archipelago or political unit. In order to keep this list of moderate size, links are given to more complete lists for countries with large numbers of small or uninhabited islands.

See also: List of seas § Pacific Ocean
Three of the major groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean

Name ambiguity and groupings

The umbrella term Pacific Islands has taken on several meanings.[1] Sometimes it is used to refer only to the islands defined as lying within Oceania.[2][3] At other times, it is used to refer to the islands of the Pacific Ocean that were previously colonized by the British, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch, or Japanese, or by the United States. Examples include the Pitcairn Islands, Taiwan, and Borneo.[4]

A commonly applied biogeographic definition includes oceanic islands within Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and the eastern Pacific.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] These are usually considered to be the "Tropical Pacific Islands".[12] In the 1990s, ecologists Dieter Mueller-Dombois and Frederic Raymond Fosberg broke the Tropical Pacific Islands up into the following subdivisions:[13]

Geopolitics and Oceania grouping
Main article: Oceania
Exclusive economic zones of Oceania and adjacent areas. Non-tropical islands in the far north Pacific, such as the Aleutian Islands, are excluded from the map.

The 2007 book Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West, by New Zealand Pacific scholar Ron Crocombe, considers the phrase Pacific Islands to politically encompass American Samoa, Australia, the Bonin Islands, the Cook Islands, Easter Island, East Timor, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, the Galápagos Islands, Guam, Hawaii, the Kermadec Islands, Kiribati, Lord Howe Island, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Niue, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, the Torres Strait Islands, Wallis and Futuna, Western New Guinea and the United States Minor Outlying Islands (Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island). Crocombe noted that Easter Island, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, the Galápagos Islands, the Kermadec Islands, the Pitcairn Islands and the Torres Strait Islands currently have no geopolitical connections to Asia, but that they could be of future strategic importance in the Asia-Pacific region.[14]

Since the beginning of the 19th century, Australia and the islands of the Pacific have been grouped into a region called Oceania.[15][16] It is often considered a proper continent, with the Pacific Ocean being the defining characteristic.[17] 19th century definitions encompassed the region as beginning in the Malay Archipelago, and as ending near the Americas.[16][18][19][20][21] Non-oceanic Islands with historical ties to the Asian mainland (such as those in the Malay Archipelago) are rarely included in present definitions of Oceania, nor are non-tropical islands near Alaska, Canada and Russia.[22][23] Many consider Australia to be a continent-sized landmass, although they are still sometimes viewed as a Pacific Island;[24] this is partly due to their Indigenous population, who have been associated with the natives of areas such as Melanesia.[25] Australia is a founding member of the Pacific Islands Forum, which is now recognized as the main governing body for the Oceania region.[26] By 2021, the Pacific Islands Forum included all sovereign Pacific Island nations, such as Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji and Tonga, in addition to dependencies of other nations, such as American Samoa, French Polynesia and Guam. Islands which have been fully integrated into other nations, including Easter Island (Chile) and Hawaii (United States), have also shown interest in joining.[27] Tony deBrum, Foreign Minister for the Marshall Islands, stated in 2014, "Not only [is Australia] our big brother down south, Australia is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum and Australia is a Pacific island, a big island, but a Pacific island."[24] David Armitage's 2014 book Pacific Histories: Ocean, Land, People states that Australia and New Zealand are sometimes encompassed in phrases such as the Pacific or Pacific Islands, and that the Aleutian Islands, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia (excluding Western New Guinea) are not, despite also making up other insular regions of the Pacific Ocean.[28] Japan and certain nations of the Malay Archipelago (including the Philippines and Indonesia) have representation in the Pacific Islands Forum, but none are full members. The nations of the Malay Archipelago have their own regional governing organization called ASEAN, which includes mainland Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam and Thailand.[29][30] In July 2019, at the inaugural Indonesian Exposition held in Auckland, New Zealand, Indonesia launched its ‘Pacific Elevation’ program, which would encompass an new era of elevated engagement with the region, with the country also using the event to lay claim that Indonesia is culturally and ethnically linked to the Pacific islands. The event was attended by dignitaries from Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific island countries.[31]

List of the largest Pacific islands

Islands of the Pacific Ocean proper, with an area larger than 10,000 km2.

Name Area (km2) Country/Countries Population Population density Region Subregion
New Guinea785,753Indonesia and Papua New Guinea15,000,0009.544Oceania / AustraliaMelanesia
Honshu227,960Japan103,000,000451.8AsiaEast Asia
Sulawesi174,600Indonesia18,455,000105.7AsiaSoutheast Asia
South Island150,437New Zealand1,135,5007.5Oceania / ZealandiaAustralasia / Polynesia
North Island113,729New Zealand3,749,20033.0Oceania / ZealandiaAustralasia / Polynesia
Luzon109,965Philippines48,520,000441.2AsiaSoutheast Asia
Mindanao104,530Philippines25,281,000241.9AsiaSoutheast Asia
Tasmania90,758Australia514,7005.671Oceania / AustraliaAustralasia
Hokkaido77,981Japan5,474,00070.2AsiaEast Asia
Sakhalin72,493Russia580,0008.001AsiaNorth Asia
Taiwan Island (Formosa)35,883Taiwan23,000,000641AsiaEast Asia
Kyushu35,640Japan13,231,000371.2AsiaEast Asia
New Britain35,145Papua New Guinea513,92614.62OceaniaMelanesia
Vancouver Island31,285Canada759,36624.27North AmericaNorthern America
Shikoku18,800Japan4,141,955220.3AsiaEast Asia
Grande Terre16,648New Caledonia (France)208,70912.54Oceania / ZealandiaMelanesia
Palawan12,189Philippines430,00035.28AsiaSoutheast Asia
Hawaii10,434United States of America185,07917.74OceaniaPolynesia
Viti Levu10,388Fiji600,00056.97OceaniaMelanesia

Pacific islands by region

Antarctica

Asia

North and Central America

Oceania

South America

By country

Australia

Canada

Chile

China

Colombia

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Ecuador

Fiji

France

Indonesia

Japan

Kiribati

Malaysia

Marshall Islands

Mexico

Micronesia

Islands of Federated States of Micronesia

Nauru

  • Nauru, a country and single island

New Zealand

Niue

  • Niue, a country and single island

Palau

Palau has over 250 islands, including:

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

Russia

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Taiwan

Tonga

Tuvalu

United Kingdom

Main article: List of islands of the United Kingdom § Overseas Territories

United States

Vanuatu

Notes
  1. William Collins Sons & Co Ltd (1983), Collins Atlas of the World (revised 1995 ed.), London W6 8JB: HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-448227-1{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. D'Arcy, Paul (March 2006). The People of the Sea: Environment, Identity, and History in Oceania. University Of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3297-1. Archived from the original on 2014-10-30. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  3. Rapaport, Moshe (April 2013). The Pacific Islands: Environment and Society, Revised Edition. University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-6584-9. JSTOR j.ctt6wqh08. This is the only contemporary text on the Pacific Islands that covers both environment and sociocultural issues and will thus be indispensable for any serious student of the region. Unlike other reviews, it treats the entirety of Oceania (with the exception of Australia) and is well illustrated with numerous photos and maps, including a regional atlas. – via JSTOR (subscription required)
  4. Wright, John K. (July 1942). "Pacific Islands". Geographical Review. 32 (3): 481–486. doi:10.2307/210391. JSTOR 210391. – via JSTOR (subscription required)
  5. R. Zug, George (2013). Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands: A Comprehensive Guide. University of California Press. p. 10. One cannot refer to “Pacific islands” and ignore the Galapagos Islands and other eastern Pacific islands.
  6. Hinz, Earl R. (1999). Landfalls of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the Pacific Islands (4th ed.). University of Hawai'i Press. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  7. "Classifying Pacific islands | Geoscience Letters | Full Text". Geoscienceletters.springeropen.com. 2016-03-02. doi:10.1186/s40562-016-0041-8. S2CID 53970527. Retrieved 2022-03-02. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. Udvardy, Miklos D.F. "A Classification of the Biogeographical Provinces of the World" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  9. Doran, Edwin B. (1959). Handbook of Selected Pacific Islands. The University of California. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  10. Lal, Brij V.; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1. University of Hawaii Press. p. 60. ISBN 9780824822651. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  11. https://micronesica.org/sites/default/files/checklist_of_pacific_oceanic_islands_by_douglas_g._-_micronesica_vol.5_no.2_dec._1969_o.pdf
  12. Pacific Science Volume 46, April 1992
  13. Mueller-Dombois, Dieter; Fosberg, Frederic R. (1998). Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands. Springer. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  14. Crocombe, R. G. (2007). Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West. University of the South Pacific. Institute of Pacific Studies. p. 13. ISBN 9789820203884. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  15. Barrington-Ward, Mark James (1879). The child's geography. Oxford University. p. 56. Retrieved 13 March 2022. There are six great divisions of the earth— Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America and Oceania. Of these, Asia is largest, Europe smallest. Oceania is made up of Australia and many scattered islands
  16. Brown, Robert (1876). "Oceania: General Characteristics". The countries of the world. Oxford University. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  17. Society, National Geographic (4 January 2012). "Australia and Oceania: Physical Geography". National Geographic Society.
  18. Ireland, A. (1863). The Geography and History of Oceania. W. Fletcher, printer. p. 1. Retrieved 12 March 2022. Oceania, the fifth great division of the earth's surface, includes the numerous islands scattered over the great ocean which extends from the south - eastern shores of Asia to the western coast of America.
  19. Wallace, Alfred Russel (1879). Australasia. The University of Michigan. p. 2. Retrieved 12 March 2022. Oceania is the word often used by continental geographers to describe the great world of islands we are now entering upon [...] This boundless watery domain, which extends northwards of Behring Straits and southward to the Antarctic barrier of ice, is studded with many island groups, which are, however, very irregularly distributed over its surface. The more northerly section, lying between Japan and California and between the Aleutian and Hawaiian Archipelagos is relived by nothing but a few solitary reefs and rocks at enormously distant intervals.
  20. Chambers, William (1856). Chambers's Parlour Atlas with Descriptive Introduction and Copious Consulting Index. The University of Virginia. Oceania, the fifth great division of the earth's surface, includes the numerous islands scattered over the great ocean which extends from the south - eastern shores of Asia to the western coast of America. It is separated from Asia by the Str. of Malacca, the Chinese Sea, and the Channel of Formosa; and from America by a broad belt of ocean comparatively free of islands.
  21. Chambers's New Handy Volume American Encyclopædia: Volume 9. The University of Virginia. 1885. p. 657. Retrieved 13 March 2022. the whole region has sometimes been called Oceania, and sometimes Australasia—generally, however, in modern times, to the exclusion of the islands in the Indian archipelago, to which certain writers have given the name of Malaysia [...] we have the three geographical divisions of Malaysia, Australasia and Polynesia, the last mentioned of which embraces all the groups and single islands not included under the other two. Accepting this arrangement, still the limits between Australasia and Polynesia have not been very accurately defined; indeed, scarcely any two geographers appear to be quite agreed upon the subject; neither shall we pretend to decide in the matter. The following list, however, comprises all the principal groups and single island not previously named as coming under the division of Australasia: 1. North of the equator—The Ladrone or Marian islands. the Pelew islands, the Caroline islands, the Radack and Ralick chains, the Sandwich islands, Gilbert's or Kingstnill's archipelago. and the Galapagos. 2. South of the equator—The Ellice group, the Phoenix and Union groups. the Fiji islands, the Friendly islands, the Navigator's islands. Cook's or Harvey islands, the Society islands. the Dangerous archipelago, the Marquesas islands, Pitcairn island, and Easter island.
  22. Henderson, John William (1971). Area Handbook for Oceania. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 5. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  23. "Oceania | Definition, Population, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com.
  24. O'Malley, Nick (September 21, 2014). "'Australia is a Pacific island - it has a responsibility'". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  25. Ernst, Manfred; Anisi, Anna (1 February 2016). "The Historical Development of Christianity in Oceania". Sanneh/Wiley: 588–604 – via www.academia.edu.
  26. "Consultations on Pacific Islands Forum 2050 Strategy". Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  27. "Pacific forum looks to widen entry - ABC News". ABC News. Abc.net.au. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  28. Armitage, David (2014). Pacific Histories: Ocean, Land, People. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 32. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  29. "The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) | Coopération Régionale et Relations Extérieures de la Nouvelle-Calédonie". Cooperation-regionale.gouv.nc. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  30. https://ipdefenseforum.com/2021/01/japan-u-s-increase-cooperation-to-enhance-pacific-islands-security/
  31. https://blogs.griffith.edu.au/asiainsights/indonesias-pacific-elevation-elevating-what-and-who/
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