Oceania is the smallest terrestrial continent, with a territorial extension of 8,526,462 square kilometers. This portion of the globe is the second least inhabited on the planet – only Antarctica has the smallest population contingent. The total population of Oceania is approximately 36.6 million inhabitants, corresponding to 0.5% of the world population. Demographic density (relative population) is only 4.3 inhabitants per square kilometer.
The continental population is unevenly distributed in the 14 countries. Australia, the largest continental nation, is home to around 60% of Oceania's inhabitants – the country is home to 21,292,893 people, according to a count carried out in 2009. Papua New Guinea (6.7 million inhabitants) and New Zealand (4.2 million) are the other populous nations of Oceania.
On the other hand, the other 11 continental nations have a population of less than 1 million inhabitants. Nauru, for example, is inhabited by just 9,771 people. Tuvalu (11,100 inhabitants) and Palau (20 thousand) are other sparsely populated countries in Oceania.
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In addition to the territorial extension, another factor that influences this uneven distribution of the population in Oceania is the level of economic development. New Zealand and Australia have a high degree of industrialization, a fact that triggers migratory flows to these countries, thus increasing the population contingent.
Population of the countries of Oceania:
Australia: 23,630,169 inhabitants.
Fiji: 887,027 inhabitants.
Marshall Islands: 52,772 inhabitants.
Solomon Islands: 572,865 inhabitants.
Kiribati: 103,942 inhabitants.
Nauru: 10,081 inhabitants.
New Zealand: 4,551,349 inhabitants.
Palau: 21,097 inhabitants.
Papua New Guinea: 7,476,178 inhabitants.
Samoa: 191,831 inhabitants.
Tonga: 105,782 inhabitants.
Tuvalu: 9,854 inhabitants.
Vanuatu: 258,301 inhabitants.
By Wagner de Cerqueira and Francisco
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FRANCISCO, Wagner de Cerqueira and. "The distribution of population in Oceania"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/a-distribuicao-populacao-na-oceania.htm. Accessed on June 29, 2021.