• Clockwise from top left: A manta ray glides over the reefs of the Palau archipelago; a sea turtle explores the waters off Okinawa; a humpback whale cavorts off the coast of Kaikoura, New Zealand; clownfish swim among sea anemone off Ishigaki Island in Okinawa; Napoleon fish are said to be a favorite among divers in Palau. | GETTY IMAGES
    Clockwise from top left: A manta ray glides over the reefs of the Palau archipelago; a sea turtle explores the waters off Okinawa; a humpback whale cavorts off the coast of Kaikoura, New Zealand; clownfish swim among sea anemone off Ishigaki Island in Okinawa; Napoleon fish are said to be a favorite among divers in Palau. | GETTY IMAGES

MELANESIA

Republic of Fiji
Land area: 18,270 sq. km
EEZ: 1,282,980 sq. km
Population: 904,590
Capital: Suva
GDP: $4.98 billion
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber

Sawa-i-Lau Caves on the Yasawa Islands, Fiji
Sawa-i-Lau Caves on the Yasawa Islands, Fiji

Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Land area: 452,860 sq. km
EEZ: 2,402,290 sq. km
Population: 9,501,006
Capital: Port Moresby
GDP: $31.6 billion
Industries: oil and gas; mining; palm oil processing; plywood and wood chip production; copra crushing; construction; tourism; fishing

Sunset on Petats Island, Papua New Guinea
Sunset on Petats Island, Papua New Guinea

Solomon Islands
Land area: 27,990 sq. km
EEZ: 1,553,440 sq. km
Population: 761,215
Capital: Honiara
GDP: $1.6 billion
Industries: fishing (tuna), mining, timber

Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands
Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands

Republic of Vanuatu
Land area: 12,190 sq. km
EEZ: 663,251 sq. km
Population: 314,653
Capital: Port Vila
GDP: $1 billion
Industries: food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning

Landscape of a blue river in a jungle in Vanuatu
Landscape of a blue river in a jungle in Vanuatu

MICRONESIA

Republic of Kiribati
Land area: 810 sq. km
EEZ: 3,441,810 sq. km
Population: 124,742
Capital: Tarawa
GDP: $223 million
Industries: fishing, handicrafts

Reef around Fanning Island, Kiribati
Reef around Fanning Island, Kiribati

Republic of the Marshall Islands
Land area: 180 sq. km
EEZ: 1,990,530 sq. km
Population: 54,366
Capital: Majuro
GDP: $258 million
Industries: copra, tuna processing, tourism, craft items (from seashells, wood, and pearls)

Majuro, capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
Majuro, capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Federated States of Micronesia
Land area: 700 sq. km
EEZ: 2,996,420 sq. km
Population: 106,194
Capital: Palikir
GDP: $424 million
Industries: tourism, construction; specialized aquaculture, craft items (shells and wood)

Kepirohi Waterfall in Pohnpei, Micronesia
Kepirohi Waterfall in Pohnpei, Micronesia

Republic of Nauru
Land area: 20 sq. km
EEZ: 308,480 sq. km
Population: 12,017
GDP: $151 million
Industries: phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products

Anibare boat harbor, Nauru
Anibare boat harbor, Nauru

Republic of Palau
Land area: 460 sq. km
EEZ: 603,978 sq. km
Population: 17,989
Capital: Melekeok
GDP: $232 million
Industries: tourism, fishing, subsistence agriculture

Rock Islands Southern Lagoon in Palau
Rock Islands Southern Lagoon in Palau

POLYNESIA

Cook Islands
Land area: 240 sq. km
EEZ: 1,830,000 sq. km
Population: 15,470
Capital: Avarua
GDP: $336 million
Industries: fishing, fruit processing, tourism, clothing, handicrafts

Rarotonga Beach, Cook Islands
Rarotonga Beach, Cook Islands

Niue
Land area: 260 sq. km
EEZ: 450,000 sq. km
Population: 1,510
Capital: Alofi
GDP: 38 million (NZ$)
Industries: handicrafts, food processing

A coconut crab crosses a road in Niue.
A coconut crab crosses a road in Niue.

Independent State of Samoa
Land area: 2,780 sq. km
EEZ: 127,950 sq. km
Population: 202,100
Capital: Apia
GDP: $833 million
Industries: food processing, building materials, auto parts

To-Sua Ocean Trench in Samoa
To-Sua Ocean Trench in Samoa

Kingdom of Tonga
Land area: 720 sq. km
EEZ: 659,558 sq. km
Population: 99,026
Capital: Nuku’alofa
GDP: $469 million
Industries: tourism, construction, fishing

Aerial view of islands in Tonga
Aerial view of islands in Tonga

Tuvalu
Land area: 30 sq. km
EEZ: 749,790 sq. km
Population: 10,876
Capital: Funafuti
GDP: $60 million
Industries: fishing

Beautiful beach on Tuvalu
Beautiful beach on Tuvalu

OTHERS

Australia
Land area: 7,692,024 sq. km
EEZ: 8.2 million sq. km
Population: 26 million
Capital: Canberra
GDP: $1.675 trillion
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel

Famous Heart Reef of Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Famous Heart Reef of Great Barrier Reef, Australia

French Polynesia
Land area: 3,471 sq. km
EEZ: 4,767,240 sq. km
Population: 281,811
Capital: Papeete (located in Tahiti)
GDP: $5.8 billion
Industries: tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates

Water bungalows in Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Water bungalows in Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Japan
Land area: 378,000 sq. km
EEZ: 4.47 million sq. km
Population: 123 million
GDP: $4.232 trillion
Industries: motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods

Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture
Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture

New Caledonia
Land area: 18,280 sq. km
EEZ: 1,422,540 sq. km
Population: 275,315
Capital: Noumea
GDP: $ 9.6 billion
Industries: nickel mining and smelting

The Heart of Voh, a natural clearing formed by mangroves, in New Caledonia
The Heart of Voh, a natural clearing formed by mangroves, in New Caledonia

New Zealand
Land area: 270,534 sq. km
EEZ: 4 million sq. km
Population: 5.2 million
Capital: Wellington
GDP: $247 billion
Industries: agriculture, forestry, fishing, logs and wood articles, manufacturing, mining, construction, financial services, real estate services, tourism

A sperm whale dives off New Zealand with the Kaikoura Ranges in the background.
A sperm whale dives off New Zealand with the Kaikoura Ranges in the background.

NOTES

EEZ: EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.
GDP: CALCULATED AT OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATES. HOME-CURRENCY-DENOMINATED ANNUAL FIGURE DIVIDED BY AVERAGE U.S. EXCHANGE RATE USED WITH THAT COUNTRY IN THAT YEAR.
SOURCES: PACIFIC DATA HUB, CIA WORLD FACTBOOK, FOREIGN MINISTRY.
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

 

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