List of islands in the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Islands are the islands of the Pacific Ocean. 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. The indigenous inhabitants of the Pacific Islands are referred to as Pacific Islanders. This is a list of many of the major Pacific islands, 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.

Three of the major groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean

Name ambiguity

The umbrella term Pacific Islands may take on several meanings.[1] Sometimes it refers to only those islands covered by Oceania.[2][3] In some common uses, the term "Pacific Islands" refers to the islands of the Pacific Ocean once colonized by the British, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch, United States and Japanese, such as the Pitcairn Islands, Taiwan, and Borneo.[4] In other uses it may refer to islands with Austronesian linguistic heritage like Taiwan, Indonesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Myanmar islands, which found their genesis in the Neolithic cultures of the island of Taiwan.[5]

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 Continent Subregion
New Guinea785,753Indonesia and Papua New Guinea7,500,0009.544Oceania / AustraliaMelanesia
Honshu227,960Japan103,000,000451.8AsiaEast Asia
Sulawesi174,600Indonesia18,455,000105.7AsiaSoutheast Asia
South Island150,437New Zealand1,135,5007.5Oceania / ZealandiaPolynesia
North Island113,729New Zealand3,749,20033.0Oceania / ZealandiaPolynesia
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 America

Oceania

South America

By country

Canada

Pacific islands of Canada are:

Chile

Chilean islands:

Colombia

Pacific islands of Colombia:

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands:

Ecuador

Islands of Ecuador:

  • Galapagos Islands

Fiji

Islands of Fiji:

France

Islands of France in the Pacific:

Kiribati

Islands of Kiribati:

Marshall Islands

Islands of the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Mexico

Islands of Mexico:

Micronesia

Islands of Federated States of Micronesia

New Zealand

Islands of New Zealand, including:

Palau

Islands of Palau:

Papua New Guinea

Main islands of Papua New Guinea (see List of islands of Papua New Guinea for more detailed list)

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Tonga

Tuvalu

Tuvalu; Islands of Tuvalu

United States of America

Pacific islands of United States of America

Vanuatu

(For a complete list see List of islands of Vanuatu)

(Approximately from north to south)

Other islands

North Pacific Islands:

Eastern Pacific Islands:

Notes
  1. William Collins Sons & Co Ltd (1983), Collins Atlas of the World (revised 1995 ed.), London W6 8JB: HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-448227-1CS1 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. Compare: Blundell, David (January 2011). "Taiwan Austronesian Language Heritage Connecting Pacific Island Peoples: Diplomacy and Values" (PDF). International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies. 7 (1): 75–91. Retrieved 2 May 2015. Taiwan associations are based on almost forgotten old connections with far-reaching Pacific linguistic origins. The present term Austronesia is based on linguistics and archaeology supporting the origins and existence of the Austronesian Language family spread across the Pacific on modern Taiwan, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Micronesia, Polynesia, the non-Papuan languages of Melanesia, the Cham areas of Vietnam, Cambodia, Hainan, Myanmar islands, and some Indian Ocean islands including Madagascar. Taiwan is in the initiating region.

See also
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