SKYEPACK OCEANIA
KIRIBATI
"Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is just over 100,000 on 310 square miles. The nation is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba, dispersed over 1,351,000 square miles straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line at its easternmost point." [1]
AUSTRALIA
"Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area." [1]
Oceania is the geographic region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. It is comprised of 14 countries which are briefly described below:
OCEANIA
MARSHALL ISLANDS
"The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands is an island country located in the northern Pacific Ocean. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia, with the population of 68,480 people spread out over 24 low-lying coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets." [1]
FIJI
"Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand's North Island. The country comprises an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of circa 7,100 square miles."
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
""The Federated States of Micronesia is an independent sovereign island nation consisting of four states – from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae – that are spread across the Western Pacific Ocean. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands (a combined land area of approximately 271 square miles that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 1,678 miles just north of the equator. They lie northeast of New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 1,802 miles north of eastern Australia and some 2,485 miles southwest of the main islands of Hawaii." [1]
NAURU
"Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 186 miles to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just 8.1 square miles. With 9,378 residents, it is the second least-populated country after Vatican City." [1]
TONGA
"Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian sovereign state and an archipelago comprising 176 islands with a surface area of about 290 square miles scattered over 270,000 square miles of the southern Pacific Ocean. Fifty-two of these islands are inhabited with its 103,000 people." [1]
NEW ZEALAND
"New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses ‒ that of the North and South Islands ‒ and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 900 miles east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 600 miles south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans." It now has a population of about 4.5 million. [1]
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
"Papua New Guinea, officially named the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua) and numerous offshore islands. Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. There may be at least 841 societies, out of a population of about 6.3 million." [1]
PALAU
"Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is geographically part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The country's population of around 21,000 is spread across 250 islands forming the western chain of the Caroline Islands. The most populous island is Koror." [1]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
"Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of a large number of islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and north west of Vanuatu and cover a land area of 11,000 square islands. The country's capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. It is part of, but not to be confused with, the Solomon Islands archipelago, which a collection of Melanesian islands that includes Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island." [1]
SAMOA
"Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa, is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in Polynesia, Savai'i. The capital city, Apia, and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu." [1]
VANUATA
"Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some 1,090 miles east of northern Australia, 310 miles northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea." [1]
TUVALU
"Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. It comprises three reef islands and six true atolls spread out from 6° to 10° south. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. Its population of 11,200 makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In terms of physical land size, at just 10 square miles, Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world." [1]
