Pacific Islands
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with List of islands in the Pacific Ocean. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2018. |
Three of the major groups 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 Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.
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.
Contents
1 Name ambiguity
2 Pacific islands by area (over 10,000 square kilometers)
3 List of islands
3.1 Pacific islands by region
3.1.1 Antarctica
3.1.2 Asia
3.1.3 North America
3.1.4 Oceania
3.1.5 South America
4 See also
5 Footnotes
6 References
Name ambiguity
In English, the umbrella term Pacific Islands may take on several meanings. Sometimes it refers to only those islands covered by the continent of Oceania.[1][2] In some common uses, the term "Pacific Islands" refers to the islands of the Pacific Ocean once colonised by the British, French, Dutch, United States, and Japanese, such as the Pitcairn Islands, Taiwan, and Borneo.[3] 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.[4]
Many islands located within the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean are not considered[by whom?] part of Oceania. These islands include the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador; the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, United States; Vancouver Island in Canada; the Russian islands of Sakhalin and Kuril Islands; the island nation of Taiwan and other islands of the Republic of China; the Philippines; islands in the South China Sea, which includes the disputed South China Sea Islands; most of the islands of Indonesia; and the island nation of Japan, which comprises the Japanese Archipelago.
Pacific islands by area (over 10,000 square kilometers)
This list includes all islands found in the geographic Pacific Ocean, with an area larger than 10,000 square kilometers.
| Name | Area (km2) | Country/Countries | Population | Population density | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Guinea | 785,753 | Indonesia & Papua New Guinea | 7,500,000 | 9.544 | |
| Honshu | 227,960 | Japan | 103,000,000 | 451.8 | |
| Sulawesi | 174,600 | Indonesia | 18,455,000 | 105.7 | |
| South Island | 145,836 | New Zealand | 1,038,600 | 7.122 | |
| North Island | 111,583 | New Zealand | 3,393,900 | 30.42 | |
| Luzon | 109,965 | Philippines | 48,520,000 | 441.2 | |
| Mindanao | 104,530 | Philippines | 25,281,000 | 241.9 | |
| Tasmania | 90,758 | Australia | 514,700 | 5.671 | |
| Hokkaido | 77,981 | Japan | 5,474,000 | 70.2 | |
| Sakhalin | 72,493 | Russia | 580,000 | 8.001 | |
| Taiwan | 35,883 | Taiwan | 23,000,000 | 641 | |
| Kyushu | 35,640 | Japan | 13,231,000 | 371.2 | |
| Hainan | 35,400 | People's Republic of China | 8,900,000 | 251.4 | |
| New Britain | 35,145 | Papua New Guinea | 513,926 | 14.62 | |
| Vancouver Island | 31,285 | Canada | 759,366 | 24.27 | |
| Shikoku | 18,800 | Japan | 4,141,955 | 220.3 | |
| New Caledonia | 16,648 | France | 208,709 | 12.54 | |
| Palawan | 12,189 | Philippines | 430,000 | 35.28 | |
| Viti Levu | 10,531 | Fiji | 600,000 | 56.97 | |
| Hawaii | 10,434 | United States of America | 185,079 | 17.74 |
List of islands
Pacific islands by region
Antarctica
- List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
Asia
- List of islands of Asia
North America
- List of islands of North America
- List of islands of Central America
- List of islands of Canada, section British Columbia
- List of islands of Mexico
- List of islands of the United States
Oceania
- List of islands of Fiji
- List of islands of Australia
- List of islands of France, section Pacific Ocean
- List of islands of Hawaii
- List of islands of Kiribati
- List of islands of the Marshall Islands
- List of islands of New Zealand
- List of islands of the Pitcairn Islands
- List of islands of the Solomon Islands
- List of islands of Tonga
- List of islands of Tuvalu
- List of islands of the United States, section Insular areas
- List of islands of Vanuatu
South America
- List of islands of South America
- List of islands of Chile
- List of islands of Colombia
- List of islands of Ecuador
- List of islands of Peru
See also
- List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
- List of island countries
- List of islands by area
- List of islands in the Arctic Ocean
- List of islands in the Atlantic Ocean
- List of islands in the Indian Ocean
- List of islands in the Pacific Ocean
Lists of islands (islands around the world)
Footnotes
^ 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..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ 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)
^ Wright, John K. (July 1942). "Pacific Islands". Geographical Review. 32 (3): 481–486. doi:10.2307/210391. JSTOR 210391. – via JSTOR (subscription required)
^
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.
References
William Collins Sons & Co Ltd (1983), Collins Atlas of the World (revised 1995 ed.), London W6 8JB: HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-448227-1
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