View source for List of islands in the Pacific Ocean

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[[File:Pacific Culture Areas (Philippines+Vanuatu Correction).svg|thumb|The islands in the [[Pacific Ocean]] divided into three major groups|455x455px]]
The [[island]]s in the [[Pacific Ocean]] are categorized into three major island groups: [[Melanesia]], [[Micronesia]], and [[Polynesia]]. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several concepts: (1) those Pacific islands whose people have [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] origins, (2) the Pacific islands once or currently [[colonization|colonized]] after 1500 CE, (3) the geographical region of [[Oceania]], or (4) any island located in the Pacific Ocean.

This list of islands in the Pacific Ocean is organized by [[archipelago]] or [[border|political boundary]]. In order to keep this list of moderate size, the more complete lists for countries with large numbers of small or uninhabited islands have been hyperlinked.

==Name ambiguity and groupings==
A commonly applied biogeographic definition includes islands with [[Oceanic islands|oceanic geology]] that lie within Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and the eastern Pacific (also known as the southeastern Pacific).<ref>{{cite book |last1=R. Zug |first1=George |title=Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands: A Comprehensive Guide |date=2013 |publisher=University of California Press |page=10 |quote=One cannot refer to "Pacific islands" and ignore the Galapagos Islands and other eastern Pacific islands.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hinz |first1=Earl R. |title=Landfalls of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the Pacific Islands |date=1999 |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press |isbn=9780824821159 |edition=4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uK5-YO9J_GcC&dq=%22several+exist+just+600+miles%22&pg=PA337 |access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Classifying Pacific islands &#124; Geoscience Letters &#124; Full Text |journal=Geoscience Letters |doi=10.1186/s40562-016-0041-8 |publisher=Geoscienceletters.springeropen.com |date=2016-03-02 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |s2cid=53970527 |last1=Nunn |first1=Patrick D. |last2=Kumar |first2=Lalit |last3=Eliot |first3=Ian |last4=McLean |first4=Roger F. |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016GSL.....3....7N}}</ref><ref name="class">{{cite web |last1=Udvardy |first1=Miklos D.F. |title=A Classification of the Biogeographical Provinces of the World |url=https://fnad.org/Documentos/A%20Classification%20of%20the%20Biogeographical%20Provinces%20of%20the%20World%20Miklos%20D.F.%20Udvardy.pdf |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=7 March 2022 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504205134/https://fnad.org/Documentos/A%20Classification%20of%20the%20Biogeographical%20Provinces%20of%20the%20World%20Miklos%20D.F.%20Udvardy.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Doran |first1=Edwin B. |title=Handbook of Selected Pacific Islands |date=1959 |publisher=The University of California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfkHAQAAIAAJ&q=%22pacific+islands%22+%22hawaii%22+%22clipperton%22++%22fiji%22 |access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lal |first1=Brij V. |last2=Fortune |first2=Kate |title=The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1 |date=2000 |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press |page=60 |isbn=9780824822651 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T5pPpJl8E5wC&dq=%22the+eastern+pacific+includes+all+the+islands+settled%22&pg=PA60 |access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://micronesica.org/sites/default/files/checklist_of_pacific_oceanic_islands_by_douglas_g._-_micronesica_vol.5_no.2_dec._1969_o.pdf |title=Draft Check List of Pacific Oceanic Islands |via=micronesica.org}} {{better source needed|date=July 2022}}</ref> These are usually considered to be the "Tropical Pacific Islands".<ref>''Pacific Science'' Volume 46, April 1992</ref> In the 1990s, ecologists Dieter Mueller-Dombois and Frederic Raymond Fosberg broke the Tropical Pacific Islands up into the following subdivisions:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mueller-Dombois |first1=Dieter |last2=Fosberg |first2=Frederic R. |title=Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands |date=1998 |publisher=Springer |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259582431 |access-date=11 March 2022}}</ref>
* Western Melanesia
** The [[Bismarck Archipelago]] and other islands directly east of [[New Guinea]]
** [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]] and [[Buka Island]]
** The [[Solomon Islands]]
* Eastern Melanesia
** The [[Santa Cruz Islands]]
** [[Vanuatu]]
** [[New Caledonia]]
** [[Fiji]]
* Subtropical islands in the Australia/New Zealand region
** [[Lord Howe Island]]
** [[Norfolk Island]]
* Micronesia
** The [[Bonin Islands]] and [[Volcano Islands]]
** [[Marcus Island]]
** [[Northern Mariana Islands|The Northern Marianas]]
** [[Guam|The Southern Marianas]]
** [[Caroline Islands|The Caroline Islands]]
** [[Nauru]] and [[Banaba]]
** [[Wake Island]]
** [[Palau]]
** The [[Marshall Islands]]
** The [[Gilbert Islands]] ([[Kiribati]])
* Central Polynesia
** [[Johnston Atoll]]
** The [[Phoenix Islands]]
** The [[Line Islands]]
** [[Howland Island]], [[Baker Island]], [[Jarvis Island]], [[Malden Island]] and [[Starbuck Island]]
** [[Tuvalu]], [[Tokelau]] and the Northern [[Cook Islands]] ([[Pukapuka]], [[Nassau (Cook Islands)|Nassau]], [[Rakahanga]], [[Manihiki]], [[Penrhyn (atoll)|Penrhyn]], [[Suwarrow]] and [[Palmerston Island|Palmerston]])
* Western Polynesia
** [[Tonga]]
** [[Samoan Islands]]
** [[Wallis and Futuna]]
** [[Niue]]
* Eastern Polynesia
** The rest of the [[Cook Islands]]
** The [[Austral Islands]]
** The [[Society Islands]]
** The [[Tuamotu Archipelago]] and the [[Pitcairn Islands]]
** [[Easter Island]] and [[Isla Salas y Gómez|Salas y Gómez]]
** The [[Marquesas Islands]]
* Northern Polynesia
** The [[Hawaii|Hawaiian Islands]]
* Oceanic islands of the Eastern Pacific
** The [[Revillagigedo Islands]]
** [[Cocos Island]] and [[Malpelo Island]]
** [[Clipperton Island]]
** The [[Galápagos Islands]]
** The [[Desventuradas Islands]]
** The [[Juan Fernández Islands]]

==Geopolitics and Oceania grouping==
{{main|Oceania}}
{{Oceania Labelled Map}}
{{wide image|Map of the Territorial Waters of the Pacific Ocean.png|925px|[[Exclusive economic zones]] of Oceania and adjacent areas. Non-tropical islands in the extreme north Pacific, such as the [[Aleutian Islands]], are excluded from the map.}}

The 2007 book ''Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West'', by New Zealand Pacific scholar [[Ron Crocombe]], considers the phrase ''Pacific Islands'' to politically encompass [[American Samoa]], Australia, the [[Bonin Islands]], the Cook Islands, Easter Island, [[East Timor]], [[Federated States of Micronesia]], [[Fiji]], [[French Polynesia]], the Galápagos Islands, [[Guam]], Hawaii, the [[Kermadec Islands]], Kiribati, Lord Howe Island, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Niue, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, [[Papua New Guinea]], Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, the [[Torres Strait Islands]], Wallis and Futuna, [[Western New Guinea]] and the [[United States Minor Outlying Islands]] (Baker Island, Howland Island, [[Jarvis Island]], Midway Atoll, [[Palmyra Atoll]] and Wake Island). Crocombe noted that Easter Island, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, the Galápagos Islands, the Kermadec Islands, the Pitcairn Islands and the Torres Strait Islands currently have no geopolitical connections to [[Asia]], but that they could be of future strategic importance in the [[Asia-Pacific]].<ref name="asianpacific">{{Cite book |last=Crocombe |first=R. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDg9oAkwsXAC&dq=%22included+in+cultural+definitions+of+oceania%22&pg=PR13 |title=Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West |date=2007 |publisher=University of the South Pacific. Institute of Pacific Studies |isbn=9789820203884 |page=13 |access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref> Another definition given in the book for the term ''Pacific Islands'' is islands served by the [[Pacific Community]], formerly known as the South Pacific Commission. It is a developmental organization whose members include Australia and the aforementioned islands which are not politically part of other countries.<ref name="asianpacific"/> In his 1962 book ''War in the Pacific: Strategy and Command'', American author Louis Morton places the insular landmasses of the Pacific under the label of the "Pacific World". He considers it to encompass areas that were involved in the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theater]] of [[World War II]]. These areas include the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, as well as Australia, the Aleutian Islands, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, the [[Ryukyu Islands]] and Taiwan.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Louis |title=War in the Pacific: Strategy and Command |date=1964 |publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=9780160882326 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hF--tQiWMScC&dq=%22aleutian+islands%22+%22oceania%22&pg=PA12}}</ref>

[[File:Pacific Map 1851 SLNSW FL14253043.jpg|thumb|500px|1851 map of Pacific listing colonial names of individual islands.]]
Since the beginning of the 19th century, Australia and the islands of the Pacific have been grouped by geographers into a region called Oceania.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barrington-Ward |first1=Mark James |title=The child's geography |date=1879 |publisher=Oxford University |page=56 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ov4HAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22oceania%22+%22There+are+six+great+divisions+of+the+earth%22&pg=PA56 |access-date=13 March 2022 |quote=There are six great divisions of the earth— Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America and Oceania. Of these, Asia is largest, Europe smallest. Oceania is made up of Australia and many scattered islands.}}</ref><ref name="countriesoftheworld"/> It is often used as a quasi-continent, with the Pacific Ocean being the defining characteristic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/oceania-physical-geography/|title=Australia and Oceania: Physical Geography|first=National Geographic|last=Society|date=4 January 2012|website=National Geographic Society}}</ref> In some countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Spain, Switzerland or Venezuela, Oceania is seen as a proper continent in the sense that it is "one of the parts of the world".<ref>{{cite web |title=Divisões dos continentes |url=https://atlasescolar.ibge.gov.br/images/atlas/mapas_mundo/mundo_034_divisao_continentes.pdf |access-date=12 January 2021 |publisher=IBGE |archive-date=13 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813231055/https://atlasescolar.ibge.gov.br/images/atlas/mapas_mundo/mundo_034_divisao_continentes.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> In his 1879 book ''Australasia'', British naturalist [[Alfred Russel Wallace]] commented that, "Oceania is the word often used by continental geographers to describe the great world of islands we are now entering upon" and that "Australia forms its central and most important feature."<ref name="austral">{{cite book |last1=Wallace |first1=Alfred Russel |title=Australasia |date=1879 |publisher=The University of Michigan |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2kcAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22oceania+is+the+word+often%22&pg=PA2 |access-date=12 March 2022 |quote=Oceania is the word often used by continental geographers to describe the great world of islands we are now entering upon [...] This boundless watery domain, which extends northwards of Behring Straits and southward to the Antarctic barrier of ice, is studded with many island groups, which are, however, very irregularly distributed over its surface. The more northerly section, lying between Japan and California and between the Aleutian and Hawaiian Archipelagos is relived by nothing but a few solitary reefs and rocks at enormously distant intervals. |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730064236/https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Australasia/e2kcAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22oceania+is+the+word+often%22&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live}}</ref> 19th century definitions encompassed the region as beginning in the [[Malay Archipelago]], and as ending near the Americas.<ref name="countriesoftheworld">{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Robert |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-0DAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22oceania%22+%22juan%22+%22galapagos%22&pg=PA2 |title=The countries of the world |date=1876 |publisher=Oxford University |chapter=Oceania: General Characteristics |access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ireland |first1=A. |title=The Geography and History of Oceania |date=1863 |page=1 |publisher=W. Fletcher, printer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=no8tAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22oceania%22+%22malay%22+%22america%22&pg=PA1 |access-date=12 March 2022 |quote=Oceania, the fifth great division of the earth's surface, includes the numerous islands scattered over the great ocean which extends from the south - eastern shores of Asia to the western coast of America.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wallace |first1=Alfred Russel |title=Australasia |date=1879 |publisher=The University of Michigan |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2kcAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22oceania+is+the+word+often%22&pg=PA2 |access-date=12 March 2022 |quote=Oceania is the word often used by continental geographers to describe the great world of islands we are now entering upon [...] This boundless watery domain, which extends northwards of Behring Straits and southward to the Antarctic barrier of ice, is studded with many island groups, which are, however, very irregularly distributed over its surface. The more northerly section, lying between Japan and California and between the Aleutian and Hawaiian Archipelagos is relived by nothing but a few solitary reefs and rocks at enormously distant intervals.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Chambers |first1=William |title=Chambers's Parlour Atlas with Descriptive Introduction and Copious Consulting Index |date=1856 |publisher=The University of Virginia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCtNAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22and+from+America+by+a+broad+belt+of+ocean%22&pg=PA143 |quote=Oceania, the fifth great division of the earth's surface, includes the numerous islands scattered over the great ocean which extends from the south - eastern shores of Asia to the western coast of America. It is separated from Asia by the Str. of Malacca, the Chinese Sea, and the Channel of Formosa; and from America by a broad belt of ocean comparatively free of islands.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Chambers's New Handy Volume American Encyclopædia: Volume 9 |date=1885 |publisher=The University of Virginia |page=657 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J2NRAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22easter+island%22+%22oceania%22+%22galapagos%22&pg=PA657 |access-date=13 March 2022 |quote=the whole region has sometimes been called Oceania, and sometimes Australasia—generally, however, in modern times, to the exclusion of the islands in the Indian archipelago, to which certain writers have given the name of Malaysia [...] we have the three geographical divisions of Malaysia, Australasia and Polynesia, the last mentioned of which embraces all the groups and single islands not included under the other two. Accepting this arrangement, still the limits between Australasia and Polynesia have not been very accurately defined; indeed, scarcely any two geographers appear to be quite agreed upon the subject; neither shall we pretend to decide in the matter. The following list, however, comprises all the principal groups and single island not previously named as coming under the division of Australasia: 1. North of the equator—The Ladrone or Marian islands. the Pelew islands, the Caroline islands, the Radack and Ralick chains, the Sandwich islands, Gilbert's or Kingstnill's archipelago. and the Galapagos. 2. South of the equator—The Ellice group, the Phoenix and Union groups. the Fiji islands, the Friendly islands, the Navigator's islands. Cook's or Harvey islands, the Society islands. the Dangerous archipelago, the Marquesas islands, Pitcairn island, and Easter island.}}</ref> In the 19th century, many geographers divided up Oceania into mostly racially-based subdivisions; ''Australasia'', ''Malaysia'' (encompassing the Malay Archipelago), ''Melanesia'', ''Micronesia'' and ''Polynesia''.<ref name="corn">{{cite book |last1=Cornell |first1=Sophia S. |title=Cornell's Primary Geography: Forming Part First of a Systematic Series of School Geographies |year=1857 |publisher=Harvard University |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Z9hizT9tiAC&dq=%22included+in+oceania%22&pg=RA2-PA95 |access-date=31 March 2022 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730064858/https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/CORNELL_S_PRIMARY_GEOGRAPHY/1Z9hizT9tiAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22included+in+oceania%22&pg=RA2-PA95&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="missionary">{{cite book |title=Missionary Review of the World: Volume 18 |date=1895 |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |page=533 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZRVy7TO2nTsC |access-date=31 March 2022 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730064354/https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Missionary_Review_of_the_World/ZRVy7TO2nTsC?hl=en&gbpv=0 |url-status=live}}</ref> The 1995 book ''The Pacific Island States'', by Australian author Stephen Henningham, claims that Oceania in its broadest sense "incorporates all the insular areas between the Americas and Asia."<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen Henningham|title=The Pacific Island States|year=1995|publisher=Macmillan Press|location=London|isbn=978-1-349-39416-6|doi=10.1057/9780230372436}}</ref> In its broadest possible usage, it could include Australia, the Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian islands, the [[Japanese Archipelago|Japanese]] and Malay Archipelagos, Taiwan, the Ryukyu and [[Kuril Islands]], the Aleutian Islands and isolated islands off [[Latin America]] such as the Juan Fernández Islands.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Danver |first1=Steven L. |title=Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=185 |isbn=9781317464006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vf4TBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22aleutians%22+%22part+of+oceania%22&pg=PA185 |access-date=23 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="pi">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Pacific-Islands|title=Pacific Islands &#124; Countries, Map, & Facts |website=Britannica|url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240105094015/https://www.britannica.com/place/Pacific-Islands |archive-date= Jan 5, 2024}}</ref> Islands with geological and historical ties to the [[Eurasia|Asian mainland]] (such as those in the Malay Archipelago) are rarely included in present definitions of Oceania, nor are non-tropical islands to the north of Hawaii.<ref name="ev">{{cite book |last1=Everett-Heath |first1=John |title=The Concise Dictionary of World Place Names |date=2017 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-255646-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgJCDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22generally+accepted%22+oceania+excluded+japan&pg=PT1171 |access-date=8 July 2022 |quote=It is generally accepted that Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the islands north of Japan (the Kurils and Aleutians) are excluded}}</ref><ref name="handbook">{{cite book |last1=Henderson |first1=John William |title=Area Handbook for Oceania |date=1971 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NuOIqt-UQowC&dq=%22oceania%22+%22aleutian+islands%22&pg=PR5 |access-date=11 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="britoc">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean|title=Oceania &#124; Definition, Population, & Facts |website=Britannica |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231208123334/https://www.britannica.com/place/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean |archive-date= Dec 8, 2023}}</ref> The 2004 book ''The Making of Anthropology: The Semiotics of Self and Other in the Western Tradition'', by Jacob Pandian and Susan Parman, states that "some exclude from Oceania the nontropical islands such as Ryukyu, the Aleutian islands and Japan, and the islands such as Formosa, Indonesia and the Philippines that are closely linked with mainland Asia. Others include Indonesia and the Philippines with the heartland of Oceania."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pandian |first1=Jacob |last2=Parman |first2=Susan |title=The Making of Anthropology: The Semiotics of Self and Other in the Western Tradition |date=2004 |publisher=Vedams |page=206 |isbn=9788179360149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RgO8nLql2KwC&dq=%22some+exclude+from+oceania%22&pg=PA206 |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref>

Certain anthropological definitions restrict Oceania even further to only include islands which are culturally within Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.<ref>{{cite web|author=paul d'Arcy paul d'Arcy |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34513/chapter-abstract/292859287?redirectedFrom=fulltext |title=Oceania and Australasia &#124; The Oxford Handbook of World History &#124; Oxford Academic |publisher=Academic.oup.com |date=2012-09-18 |accessdate=2022-08-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321717152 |title=The Archaeology of Prehistoric Oceania (a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy)) |date=December 2017 |author=Ethan E Cochrane and Terry L Hunt |website=[[ResearchGate]]}}{{better source needed|date=July 2022}}</ref> Conversely, [[Encyclopedia Britannica]] believe that the term ''Pacific Islands'' is much more synonymous with Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, and that Oceania, in its broadest sense, embraces all the areas of the Pacific which do not fall within Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.<ref name="pi"/> [[The World Factbook]] and the [[United Nations]] categorize Oceania/the Pacific area as one of the seven major continental divisions of the world, and the two organizations consider it to politically encompass American Samoa, Australia, [[Christmas Island]], [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]], the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna and the United States Minor Outlying Islands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/ |title=UNSD — Methodology |publisher=Unstats.un.org |date= |accessdate=2022-07-19}}</ref>

Since the 1950s, many (particularly in English-speaking countries) have viewed Australia as a [[Continent|continent-sized landmass]], although they are still sometimes viewed as a Pacific Island, or as both a continent and a Pacific Island.<ref name="smh">{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/australia-is-a-pacific-island--it-has-a-responsibility-20140921-10jwdw.html|title='Australia is a Pacific island - it has a responsibility'|first=Nick|last=O'Malley|date=September 21, 2014|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref> Australia is a founding member of the [[Pacific Islands Forum]], which is now recognized as the main governing body for the Oceania region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/news/consultations-pacific-islands-forum-2050-strategy|title=Consultations on Pacific Islands Forum 2050 Strategy|website=Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}</ref> It functions as a trade bloc and deals with defense issues, unlike with the Pacific Community, which includes most of the same members. By 2021, the Pacific Islands Forum included all sovereign Pacific Island nations, such as Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji and Tonga, in addition to dependencies of other nations, such as American Samoa, French Polynesia and Guam. Islands which have been fully integrated into other nations, including Easter Island (Chile) and Hawaii (United States), have also shown interest in joining.<ref name="widen">{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-27/an-pacific-forum-widens-entry/4225082 |title=Pacific forum looks to widen entry - ABC News |newspaper=ABC News |publisher=Abc.net.au |date= 27 August 2012|accessdate=2022-03-02}}</ref> [[Tony deBrum]], Foreign Minister for the Marshall Islands, stated in 2014, "Not only is Australia our big brother down south, Australia is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum and Australia is a Pacific island, a big island, but a Pacific island."<ref name="smh"/> Japan and certain nations of the Malay Archipelago (including East Timor, Indonesia and the Philippines) have representation in the Pacific Islands Forum, but none are full members. The nations of the Malay Archipelago have their own regional governing organization called [[ASEAN]], which includes mainland Southeast Asian nations such as [[Vietnam]] and [[Thailand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cooperation-regionale.gouv.nc/en/cooperation-pacific/pacific-islands-forum-pif |title=The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) &#124; Coopération Régionale et Relations Extérieures de la Nouvelle-Calédonie |publisher=Cooperation-regionale.gouv.nc |date= |accessdate=2022-03-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ipdefenseforum.com/2021/01/japan-u-s-increase-cooperation-to-enhance-pacific-islands-security/ | title=Japan, U.S. Increase cooperation to enhance Pacific islands' security &#124; Indo-Pacific Defense Forum}}</ref> In July 2019, at the inaugural Indonesian Exposition held in [[Auckland]], Indonesia launched its 'Pacific Elevation' program, which would encompass a new era of elevated engagement with the region, with the country also using the event to lay claim that Indonesia is culturally and ethnically linked to the Pacific islands. The event was attended by dignitaries from Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific island countries.<ref name="grif">{{cite web | url=https://blogs.griffith.edu.au/asiainsights/indonesias-pacific-elevation-elevating-what-and-who/ | title=Indonesia's "Pacific elevation": Elevating what and who? - Griffith Asia Insights}}</ref>

==List of the largest Pacific islands==
Islands of the Pacific Ocean proper, with an area larger than 10,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
!| Name
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Country/Countries
! Population
! Population density
! Region
! Subregion
|-
| [[New Guinea]] || 785,753 || [[Indonesia]], [[Papua New Guinea]] || 14,800,000 || ''18.8'' || [[Oceania]] || [[Melanesia]]
|-
| [[Borneo]] || 748,168 || [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]] || 23,053,723 || ''30.8'' || [[Asia]] || [[Southeast Asia]]
|-
| [[Honshu]] || 227,960 || [[Japan]] || 103,000,000 || ''451.8'' || [[Asia]] || [[East Asia]]
|-
| [[Sulawesi]] || 174,600 || [[Indonesia]] || 18,455,000|| ''105.7'' || [[Asia]] || [[Southeast Asia]]
|-
| [[South Island]] || 150,437 || [[New Zealand]] || 1,201,300 || ''7.5'' || [[Oceania]] || [[Australasia]] / [[Polynesia]]
|-
| [[North Island]] || 113,729 || [[New Zealand]] || 4,749,200 || ''33.0'' || [[Oceania]] || [[Australasia]] / [[Polynesia]]
|-
| [[Luzon]] || 109,965 || [[Philippines]] || 48,520,000 || ''441.2'' || [[Asia]] || [[Southeast Asia]]
|-
| [[Mindanao]] || 104,530 || [[Philippines]] || 25,281,000 || ''241.9'' || [[Asia]] || [[Southeast Asia]]
|-
| [[Hokkaido]] || 77,981 || [[Japan]] || 5,474,000 || ''70.2'' || [[Asia]] || [[East Asia]]
|-
| [[Sakhalin]] || 72,493 || [[Russia]] || 580,000 || ''8.0'' || [[Asia]] || [[North Asia]]
|-
| [[Tasmania]] || 64,519 || [[Australia]] || 514,700 || ''5.7'' || [[Oceania]] || [[Australasia]]
|-
| [[Geography of Taiwan|Taiwan Island (Formosa)]] || 35,883 || [[Taiwan]] || 23,000,000 || ''641.0'' || [[Asia]] || [[East Asia]]
|-
| [[Kyushu]] || 35,640 || [[Japan]] || 13,231,000 || ''371.2'' || [[Asia]] || [[East Asia]]
|-
| [[New Britain]] || 35,145 || [[Papua New Guinea]] || 513,926 || ''14.6'' || [[Oceania]] || [[Melanesia]]
|-
| [[Hainan Island]] || 33,210 || [[China]] || 8,180,000 || ''246.3'' || [[Asia]] || [[East Asia]]
|-
| [[Vancouver Island]] || 31,285 || [[Canada]] || 759,366 || ''24.2'' || [[North America]] || [[Northern America]]
|-
| [[Shikoku]] || 18,800 || [[Japan]] || 4,141,955 || ''220.3'' || [[Asia]] || [[East Asia]]
|-
| [[Grande Terre (New Caledonia)|Grande Terre]] || 16,648 || [[New Caledonia]] ([[France]]) || 208,709 || ''12.5'' || [[Oceania]] || [[Melanesia]]
|-
| [[Palawan]] || 12,189 || [[Philippines]] || 430,000 || ''35.3'' || [[Asia]] || [[Southeast Asia]]
|-
| [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaii]] || 10,434 || [[United States|United States of America]] || 185,079 || ''17.7'' || [[Oceania]] || [[Polynesia]]
|-
| [[Viti Levu]] || 10,388 || [[Fiji]] || 600,000 || ''57.0'' || [[Oceania]] || [[Melanesia]]
|}

==By continent==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}

===Antarctica===
* [[List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands]]

===Asia===
* [[List of islands of Asia]]
** [[List of islands of China]]
** [[Japanese Archipelago]] of 6,852 islands
*** [[List of islands of Japan]]
** [[List of islands of Indonesia]]
** [[List of islands of North Korea]]
** [[List of islands of the Philippines]]
** [[List of islands of Russia]]
** [[List of islands of South Korea]]
** [[List of islands of Vietnam]]

===North America===
* [[Central American Pacific Islands]]
* [[List of islands of North America]]
** [[List of islands of British Columbia|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 Australia]]
* [[List of islands of the United Kingdom|List of islands of Britain]]
** [[List of islands of the Pitcairn Islands]]
* [[List of islands of Fiji]]
* [[List of French islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans#Pacific Ocean|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 Papua New Guinea]]
* [[List of islands of the Solomon Islands]]
* [[List of islands and towns in Tonga|List of islands of Tonga]]
* [[List of islands of Tuvalu]]
* [[List of islands of the United States#Insular areas|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]]
{{div col end}}

==By country==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

===American Samoa===
* [[American Samoa]]
** [[Aunuu]]
** [[Ofu-Olosega]]
** [[Rose Atoll]]
** [[Swains Island]] (Olosenga, Olohega) (Disputed)
** [[Tau, Samoa|Tau]]
** [[Tutuila]]

===Australia===
* [[List of islands of Australia]], including:
** [[Coral Sea Islands Territory|Coral Sea Islands]]
*** [[Willis Island]]
** [[Lord Howe Island]]
** [[Norfolk Island]]
** [[Torres Strait Islands]]

===Brunei===
* [[List of islands of Brunei]]

===Canada===
* [[List of islands of British Columbia]], many islands including:
** [[Haida Gwaii]], some 400 islands near Alaska
*** [[Graham Island]], the main northern island
*** [[Moresby Island]], the main southern island
** [[Vancouver Island]], Canada's largest Pacific island
*** [[Gulf Islands]], numerous islands off the southeast coast of V.I. near the U.S. [[San Juan Islands]]

===Chile===
* [[Chiloé Island]]
* [[Desventuradas Islands]]
* [[Easter Island]]/Rapa Nui
* [[Isla Salas y Gómez]]
* [[Juan Fernández Islands]]

===China===
* [[List of islands of China]]

===Colombia===
* [[Gorgona Island (Colombia)|Gorgona Island]]
* [[Malpelo Island]]

===Cook Islands===
* [[Aitutaki]]
* [[Atiu]]
* [[Palmerston Island|Pamati]] (Palmerston)
* [[Mangaia]]
* [[Manihiki]] (Humphrey)
* [[Manuae (Cook Islands)|Manuae]] (Hervey)
* [[Mauke]] (Parry)
* [[Mitiaro]] (Nukuroa)
* [[Nassau (Cook Islands)|Nassau]]
* [[Pukapuka]] (Danger)
* [[Rakahanga]] (Reirson)
* [[Rarotonga]]
* [[Suwarrow]] (Anchorage)
* [[Takutea]]
* [[Tongareva atoll|Tongareva]] (Penrhyn)

===Costa Rica===
* [[Cocos Island]]

===Ecuador===
* [[Galapagos Islands]]
* [[Puná Island]]

===Fiji===
{{main list|List of islands of Fiji}}
* Principal islands:
** [[Viti Levu]]
** [[Vanua Levu]]
* Significant outliers:
** [[Conway Reef]]
** [[Kadavu Island]]
** [[Taveuni]]
** [[Rotuma Island]]
* Archipelagos:
** [[Kadavu Group]]
** [[Lau Islands]]
** [[Lomaiviti Islands]]
** [[Mamanuca Islands]]
** [[Moala Islands]]
** [[Ringgold Isles]]
** [[Rotuma Group]]
** [[Vanua Levu Group]]
** [[Viti Levu Group]]
** [[Yasawa Islands]]

===France===
* [[Clipperton Island]]

===French Polynesia===
* [[French Polynesia]] (Autonomous Overseas Territory of France)
** [[Austral Islands]]
*** [[Tubuai (Austral Islands)|Tubuai]]
** [[Society Islands]]
*** [[Windward Islands (Society Islands)|Windward Islands]]
**** [[Moorea]]
**** [[Tahiti]]
**** [[Tetiaroa]]
**** [[Maiao]]
**** [[Mehetia]]
*** [[Leeward Islands (Society Islands)|Leeward Islands]]
**** [[Bora Bora]]
**** [[Huahine]]
**** [[Maupiti]]
**** [[Raiatea]] and [[Tahaa]]
**** [[Tupai]]
**** [[Maupihaa|Mopelia]] (Maupihaa)
**** [[Manuae (Society Islands)|Manuae]] (Scilly Atoll)
**** [[Motu One (Society Islands)|Motu One]] (Bellinghausen)
** [[Marquesas Islands|Marquesas]]
*** [[Fatu Hiva]]
*** [[Hiva Oa]]
*** [[Euba]]
*** [[Nuku Hiva]]
*** [[Tahuata]]
*** [[Ua Huka Pen]]
*** [[Ua Pou]]
** [[Tuamotus]]
*** [[Rangiroa]]
*** [[Fakarava]]
*** [[Moruroa]]
*** [[Fangataufa]]
** [[Gambier Islands]]
*** [[Mangareva]]
*** [[Helena Island (Pacific)|Helena Island]]

===Guam===
* [[Guam]]
* [[Cocos Island (Guam)|Cocos Island]]

===Hong Kong===
* [[List of islands of Hong Kong]]
** [[Hong Kong Island]]
** [[Lantau]]

===Indonesia===
* [[Western New Guinea]]
* [[Borneo]]
* [[Natuna Islands]]

===Japan===
* [[List of islands of Japan]], including:
* The five main islands:
** [[Hokkaido]] - the northernmost and second largest main island.
** [[Honshu]] - the largest and most populous island; home of the capital [[Tokyo]].
** [[Kyushu]] - the third largest main island and closest to the Asian continent.
** [[Shikoku]] - the second smallest main island after Okinawa; between Honshu and Kyushu
** [[Okinawa Island]] - the smallest and southernmost of the main islands
* Other notable islands:
** [[Marcus Island]]
** [[Okinotori Islands]]

===Kiribati===
* [[List of islands of Kiribati]]:
** [[Caroline Island]]
** [[Flint Island]]
** [[Gilbert Islands]]
** [[Line Islands]] (8 of 11)
*** [[Kiritimati]]/Christmas Island
** [[Malden Island]]
** [[Phoenix Islands]]
** [[Starbuck Island]]
** [[Tabuaeran]]/Fanning Island
** [[Teraina]]/Washington Island
** [[Vostok Island]]

===Macau===
* [[List of islands of Macau]]

===Malaysia===
* [[Sipadan]]

===Marshall Islands===
* [[Marshall Islands]]
** [[Bikini Atoll|Bikini]]
** [[Enewetak]]
** [[Kwajalein]]
** [[Rongelap]]
** [[Majuro]]

===Mexico===
* [[Cedros Island]]
* [[Tiburón Island]]
* [[Revillagigedo Islands]]
* [[Rocas Alijos]]
* [[Guadalupe Island]]

===Micronesia===
Islands of [[Federated States of Micronesia]]
* [[Caroline Islands]]
* [[Pohnpei]]
* [[Yap]]
** [[Ulithi]]
* [[Chuuk State|Chuuk]]
** [[Puluwat]]
* [[Kosrae]]

===Nauru===
* [[Nauru]], a country and single island

===New Caledonia===
* [[New Caledonia]] ([[overseas France|special collectivity of France]])
** [[Grande Terre (New Caledonia)]]
** [[Chesterfield Islands]]
** [[Ilots du Mouillage]]
*** [[Isle of Pines, New Caledonia|Isle of Pines]]
*** [[Belep Islands]]
*** [[New Caledonia]]
** [[Loyalty Islands]]
*** [[Bagao]]
*** [[Lifou Island]]
*** [[Maré Island]]
*** [[Ouvéa Island]]
*** [[Tiga Island]]
** [[Matthew Island and Hunter Island]], administered by France as part of New Caledonia but also claimed by Vanuatu

===New Zealand===
* [[Islands of New Zealand]], around 600 islands including:
** [[Auckland Islands]]
** [[Chatham Islands]]
*** [[Chatham Island]]
*** [[Pitt Island]]
** [[d'Urville Island (New Zealand)|d'Urville Island]]
** [[Great Barrier Island]]
** [[Kapiti Island]]
** [[Kermadec Islands]]
*** [[Macauley Island]]
*** [[Raoul Island]]
** [[North Island]]
** [[South Island]]
** [[Stewart Island / Rakiura]]
** [[Waiheke Island]]

===Niue===
* [[Niue]], a country and single island

===Northern Mariana Islands===
* [[Northern Mariana Islands]]
** [[Saipan]]
** [[Rota (island)|Rota]]
** [[Tinian]]
** [[Maug]]
** [[Pagan Island]]
** [[Alamagan]]
** [[Farallon de Pajaros]]

===Palau===
[[Palau]] has over 250 islands, including:
* [[Angaur]]
* [[Babeldaob]]
* [[Caroline Islands]]
* [[Kayangel]]
* [[Ngerekebesang Island]]
* [[Oreor]]
* [[Peleliu]]
* [[Southwest Islands (Palau)|Southwest Islands]]

===Panama===
* [[Pearl Islands]]

===Papua New Guinea===
* [[List of islands of Papua New Guinea]]
** [[New Guinea]], eastern half
** [[Bismarck Archipelago]]
*** [[Admiralty Islands]]
**** [[Manus Island]]
*** [[Karkar Island]]
*** [[New Britain]]
*** [[New Ireland (island)|New Ireland]]
*** [[Saint Matthias Group]]
** [[Solomon Islands archipelago]] (northern part)
*** [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]]
*** [[Buka Island]]
** [[Trobriand Islands]]
*** [[Kiriwina]]
** [[Woodlark Island]]
** [[D'Entrecasteaux Islands]]
*** [[Fergusson Island]]
*** [[Goodenough Island]]
*** [[Normanby Island (Papua New Guinea)]]
** [[Louisiade Archipelago]]
*** [[Misima Island]]
*** [[Tagula Island]] or Sudest Island
*** [[Rossel Island]]
*** [[Samarai]]
** [[Daru Island]]
** [[Kiwai Island]]

===Philippines===
* [[List of islands of the Philippines]], over 7600 islands including:
** [[Spratly Islands]] (disputed)
** [[Scarborough Shoal]] (disputed)

===Pitcairn Islands===
{{Main|List of islands of the United Kingdom#Overseas Territories}}
* [[Pitcairn Islands]], four islands:
** [[Pitcairn Island]]
** [[Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands)|Henderson Island]]
** [[Oeno Island]]
** [[Ducie Island]]

===Russia===
* [[List of islands of Russia]]
** [[Kuril Islands]]
** [[Sakhalin]]

===Samoa===
* [[List of islands of Samoa]]:
** [[Samoa]] (western part of the [[Samoa Islands]])
*** [[Savai'i]]
*** [[Upolu]]
*** [[Apolima]]
*** [[Manono Island|Manono]]
*** [[Nuutele]]

===Singapore===
* [[Pedra Branca, Singapore|Pedra Branca]]

===Solomon Islands===
* [[Islands of the Solomon Islands]]
** [[Rennell and Bellona|Bellona]]
** [[Choiseul (Solomon Islands)|Choiseul]]
** [[Florida Island]]
** [[Guadalcanal]]
** [[Malaita]]
** [[Maramasike]]
** [[New Georgia Islands]]
** [[Rennell and Bellona|Rennell]]
** [[Russell Islands]]
** [[San Cristobal (Solomon Islands)|San Cristobal]]
** [[Santa Cruz Islands]]
** [[Santa Isabel Island|Santa Isabel]]
** [[Shortland Islands]]
** [[Sikaiana]] (Stewart Islands)
** [[Tulagi]]
** [[Ulawa]]
** [[Ugi Island|Uki]]

===Taiwan===
* [[List of islands of Taiwan]], 166 islands including:
** [[Taiwan#Geography|Taiwan]], the main island with over 99% of the country's total area

===Tokelau===
* [[List of islands of Tokelau]]
** [[Tokelau]] (mostly autonomous), three coral atolls with about 25 islands combined, including:
*** [[Swains Island|Olohega]] (Swains Island), administered by the United States as part of American Samoa, but claimed by Tokelau due to geography, history and language

===Tonga===
* [[List of islands in Tonga]]; in north to south order:
** [[Niuafo'ou|Niuafoou]]
** [[Niuatoputapu]] (Keppel's Island)
** [[Vava'u|Vavau]]
** [[Kao (island)|Kao]]
** [[Tofua]]
** [[Ha'apai|Haapai]]
** [[Tongatapu]]
** [['Eua|Eua]]

===Tuvalu===
* [[Islands of Tuvalu]]
** [[Funafuti]] (atoll of at least 30 islands)
** [[Nanumanga]] (or ''Nanumaga'')
** [[Nanumea]] (atoll of at least 6 islands)
** [[Niulakita]]
** [[Niutao]]
** [[Nui (atoll)|Nui]] (atoll of at least 21 islands)
** [[Nukufetau]] (atoll of at least 33 islands)
** [[Nukulaelae]] (atoll of at least 15 islands)
** [[Vaitupu]] (atoll of at least 9 islands)

===United States===
* [[List of islands of Alaska|Alaska]], many islands including:
** [[Aleutian Islands]]
** [[Alexander Archipelago]]
** [[Nunivak Island]]
** [[St. Lawrence Island]]
* [[List of islands of California]]
** [[Channel Islands (California)|Channel Islands]]
* [[Hawaiian Islands]], many islands and islets including:
** [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaii]]
** [[Kahoolawe]]
** [[Kauai]]
** [[Ka'ula]]
** [[Lanai]]
** [[Maui]]
** [[Molokai]]
** [[Niihau]]
** [[Oahu]]
** [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]]
*** [[Kure Atoll|Kure]]
*** [[Nīhoa]]
*** [[Necker Island (Hawaii)|Necker]]
*** [[French Frigate Shoals]]
*** [[Gardner Pinnacles]]
*** [[Maro Reef]]
*** [[Laysan]]
*** [[Lisianski Island|Lisianski]]
*** [[Pearl and Hermes Reef]]
* [[List of islands of Oregon]]
** [[Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge]]
* [[United States Minor Outlying Islands]], eight small island groups between Hawaii and the Philippines (e.g. [[Johnston Atoll]], [[Midway Atoll]], [[Wake Atoll]])
* [[List of islands of Washington state]]
** [[Puget Sound#Prominent islands|Islands of Puget Sound]]
** [[San Juan Islands]]

===Vanuatu===
* [[List of islands of Vanuatu]], some 83 islands including (north to south approximately):
** [[Torres Islands]]
** [[Banks Islands]]
** [[Espiritu Santo]]
** [[Malakula]]
** [[Ambrym]]
** [[Paama]]
** [[Epi (island)|Epi]]
** [[Shepherd Islands]]
** [[Efate]], home of the national capital [[Port Vila]]
** [[Lelepa (island)|Lelepa]]
** [[Erromango]]
** [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]]
* Disputed:
** [[Matthew Island and Hunter Island]], administered by France as part of New Caledonia but also claimed by Vanuatu

===Wallis and Futuna===
* [[Wallis and Futuna]]
** [[Alofi Island|Alofi]]
** [[Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna|Futuna]]
** [[Wallis Island|Wallis (Uvea)]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Eastern Pacific Islands}}
{{Oceania topic|List of islands of|state=expanded}}
{{Countries and territories of Oceania}}
{{Regions of Oceania}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Islands of the Pacific Ocean| ]]
[[Category:Lists of islands by ocean|Pacific]]
[[Category:Pacific Ocean-related lists|Islands]]