Oceania is a geographically fragmented region made up almost entirely of islands, archipelagos, and isolated landmasses spread across vast ocean distances.
Population density in the region is shaped far more by island size, land constraints, and isolation than by total population size.
Some parts of the region support extremely dense settlement on tiny land areas, while others consist of large landmasses with very low population concentration.
Oceania is therefore one of the clearest global examples of how land availability determines density outcomes.
What is population density?
Population density measures how many people live per square kilometer of land area. It reflects how tightly populations are concentrated within a territory, rather than the total size of the population.
High population density is driven by land scarcity, urban concentration, and limited expansion space.
Low population density is driven by geographic scale, environmental constraints, and dispersed settlement patterns.
Average population density of Oceania
Oceania has one of the lowest regional population densities in the world at 5.4 persons per square kilometer, far below the averages of Asia and Europe.
Although many Pacific island nations exhibit high local population density due to extreme land constraints, Oceania’s regional population density remains very low because Australia’s continental-scale landmass and sparse settlement patterns dominate the regional land-area weighting.
Most densely populated countries and territories in Oceania
These Oceania countries have the highest population density levels:
Least densely populated countries in Oceania
These Oceania countries have the lowest population density levels:
- Australia
- Niue
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- Vanuatu
Complete Oceania population density ranking
The table below ranks Oceania countries and territories by population density, from highest to lowest.
Population density figures are based on United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 data and measured in people per square kilometer.
Country listings follow commonly used geographic conventions and may include transcontinental states.
| Continent Ranking | Country | Population Density | Global Ranking | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nauru | 593.8 | 21 | Australia and Oceania |
| 2 | Tuvalu | 327.2 | 42 | Australia and Oceania |
| 3 | Guam | 307.8 | 46 | Australia and Oceania |
| 4 | American Samoa | 237.6 | 66 | Australia and Oceania |
| 5 | Marshall Islands | 215.7 | 72 | Australia and Oceania |
| 6 | Tokelau | 199.8 | 76 | Australia and Oceania |
| 7 | Kiribati | 182.5 | 77 | Australia and Oceania |
| 8 | Micronesia (Fed. States of) | 160.9 | 83 | Australia and Oceania |
| 9 | Tonga | 160.9 | 84 | Australia and Oceania |
| 11 | Northern Mariana Islands | 98.8 | 117 | Australia and Oceania |
| 12 | Wallis and Futuna Islands | 81.2 | 134 | Australia and Oceania |
| 13 | Samoa | 76.6 | 139 | Australia and Oceania |
| 14 | French Polynesia | 76.3 | 140 | Australia and Oceania |
| 15 | Cook Islands | 59.3 | 159 | Australia and Oceania |
| 16 | Fiji | 50.6 | 167 | Australia and Oceania |
| 17 | Palau | 38.5 | 179 | Australia and Oceania |
| 18 | Solomon Islands | 27.8 | 191 | Australia and Oceania |
| 19 | Vanuatu | 26.3 | 193 | Australia and Oceania |
| 20 | Papua New Guinea | 22.9 | 198 | Australia and Oceania |
| 21 | New Zealand | 19.5 | 204 | Australia and Oceania |
| 22 | New Caledonia | 15.9 | 213 | Australia and Oceania |
| 23 | Niue | 7.0 | 223 | Australia and Oceania |
| 24 | Australia | 3.4 | 233 | Australia and Oceania |
Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.