AustraliaCapital: Canberra. The mainland of the smallest continent. The sixth-largest country in the world, at about 7.74 million square kilometers. Federated on 1 January 1901. A United Nations member since 1945.
New ZealandCapital: Wellington; Auckland is the most populous city. Cook Strait, 22 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, splits the North Island from the South Island. United Nations member since 1945.
Melanesia 4
FijiCapital: Suva, on Viti Levu. More than 330 islands, about 110 of them inhabited. Independent from the United Kingdom since 10 October 1970, and a member of the United Nations since the same month.
Papua New GuineaCapital: Port Moresby. About 840 known languages are spoken here. That is more than in any other country. Independent from Australia since 16 September 1975, and a member of the United Nations since that October.
Solomon IslandsCapital: Honiara, on Guadalcanal, the largest island. Six major islands and over 1,000 smaller ones. Bougainville is in the same archipelago but belongs to Papua New Guinea. Independent from the United Kingdom since 7 July 1978.
VanuatuCapital: Port Vila, on Efate. About 83 islands, 65 of them inhabited; the largest is Espíritu Santo. The United Kingdom and France ruled it jointly as the New Hebrides from 1906 until independence on 30 July 1980.
Micronesia 5
Federated States of MicronesiaCapital: Palikir, on Pohnpei. Four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae, 607 islands in all. Its Compact of Free Association with the United States took effect on 3 November 1986. United Nations member since 1991.
KiribatiCapital: South Tarawa, in the Gilbert Islands at the country's western end. Said KIRR-i-bass, the local form of Gilberts. 32 atolls and one raised coral island. Independent from the United Kingdom since 12 July 1979.
Marshall IslandsCapital: Majuro. 29 coral atolls and five islands. They lie in two chains, Ratak (sunrise) and Ralik (sunset). Its Compact of Free Association with the United States took effect on 21 October 1986. United Nations member since 1991.
NauruNo official capital: the government sits in Yaren. At 21 square kilometers, the world's third-smallest country. Its official English name became the Republic of Naoero in 2026, and the United Nations lists it as Naoero.
PalauCapital: Ngerulmud, on the island of Babeldaob; Koror is the largest city. About 340 islands. Its Compact of Free Association with the United States took effect on 1 October 1994, and it joined the United Nations that December.
Polynesia 3
SamoaCapital: Apia, on Upolu; Savaiʻi is the larger island. Independent from New Zealand since 1 January 1962, and called Western Samoa until 1997. It skipped 30 December 2011 to cross to the west side of the International Date Line.
TongaCapital: Nukuʻalofa, on Tongatapu. 171 islands, 45 of them inhabited, in three main groups: Tongatapu, Haʻapai and Vavaʻu. A British protected state from 1900 to 1970 that never gave up its sovereignty. United Nations member since 1999.
TuvaluCapital: Funafuti. Three reef islands and six atolls. About 26 square kilometers in all and nowhere higher than 4.6 meters. Formerly the Ellice Islands. The name means eight standing together. Independent since 1 October 1978.
How this list was compiled: The 14 countries are the member states of the United Nations in Oceania, with the dates they joined: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states (193 member states; Nauru is listed there as Naoero), checked 2026-09-19. The four regions are those of the United Nations M49 standard: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/, checked 2026-09-19. The count of 14, the capitals and the land areas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_in_Oceania, checked 2026-09-19. Dates of independence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonisation_of_Oceania and the Wikipedia article of each country, checked 2026-09-19. The change of Nauru's official English name to the Republic of Naoero (during 2026: the article cites a constitutional amendment passed in May 2026 and a news report of the official change dated 30 July 2026, so the copy says only 2026): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nauru, checked 2026-09-19. The other facts in the detail lines come from the Wikipedia articles Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiribati and the pages named the same way), checked 2026-09-19. The meaning of Melanesia and the coining of the region names in 1832: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanesia, checked 2026-09-19. Ten shapes of the drawing are not member states of the United Nations (American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Wallis and Futuna); they are drawn and never asked. Labels follow the name table of the drawing (Natural Earth), so the label is Nauru and Naoero is an accepted answer. Kiribati's point is on Kiritimati, where the drawing puts its dot, not on Tarawa. Positions in the hints were read off the coordinates of the drawing. Hints and detail lines written for this site. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes (scale 1:50,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection centred on 17°S 172°E. Outlines simplified; small islands are left out. 15 places are too small to draw at this scale and shown as a dot. Licence: public domain (Natural Earth terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/)
How it works
This Oceania map game is a quiz on a blank map of the Pacific with 14 countries to find, from the Marshall Islands in the north to New Zealand in the south. Eleven carry a numbered ring.
Read the full guide
Which 14 countries are asked
The 14 are the member states of the United Nations in Oceania. Four sets under Start from split them as the UN statistics office does: Australia and New Zealand (2), Melanesia (4), Micronesia (5) and Polynesia (3). Ten more places, among them Guam, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, are drawn and never asked: none is a member state.
Eleven rings across a wide ocean
Only Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are big enough to tap. The other 11 each have a numbered ring, seven of them drawn as a dot. On a phone, press a region first so the rings spread out. Pick The 12 Pacific island countries under Start from to drop the two big neighbors. Miss three, and Practise the 3 you missed brings them back.
Top row, west to east: Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands. Nauru sits below them, and Kiribati is far to the east.
The Melanesian arc runs west to east: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, each a step farther from Australia.
Three Polynesian countries ring Fiji. Tuvalu is straight north, Samoa is to the northeast and Tonga is to the southeast.
Questions and answers
How many countries are in Oceania?
Fourteen member states of the United Nations: Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Australia is the largest and Nauru, at 21 square kilometers, the smallest.
What do Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia mean?
The names come from Greek: Melanesia means black islands, Micronesia small islands and Polynesia many islands. The split goes back to Dumont d'Urville's 1832 division of the Pacific. The United Nations uses the same three names, with Australia and New Zealand as a fourth region.
Why does the quiz accept Naoero for Nauru?
In 2026 Nauru changed its official English name to the Republic of Naoero, and the United Nations now lists it as Naoero. Most maps still print Nauru, so the quiz keeps that label and takes either name as a typed answer.
Is the continent called Australia or Oceania?
Both names are in use. Many lists of the seven continents name this one Australia, and if yours does, this page is your Australia countries quiz. The six states and two territories of Australia the country are on the Australia map quiz.