Oceania

OCEANIA is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous countries that are mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity.

The term is used today in many languages to denote a continent comprised of Australia and many Pacific islands. Ethnologically, the islands that are included in Oceania are divided into the sub-regions of POLYNESIA, MICRONESIA, MELANESIA, AUSTRALASIA. These are listed here followed by the status of homosexuality in each: Yes=legal; No=illegal:

POLYNESIA: American Samoa -Yes; Rapa Nui -Yes; Cook Islands -Male No, Female Yes; French Polynesia -Yes; Niue -Yes; Pitcairn Islands -Yes; Samoa -No; Tokelau -Yes; Tonga -Male No, Female Yes; Tuvalu -Male No, Female Yes; Wallis and Futuna -Yes

MICRONESIA: Guam -Yes; Federated States of Micronesia -Yes; Kiribati -Male no, Female Yes; Marshall Islands -Yes; Northern Mariana Islands -Unkown; Palau -Male No, Female Yes

MELANESIA: East Timor -Yes; Fiji -Male No, Female Yes; New Caledonia -Yes; Papua New Guinea -No; Solomon Islands -No; Vanuatu Yes

AUSTRALASIA: Australia -Yes; Christmas Island -Yes; Coco (Keeling) Islands -Yes; Norfolk Island -Yes; New Zealand -Yes

For ease of finding these countries and territories, we have listed them all alphabetically under OCEANIA.

ANTARCTICA is a separate unpopulated continent. It is included here only because of its location.