What is the difference between Polynesia and Oceania?

Polynesia and Oceania are both regions in the Pacific Ocean. However, they are not the same region.

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania that consists of the islands of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. It is made up of three main groups of islands:

- Eastern Polynesia: Includes the Marquesas, Cook, Tuamotu, Society Islands (including the islands of Tahiti and Moorea), Rapa Nui (Easter Island), and Mangareva.

- Central Polynesia: Includes the groups of islands commonly referred to as the Samoas, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna.

- Western Polynesia: Includes the countries of Tonga and Rotuma (a dependency of Fiji) and the Niue, Cook Islands, Tuvalu and New Zealand.

Oceania, on the other hand, is a much larger region that encompasses all of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, including Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia.

- Melanesia: Includes the major island groups of Fiji, New Guinea, the Moluccas, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia.

- Micronesia: Encompasses thousands of islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, comprising numerous territories such as Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Oceania also includes the continent of Australia.