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Sub-region of Oceania · Country Index 2026

Melanesia

How are the countries of Melanesia doing?

Half of Melanesia’s 4 placed countries sit at or above 106th of 178 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 16th of 21 sub-regions. Fiji is placed highest, 62nd; Papua New Guinea lowest, joint 138th. None reaches the world’s top fifth. 1 more of its 5 countries and territories is not placed.

MelanesiaUN M49 054

Melanesia, shown in red on a map of the world

106th

median position of 178 · 16th of 21 sub-regions

Oceania →median 70th

01Who is in it

The countries of Melanesia

Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.

02The region

About Melanesia

The south-western Pacific arc, from Papua New Guinea to Fiji.

Melanesia is the arc of islands in the south-western Pacific from New Guinea to Fiji, taking in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Many of its islands are mountainous and volcanic, covered in tropical forest, and lie along the edge of the Pacific tectonic plate.

People reached New Guinea tens of thousands of years ago, and later seafarers carried settlement further east across the islands. The region is one of the most linguistically diverse places on Earth, with hundreds of languages spoken in Papua New Guinea alone. Most of its states became independent in the 1970s and 1980s, and New Caledonia remains linked to France.

03Where

Melanesia on the map

Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.

Country Index position: 1st178thMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks

04Country Index 2026

Where Melanesia’s countries place

Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 178, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.

The full Country Index 2026
Melanesia’s 4 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountryIn the world1st178th
1Fiji62 / 178between 55th and 66th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
2Vanuatu106 / 178between 97th and 114th if any one key were dropped · standings on 13 of 16 topics
3Solomon Islands129 / 178between 122nd and 133rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
4Papua New Guinea138 / 178between 135th and 146th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics

A further 1 of its countries and territories is not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. New Caledonia.

Melanesia among the 21 sub-regions with a median

16th of 21. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Northern Europe6thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 25th.
  2. Western Europe10thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from New Zealand 17th to Australia 24th.
  4. Northern America17thPlaced countries run from Canada 17th to United States 37th.
  5. Eastern Asia23rdPlaced countries run from South Korea 14th to Mongolia 73rd.
  6. Southern Europe32ndPlaced countries run from Slovenia 12th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 63rd.
  7. Eastern Europe39thPlaced countries run from Czechia 11th to Russia 68th.
  8. Polynesia70thPlaced countries run from Samoa 70th to Tonga 85th.
  9. South America74thPlaced countries run from Uruguay 34th to Venezuela 137th.
  10. Caribbean78thPlaced countries run from Barbados 63rd to Haiti 169th.
  11. Central America81stPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  12. Western Asia93rdPlaced countries run from Cyprus 35th to Yemen 176th.
  13. South-eastern Asia95thPlaced countries run from Singapore 26th to Myanmar 153rd.
  14. Central Asia100thPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 60th to Turkmenistan 148th.
  15. Southern Asia100thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 44th to Afghanistan 172nd.
  16. Melanesia106thPlaced countries run from Fiji 62nd to Papua New Guinea 138th.
  17. Southern Africa116thPlaced countries run from South Africa 102nd to Eswatini 140th.
  18. Northern Africa127thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 107th to Libya 174th.
  19. Eastern Africa143rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 46th to Somalia 177th.
  20. Western Africa144thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 74th to Guinea-Bissau 168th.
  21. Middle Africa161stPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 104th to Chad 175th.
  22. Micronesia—
  23. Oceania, the whole continent70th
  24. The world’s midpoint88th
1st178thmedian

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

05By subject

Topic by topic

Every country’s position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field; select a cell for the country’s page on the topic. Strongest for Melanesia: Environment & Sustainability, 1st of 21 sub-regions. Weakest: Risk & Resilience, 21st of 22.

All topics
Melanesia: each country’s position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among sub-regions.
Environment & SustainabilityPeace & SecurityDemocracy & Civil LibertiesPoverty & InequalityGovernance & InstitutionsEducation & KnowledgeFood & AgricultureGender & EqualityWork & LabourEnergyDevelopment & Human CapitalHealth & WellbeingEconomy & InnovationMobility & TradeDigital & TechnologyRisk & ResilienceMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
Fiji57 of 18119 of 17779 of 19853 of 15950 of 19476 of 17151 of 175100 of 183130 of 18244 of 19386 of 196125 of 20056 of 176114 of 147139 of 198113 of 192No standingNo standing
VanuatuNo standing17 of 17760 of 19885 of 15998 of 19489 of 171109 of 175102 of 18388 of 182No standing123 of 196130 of 200132 of 176No standing138 of 198165 of 192No standingNo standing
Solomon IslandsNo standing39 of 17768 of 198No standing121 of 19490 of 171137 of 175137 of 18339 of 182151 of 193151 of 196146 of 200125 of 176101 of 147175 of 198175 of 192No standingNo standing
Papua New Guinea5 of 18181 of 177110 of 198No standing142 of 194161 of 17193 of 175139 of 183150 of 182111 of 193164 of 196171 of 200147 of 17690 of 147122 of 198190 of 192No standingNo standing
New CaledoniaNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing115 of 182117 of 193No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Region median5th of 18119th of 17768th of 19853rd of 15998th of 19489th of 17193rd of 175102nd of 183115th of 182111th of 193123rd of 196130th of 200125th of 176101st of 147138th of 198165th of 192——
Among sub-regions1st of 212nd of 209th of 2211th of 2113th of 2214th of 2114th of 2114th of 2114th of 2115th of 2216th of 2216th of 2217th of 2117th of 2118th of 2221st of 22——

Columns run from the topic where Melanesia places best among sub-regions to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.

06In numbers

Melanesia in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Melanesia’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.

All statistics

  • Population

    people · log scale

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · no better end

    New CaledoniaVanuatuSolomon IslandsFijiPapua New Guinea496world median 6,541,4131,438,069,596

  • Land area

    km²

    FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end

    VanuatuFijiNew CaledoniaSolomon Islands0.4world median 87,58916,376,870

  • GDP per person

    international $, PPP · log scale

    World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better

    No reading: New Caledonia

    Solomon IslandsVanuatuPapua New GuineaFiji1,067world median 17,265139,593

  • Life expectancy

    years at birth

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · higher is better

    Papua New GuineaFijiSolomon IslandsVanuatuNew Caledonia54.46world median 74.6386.37

  • Human development

    HDI, 0–1

    UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better

    No reading: New Caledonia

    Papua New GuineaSolomon IslandsVanuatuFiji0.388world median 0.7620.972

  • Unemployment

    % of the labour force

    ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better

    Solomon IslandsPapua New GuineaVanuatuFijiNew Caledonia0.13world median 5.08434.2
Every value for Melanesia’s countries
CountryPopulation 2023Land area 2024GDP per person 2025Life expectancy 2023Human development 2023Unemployment 2025
Fiji924,145rank 16218,333rank 15313,961rank 10767.32rank 1760.731rank 1115.347rank 85
New Caledonia289,870rank 17918,576rank 152—78.77rank 60—11.17rank 30
Papua New Guinea10,389,635rank 93452,860rank 544,456rank 15266.13rank 1880.576rank 1602.571rank 158
Solomon Islands800,005rank 16527,990rank 1412,382rank 17570.53rank 1520.584rank 1561.431rank 174
Vanuatu320,409rank 17812,189rank 1583,867rank 15871.48rank 1460.621rank 1465.073rank 93

07In records

Melanesia in records

The member at the extreme of each statistic, read from its newest edition. Where two members share the top, no record is named.

08Latest editions

Who rose and fell in the published ranks

The moves of Melanesia’s countries between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.

Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Human Development Index: reference years 2022 (192 countries ranked) → 2023 (193 ranked), both from its 2025 report.

Improved most

rank before → after
  1. Fiji114 → 111+3

Declined most

rank before → after
  1. Papua New Guinea158 → 160−2
  2. Vanuatu145 → 146−1
  3. Solomon Islands155 → 156−1
Every country in the Human Development Index

09In context

Across the border

The countries outside Melanesia that share a land border with one of its members, with their world positions, and the sub-regions they belong to. Land borders only, as drawn on the map.

South-eastern Asia

The neighbouring sub-regions

10Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The rest of Oceania

11Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Melanesia?

5 countries and territories: Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification.

Which country in Melanesia is placed highest?

Fiji, placed 62nd of 178 in the Country Index 2026. Papua New Guinea is placed lowest, joint 138th. 4 of the region’s 5 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Melanesia compare with other regions?

Half of its 4 placed countries sit at or above 106th of 178, which places it 16th of 21 sub-regions. The median across Oceania is 70th. The middle of the whole field is 88th. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Melanesia?

12,724,064 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 5 countries and territories.

What is the largest country in Melanesia?

By land area, Papua New Guinea: 452,860 square kilometres (2024). By population, Papua New Guinea: 10,389,635 people (2023).

How a region’s figure is made
  1. Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
  2. Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
  3. The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
  4. A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Melanesia: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/melanesia

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