The countries prepared for this continent make up the initial list. The content for other countries is being prepared and the list will be periodically updated.
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A detail of the Great Barrier Reef
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Australia is Earth's smallest continent and the only landmass of such size comprising only one country - The Commonwealth of Australia. Moreover, it's the only permanently inhabited continent lying fully in the Souther Hemisphere. In spite of its peripheral position, the continent was inhabited by humans 40,000 years ago. Before the European colonization in the late 18th century there were 250 indigenous Australian peoples living here. Further east and northeast from Australia there's Oceania. The exact borders of Oceania are under dispute, but it's generally thought to cover an area of 9 million square kilometres in the southeastern and central Pacific Ocean. There are three regions in Oceania - Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Apart from New Zealand and Papua New Guinea other countries in Oceania are spread over small archipelagos and have limited populations. Nevertheless, in spite of their small size there is a great cultural difference among the countries of Oceania partly thanks to the fact that they lie so far away from each other. Very many territories in Oceania, especially those found in Polynesia, have still not gained independence from foreign powers.
