Oceaniens huvudstäder

Oceanien sträcker sig från Australiens ökeninre till Stilla havets öar — huvudstäderna visar både isolering och global sammanlänkning.

14 Huvudstäder 18-25 min

Studera huvudstäderna

Canberra

Australien

Population: 470,000

Canberra is the capital of Australia, purpose-built in the early 20th century as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne. Designed by American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, it is a planned city centred around an artificial lake.

Landmarks: Australian Parliament House, Australian War Memorial

Fun Facts

Canberra was purpose-built as a compromise because Sydney and Melbourne both wanted to be capital — the constitution required it be at least 100 miles from Sydney.
The city was designed by Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, who won an international design competition in 1912.
Canberra is one of the few world capitals that is neither the largest nor the most economically important city in its country.

Suva

Fiji

Population: 95,000

Suva is the capital of Fiji, located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu. It is the largest city in the South Pacific (outside Australia and New Zealand) and serves as the economic and administrative hub of the Pacific Islands region.

Landmarks: Fiji Museum, Thurston Gardens

Fun Facts

Suva is the largest city in the South Pacific islands and hosts many regional organisations including the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
The city receives about 3,000 mm of rain per year, making it one of the wettest capitals in the Pacific.
Fiji gained independence from Britain in 1970, and Suva has been its capital since the colonial era (replacing Levuka in 1877).

Tarawa

Kiribati

Population: 64,000

Tarawa is the capital of Kiribati, a coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean. South Tarawa, the urbanised area, is one of the most densely populated places in the Pacific and faces serious challenges from rising sea levels.

Landmarks: Betio War Memorial, Kiribati Parliament Building (Maneaba ni Maungatabu)

Fun Facts

Kiribati (pronounced "Kiribas") is one of the countries most threatened by climate change — most of its land is less than 2 metres above sea level.
The Battle of Tarawa in 1943 was one of the bloodiest battles in US Marine Corps history.
Kiribati is the only country in the world situated in all four hemispheres (north, south, east, and west).

Majuro

Marshallöarna

Population: 28,000

Majuro is the capital of the Marshall Islands, a coral atoll in the central Pacific. The city stretches along a narrow strip of land between a lagoon and the open ocean, with an average width of just a few hundred metres.

Landmarks: Alele Museum, Laura Beach

Fun Facts

Majuro atoll is a narrow strip of land averaging only about 200 metres wide but stretching over 60 km in length.
The Marshall Islands were the site of 67 US nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958, including the massive Castle Bravo detonation on Bikini Atoll.
The country has one of the world's largest shark sanctuaries, covering nearly 2 million square kilometres of ocean.

Palikir

Mikronesien

Population: 6,600

Palikir is the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia, located on the island of Pohnpei. It is one of the smallest and least known capital cities in the world, serving primarily as an administrative centre.

Landmarks: FSM Capitol Building, Nan Madol (nearby)

Fun Facts

Palikir replaced Kolonia as the capital in 1989, though Kolonia remains the commercial centre of Pohnpei.
The nearby ancient city of Nan Madol, built on 92 artificial islets, is sometimes called the "Venice of the Pacific."
The Federated States of Micronesia comprises over 600 islands spread across 2.6 million square kilometres of Pacific Ocean.

Yaren

Nauru

Population: 1,100

Yaren is the de facto capital district of Nauru, the world's smallest island nation. Nauru technically has no official capital, but Yaren hosts the parliament building and most government offices along the island's southern coast.

Landmarks: Nauru Parliament House, Command Ridge (WWII Japanese fortifications)

Fun Facts

Nauru has no official capital city — Yaren serves as the de facto capital and is really a district rather than a city.
Nauru is the world's smallest island nation and the third-smallest country by area (21 sq km), after Vatican City and Monaco.
In the 1980s, Nauru briefly had the highest per-capita income in the world due to phosphate mining, before the deposits were exhausted.

Wellington

Nya Zeeland

Population: 215,000

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, situated at the southern tip of the North Island on the shores of a natural harbour. Known as the "Windy City," it is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state (excluding sub-Antarctic territories).

Landmarks: Beehive (Parliament), Te Papa Tongarewa (National Museum)

Fun Facts

Wellington is the southernmost capital city of any sovereign country in the world.
The city is known as the "Windy City" due to its position in the Roaring Forties wind belt, funnelled through the Cook Strait.
Wellington is home to Weta Workshop, the special effects company behind The Lord of the Rings and Avatar films.

Ngerulmud

Palau

Population: 400

Ngerulmud is the capital of Palau, located in Melekeok state on the island of Babeldaob. It became the capital in 2006 and is one of the smallest and least populated capital "cities" in the world — essentially just the government building complex.

Landmarks: Palau National Capitol, Rock Islands (nearby)

Fun Facts

Ngerulmud has a population of only about 400 people, making it one of the least populated capital cities in the world.
The capital moved from Koror to Ngerulmud in 2006 when the new Capitol building was completed on Babeldaob island.
Palau's Rock Islands Southern Lagoon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 400 limestone islands.

Port Moresby

Papua Nya Guinea

Population: 400,000

Port Moresby is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea, located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua. It is the main centre for commerce, industry, and government in one of the world's most linguistically diverse countries.

Landmarks: National Parliament Haus, Port Moresby Nature Park

Fun Facts

Papua New Guinea has over 840 living languages — the most linguistically diverse country on Earth — and Port Moresby is where many of these cultures meet.
The city is named after Captain John Moresby, who sailed into the harbour in 1873.
During World War II, the Kokoda Track near Port Moresby was the site of a famous campaign between Australian and Japanese forces.

Apia

Samoa

Population: 37,000

Apia is the capital of Samoa, located on the north coast of the island of Upolu. The city blends Polynesian culture with colonial heritage and is the country's only urban centre.

Landmarks: Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Fun Facts

Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson spent his final years in Apia and is buried on Mount Vaea above the city. Samoans called him "Tusitala" (Teller of Tales).
In 2009, Samoa switched from driving on the right to driving on the left, one of very few countries to ever make this change.
Samoa skipped December 30, 2011 entirely when it moved across the International Date Line to align with Australia and New Zealand.

Honiara

Salomonöarna

Population: 92,000

Honiara is the capital of the Solomon Islands, located on the northwest coast of Guadalcanal island. The city grew from a World War II military base and is the nation's primary port and commercial centre.

Landmarks: Solomon Islands National Museum, US War Memorial

Fun Facts

Honiara grew around a WWII US military base; the name comes from "naho-ni-ara" meaning "facing the southeast wind" in the local language.
The Battle of Guadalcanal (1942-43) was fought in and around present-day Honiara and was a turning point in the Pacific War.
The Solomon Islands has some of the world's best-preserved WWII wrecks, attracting divers from around the globe.

Nuku'alofa

Tonga

Population: 25,000

Nuku'alofa is the capital of Tonga, located on the northern coast of the island of Tongatapu. It is the seat of the Tongan royal family — Tonga is the only remaining monarchy in the Pacific.

Landmarks: Royal Palace of Tonga, Ha'amonga 'a Maui Trilithon

Fun Facts

Tonga is the only Pacific island nation that was never formally colonised by a European power.
The name Nuku'alofa means "Abode of Love" in Tongan.
In January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption near Tonga produced the most powerful atmospheric explosion recorded in the satellite era.

Funafuti

Tuvalu

Population: 7,000

Funafuti is the capital of Tuvalu, an atoll consisting of a narrow ring of islets around a large lagoon. With a maximum elevation of about 4 metres, it is one of the most vulnerable capitals in the world to sea-level rise.

Landmarks: Funafuti Marine Conservation Area, Church of Tuvalu

Fun Facts

Tuvalu is the fourth-smallest country in the world and its highest point is only about 4.6 metres above sea level.
The country earns significant revenue from its internet domain ".tv," which it licenses to media companies.
Funafuti's lagoon is 18 km long and up to 14 km wide, dwarfing the tiny islets that surround it.

Port Vila

Vanuatu

Population: 53,000

Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu, located on the southern coast of the island of Efate. It is a cosmopolitan Pacific town blending Melanesian, French, and British cultural influences — Vanuatu was jointly administered by both France and Britain until 1980.

Landmarks: Vanuatu National Museum, Iririki Island

Fun Facts

Vanuatu was jointly ruled by France and Britain (the "New Hebrides Condominium") until independence in 1980, which is why Port Vila has both French and English influences.
Bungee jumping originated from the Naghol land diving ritual on Vanuatu's Pentecost Island.
Mount Yasur on Tanna Island is one of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world.