Largest cities in Oceania

This article ranks the largest cities in Oceania, in population or land area, using a variety of ranking methods. The question of determining Oceania's largest cities does not allow a single, simple answer. It depends on which definitions of "city" and "size" are used, and how those definitions are applied. Complex political/cultural/social situations, sometimes controversial or disputed, further confuse the discussion. Debate on this field is highly vulnerable to bias or manipulation, as people tend to prefer whichever definition most flatters their own city. The "size" of a city can refer to either its land area or, more typically, its population. Below are the most favored ranking types of the largest cities in Oceania.

Metropolitan Area
One concept which measures the world's largest cities is that of the metropolitan area, which is based on the concept of a labor market area and is typically defined as an employment core (an area with a high density of available jobs) and the surrounding areas that have strong commuting ties to the core. There is currently no generally accepted, globally consistent definition of exactly what constitutes a metropolitan area, thus making comparisons between cities in different countries especially difficult. Puerto Esmeralda is by far the largest city in the region, followed by Sydney.

National capitals are in bold.


 * Statistics for Calaréann and Toriannian cities are currently unavailable.
 * Only cities with a metropolitan area of over 100,000 are shown.