Gross Domestic Product by Land Area in Oceania

The chart above shows economic output as it relates to land area.  The countries to the top left of the diagonal line have a gross domestic product (GDP) of over one million international dollars per square kilometer, while countries to the bottom right have a GDP that is less than one million dollars per square kilometer.  Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, and Tonga have the largest ratio of GDP to area whereas the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea have the smallest ratio of GDP to area.

Findings

• Oceania has only two countries that make over 1 million international dollars per square kilometer.
• The Solomon Islands has the smallest ratio of GDP to area with an economy of just over 43,000 times that of its area in square kilometers.
• Tuvalu has the largest ratio of GDP to area with an economy of just over 1 million times that of its area in square kilometers.
• Only Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands have a GDP that is over one million international dollars per square kilometer.

Caveats

• A country with a large landmass and a small population is likely to have a smaller ratio, whereas a small country with a large population density can have a larger ratio.  Thus the data may not reflect how productive a country is.
• American Samoa, Bouvet Island, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Pitcairn, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna were missing data.

Details

Australia and New Zealand, who both usually outshine their neighbors in economic metrics, fall flat with Australia having the fourth worst GDP per square kilometer while New Zealand has the fourth best.  Granted, Australia is quite the sizable state.

The one solid underperformer in economic metrics - Papua New Guinea - underperforms again.

Data

Code	Country	Area (square km)	GDP (in millions)	GDP Per Square Kilometer
SB	Solomon Islands	28,896	1,247	43,154.76
VU	Vanuatu	12,189	772	63,335.79
PG	Papua New Guinea	462,840	29,481	63,695.88
AU	Australia	7,741,220	1,251,416	161,656.17
KI	Kiribati	811	222	273,736.13
WS	Samoa	2,831	1,129	398,799.01
FJ	Fiji	18,274	8,798	481,449.05
FM	Micronesia	702	345	491,452.99
PW	Palau	458	297	648,471.62
NZ	New Zealand	268,838	186,476	693,637.06
TO	Tonga	747	597	799,196.79
MH	Marshall Islands	181	188	1,038,674.03
TV	Tuvalu	26	41	1,576,923.08

Sources

"Report for Selected Countries and Subjects."  https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=43&pr.y=19&sy=2017&ey=2017&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C672%2C914%2C946%2C612%2C137%2C614%2C546%2C311%2C962%2C213%2C674%2C911%2C676%2C193%2C548%2C122%2C556%2C912%2C678%2C313%2C181%2C419%2C867%2C513%2C682%2C316%2C684%2C913%2C273%2C124%2C868%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C624%2C692%2C522%2C694%2C622%2C142%2C156%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C565%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C359%2C960%2C453%2C423%2C968%2C935%2C922%2C128%2C714%2C611%2C862%2C321%2C135%2C243%2C716%2C248%2C456%2C469%2C722%2C253%2C942%2C642%2C718%2C643%2C724%2C939%2C576%2C644%2C936%2C819%2C961%2C172%2C813%2C132%2C199%2C646%2C733%2C648%2C184%2C915%2C524%2C134%2C361%2C652%2C362%2C174%2C364%2C328%2C732%2C258%2C366%2C656%2C734%2C654%2C144%2C336%2C146%2C263%2C463%2C268%2C528%2C532%2C923%2C944%2C738%2C176%2C578%2C534%2C537%2C536%2C742%2C429%2C866%2C433%2C369%2C178%2C744%2C436%2C186%2C136%2C925%2C343%2C869%2C158%2C746%2C439%2C926%2C916%2C466%2C664%2C112%2C826%2C111%2C542%2C298%2C967%2C927%2C443%2C846%2C917%2C299%2C544%2C582%2C941%2C474%2C446%2C754%2C666%2C698%2C668&s=PPPGDP&grp=0&a=.  International Monetary Fund.

US Department of State.  2017.  "The World Factbook."  Accessed September 21, 2017.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html.