Which country in Oceania is home to the Great Barrier Reef?

The country in Oceania that is home to the Great Barrier Reef is Australia. The reef system runs along the northeastern coast of Queensland in the Coral Sea and is the world's largest coral reef system.

Rather than being one continuous reef, it is a vast network of thousands of individual reefs and hundreds of islands. Its corals build limestone structures that provide habitat for fish, sea turtles, sharks, rays, seabirds and many other marine species.

The Great Barrier Reef stretches for roughly 2,300 kilometres from the Torres Strait in the north toward Lady Elliot Island in the south. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981 because of its exceptional ecological and scientific importance.

A common mistake is placing the reef in Papua New Guinea because the country lies nearby and has its own rich coral ecosystems. However, the Great Barrier Reef is off Australia's Queensland coast. It is threatened by marine heatwaves, coral bleaching, pollution and coastal pressures, although recovery varies across different sections.