| SOLOMONISLANDS | Independent state in the SW Pacific whose capital is Honiara |
| NMEX | State in the SW (2 wds., abbr.) |
| SOLOMON | ___ Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean country whose capital is Honiara (7) |
| NAVAJONATION | This proposed 51st state in the Southwest would be larger than 10 existing states; it already enjoys substantial autonomy, as its name suggests |
| TONGA | Kingdom in the SW Pacific whose capital is Nuku"alofa (5) |
| PAPUANEWGUINEA | Country in the SW Pacific whose capital is Port Moresby |
| SAMOA | Independent sovereign state in the Pacific whose capital is Apia (5) |
| TAHITI | Island in the S Pacific whose capital is Papeete (6) |
| FIJI | Group of islands in the Pacific whose capital is Suva (4) |
| NEWCALEDONIA | Volcanic island in the Pacific whose capital is Noumea (3,9) |
| TASMANIA | Island in the South Pacific whose capital is Hobart (8) |
| VANUATU | Island nation in the South Pacific whose capital is Port Vila |
| KIRIBATI | Island republic in the Pacific whose capital is South Tarawa (8) |
| BAHRAIN | Independent state in the Persian Gulf whose capital is Al Manamah (7) |
| OMAN | Muscat is the capital of this independent state in the Middle East |
| ASSYRIA | Emerging as an independent state in the 14th century BCE, it became a major power in Mesopotamia, Armenia, and sometimes in northern Syria, before declining after the death of Tukulti-Ninurta I about |
| VATICAN | Which landlocked city state is the smallest internationally recognised independent state in the world? (7) |
| BARBADOS | Independent state in the West Indies (8) |
| NAURU | Smallest island state in the world, in the SW Pacific just south of the equator (5) |
| RAROTONGA | Largest of the Cook Islands in the SW Pacific; site of the capital, Avarua (9) |
