Tikopia is a small and high island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Covering an area of 5 km² (2 sq. mi.), the island is the remnant of an extinct volcano. Its highest point, Mt. Reani, reaches an elevation of 380 m (1,247 ft) above sea level. Lake Te Roto covers an old volcanic crater which is 80 m deep.

Tikopia's location is relatively remote. It is sometimes grouped with the Santa Cruz Islands. Administratively, Tikopia belongs to Temotu Province as the southernmost of the Solomon Islands.

The population of Tikopia is about 1,200, distributed among more than 20 villages mostly along the coast. The largest village is Matautu on the west coast, not to be confused with Mata-Utu, the capital of Wallis and Futuna. Historically, the tiny island has supported a high-density population of a thousand or so. Strict reproductive policy prevented further increase. Unlike most of the Solomon Islands, the inhabitants are Polynesians, their language, Tikopian, is a member of the Samoic branch of the Polynesian languages and is generally referred to as a Polynesian outlier.

Coordinates: 10°45′S 167°00′E / 10.75°S 167°E / -10.75; 167

Temotu is the easternmost province of the Solomon Islands. The province was formerly known as Santa Cruz Islands Province. It consists, essentially, of two chains of islands which run parallel to each other from the northwest to the southeast.

The islands or island groups which make up the province are:

The provincial capital is Lata, located on Nendö, the largest and most important of the Santa Cruz islands.

The population of 21,362 (2009) is quite diverse for the small land area encompassed. The Santa Cruz Islanders are predominantly Melanesian, although the inhabitants of Tikopia, Anuta, the Duff Islands and some of the Reef Islands are Polynesians.

The province has given its name to the Temotu languages, a putative linguistic subgroup within the broader Oceanic family of languages.

The languages spoken in the province include all nine Temotu languages proper, plus two Polynesian outlier languages: Vaeakau-Taumako and Tikopia.