How many continents are there in the world? It's a simple enough question. But the answer is much more complex than you think.
Essentially, it comes down to how you count a continent. Some argue that there are as few as four continents, for example, with each one classified as a landmass that is naturally separated by water. Using the four-continent model tells us that there are only AfroEurasia, America, Antarctica, and Australia.
Others argue there are six continents – Africa, America, Antarctica, Asia, Oceania, and Europe – with the Americans blended into one continent. If you merge together the Americas and only count vastly populated landmasses – thus excluding Antarctica – you would be left with five continents.
How many continents are there in the world?
There are seven continents in the world, according to most standards. In order from smallest to largest, they are: Oceania, Europe, Antarctica, South America, North America, Africa, and Asia. However, by some measurements, there are only four or five continents on Earth.
By size, here are the standard seven continents in the world:
Oceania - 8,511,000km²
Oceania is the smallest continent in the world, with a total land area of 8,511,000km². This is despite the continent containing Australia – the sixth-largest country in the world, with a landmass of 7.688 million km².
Its population of just 44,491,724 (according to the UN) makes it the second-smallest most populous continent, trumping only Antarctica.
Oceania consists of Australasia, Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. You’ll find a number of the smallest countries in the world in the continent spread throughout its 14 independently recognised countries and collection of territories dependent on other nations.
Europe - 10,180,000km²
With a total land area of 10,180,000km², Europe is the second-smallest continent in the world. However, it is the third most populated continent, home to 745,173,774 people, according to the UN.
The total number of countries within Europe is debated but it is shared by 50 different nations if you include the likes of Turkey, the Faroe Islands, Kosovo, Cyprus. Small parts of countries like Kazakhstan and Russia are also widely considered to be in Europe.
Antarctica - 14,200,000km²
Antarctica is the least populated continent on Earth and is mostly a polar desert. Just 1,000-5,000 people live there and populate the various research stations scattered across its 14,200,000km² land area.
South America - 17,814,000km²
Thanks to its total land area of 17,814,000km², South America is the fourth largest continent in the world. Its population estimate of 434,254,119 (UN) ranks it fifth.
Aside from Antarctica, South America is home to the fewest countries, with just 12 independent nations. The largest of them is Brazil, which is the fifth-biggest country in the world. Argentina also makes the top ten in eighth place.
North America - 24,239,000km²
North America is the third-largest continent on Earth, with a land area of 24,239,000km². It has a population estimate of 595,000,000 people, according to the UN.
North America consists of Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It’s home to 47 independent and dependent nations, including Canada and the USA, second and third-largest countries in the world, respectively.
Africa - 30,244,000km²
Africa is the second-largest continent in the world, behind Asia. Africa is home to some 1,393,676,444 people and has a total land area of 30,244,000km². That’s about 20 per cent of the Earth’s total land area.
The continent houses 54 sovereign African countries, with Algeria – the largest of them all – ranking tenth in the biggest countries in the world.
Asia - 44,579,000km²
Asia is the world's largest continent, with a total land mass of 44,579,000km², equating to almost 30 per cent of the Earth’s total land area. The continent has an estimated population of 4,694,576,167, making it the most populous on Earth. (Figures according to the UN).
Housing 51 countries in total, thanks to China, India, Kazakhstan, and Russia, Asia is home to four of the ten largest countries in the world. Russia is the largest of the lot.
Asia is a little tricky to define as it blends into Europe in the west with several countries technically crossing both continents. Typically, the divide is considered using the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea as borders.
What makes a continent?
A continent is typically defined as being a large continuous mass of land, loosely correlating with the positions of the tectonic plates and ‘floating’ on Earth's continental crust. Questions over where Europe ends and Asia begins, though, are an example of the lack of a definitive answer on the subject.
There is a question as to what exactly defines each continent, which has caused confusion among geography teachers and students across the globe. The lack of a definitive answer as to what exactly makes a continent has led to the four, five, six, and seven-continent responses around the world.
To make things more complicated, geologists have theorised that continents move. Plate tectonics and the Pangea supercontinent suggest that continents move and break up over (extremely long) periods of time due to convection from the decay of radioactive elements in the mantle.
What continents make up America?
The Americas are made up of two continents: North America and South America. The United States can be found in North America.
In some practices, including the Olympic’s five rings (each representing a continent), the three American continents are combined into one, typically calling the combo of North and South America ‘The Americas’.
You may see some include Central America as a third continent in the Americas.
Is Russia part of Europe or part of Asia?
Technically, Russia is part of both as far as continents but is considered a European nation due to cultural ties and due to the population being denser in the nation's European lands.
Russia is a complicated country with historical, political, and geographical ties to both Europe and Asia. The vast majority of it lies in the north of Asia, with its western arm stretching into the East of Europe.
Using the Ural Mountains as a continental border, most of Russia is in Asia and part of it is in Europe. Its biggest cities, however, including capital Moscow, are primarily found in Europe. That, coupled with the large stretches of permafrost-ridden land in the east and north, have made the majority of Russians live in the European parts of the country.
Read more:
