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How Many Continents Are There in the World? | Total Continents in World


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How Many Continents are There in the World?

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Map Showing 7 Continents in the World
Map of the world depicting 7 continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia & Oceania

How Many Continents do we have in the World?

There are seven continents in the world. They are; Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia & Oceania.

A continent can be defined as a large landmass that comprises the surface of the earth. However, there is a lot of variation in the size of each of the seven continents. The continents also include the neighboring islands.

Among the seven continents, Asia is the largest in the world and covers an area of 16,920,000 square miles, which is roughly 30% of the world’s total land area. The continent comprises a population of 4,436,224,000 inhabitants, which is around 60% of the total population of the world. The continent is also home to the two most populous countries in the world – China and India.

Africa is the second-largest continent in the world and covers an area of 11,730,000 square miles. Africa is also the second most populous continent and had a population of 1,216,130,000 people as of 2016. Africa comprises around 20.4% of the total land area of the earth and is home to 54 fully sovereign recognized states. It also contains nine territories and two de facto independent states that have limited or no recognition.

North America is the third largest continent and covers an area of 9,460,000 square miles. With a population of 579,024,000 people, it is the fourth most populous continent in the world.

South America is the fourth largest continent in the world and covers an area of 6,890,000 square miles. It is the fifth most populous continent, and as of 2016 had a population of 422,535,000 people. Brazil is the largest country in South America.


The largely uninhabited Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent in the world. It comprises an area of 5,300,000 square miles. The continent does not have a permanent population, but many countries have permanently manned research stations there. The number of people conducting scientific research in Antarctica varies between 1,000 and 5,000 people. It is the driest, windiest, and coldest continent.

Europe is the sixth largest continent and the third most populous and covers an area of 3,930,000 square miles and had a population of 738,849,000, as of 2016. Russia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan are transcontinental countries with land in both Asia and Europe. The European part of Russia is the largest country in Europe.

Australia & Oceania are the smallest of the seven continents. It covers an area of 3,478,200 square miles and has a population of 39,901,000 people. New Zealand is considered to be a part of Zealandia, a submerged continent. New Zealand and Australia are both parts of Oceania.

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