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Is Asia The Largest Continent? - Answers


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Is Asia The Largest Continent?

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Map of World Continents

A continent is defined as a very large continuous landmass. There are seven commonly accepted continents in the world. Listing by area these are; Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. This makes Asia the largest continent by area covered. It is also the largest continent in terms of the population.

Here is a look at how the different continents compare by area and by population –

Continent Area (in Sq. Miles) Population (in million) Percentage of World Population
Asia 17,212,000 4436.2 59.69
Africa 11,608,000 1216.1 16.36
North America 9,365,000 579 7.79
South America 6,880,000 422.5 5.68
Antarctica 5,100,000 No Permanent Residents 0
Europe 3,837,000 738.8 9.94
Australia 2,968,000 39.9 0.54

Antarctica, to the extreme south, is the only continent with no permanent residents. Some 4,000 researchers from various countries live here during the summer months.

The criteria that define a continent are not rigid and the division of continents is largely based on convention. Thus, though one of the criteria for a landmass to be termed a continent is having its own tectonic plate, Europe and Asia are frequently considered to be separate continents though they share the Eurasian tectonic plate. A small number of geographers and scientists, however, consider Eurasia to be a single continent. If this is the view one takes then Eurasia, not Asia, becomes the largest continent – both in terms of area and population.
The seven continents of the world vary greatly in terms of their size, shape, physical features, and the societies and cultures that inhabit them. Another one of the criteria that is used to classify a continent is the fact that flora and fauna found in the continent be distinct from the bio life in other parts of the world. This too is not a clear definition, though.

In recent times, there has been a significant demand for Zealandia to be identified as a separate continent. Zealandia is a large tectonic plate that stretches from New Caledonia to New Zealand. Until we reach some consensus on that issue, we shall remain with seven continents, of which Asia is the largest.


Related Maps:

Asia Map
Asia Map
Africa Map
Africa Map
North America Map
North America Map
South America Map
South America Map
Antarctica Map
Antarctica Map
Europe Map
Europe Map
Australia Map
Australia Map

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