The world is divided into seven continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Oceania, and Antarctica. These continents are further divided into 148 countries, each with its own unique geography, culture, and history.
7 Continents of the World
Our Earth is made up of 71% water and 29% land. And this land is divided into 7 continents. The movement of tectonic plates is what triggers the formation of continents. These land masses are shaped over millions of years as plates interact, causing the Earth’s crust to bend and form into continents.
Over time, these movements have resulted in the formation of 7 continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, and Antarctica. Each continent has its own unique geological features and characteristics, making them diverse landscapes on our planet.
In this article, we will cover a list of 7 continents in the world, specifications about each continent of the world, and much more in detail.
What are the Seven Continents of the World?
The seven continents of the world, in order from largest to smallest in area, are:
- Asia: 44,614,000 square kilometers (17,226,200 square miles)
- Africa: 30,370,000 square kilometers (11,725,000 square miles)
- North America: 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,542,000 square miles)
- South America: 17,814,000 square kilometers (6,877,000 square miles)
- Antarctica: 14,200,000 square kilometers (5,500,000 square miles)
- Europe: 10,180,000 square kilometers (3,930,000 square miles)
- Australia: 7,692,024 square kilometers (2,970,000 square miles)
List of Seven Continents of the World
|
Continent |
Population (2020) |
Area(Km sq.) |
Density |
World Population Share |
Number of Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | 4,641,054,775 | 31,033.131 | 150 | 59.54% | 48 |
| Africa | 1,340,598,147 | 29,648,481 | 45 | 17.20% | 54 |
| Europe | 747,636,026 | 22,134,900 | 34 | 9.59% | 44 |
| North America | 592,072,212 | 21,330,000 | 28 | 7.60% | 23 |
| South America | 430,759,766 | 17,461,112 | 25 | 5.53% | 12 |
| Australia or Oceania | 43,111,704 | 8,486,460 | 5 | 0.55% | 03 |
| Antarctica | 0 | 13,720,000 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
Earth has 7 continents and 5 oceans, they are the result of continental drifts of thousands of years. Each continent has different size of landmass, population, climate, and specialties of its own.
We will be digging deep and learning about these 7 continents below:
1. Asia
- Asia is the largest continent in the world, spanning over a third of the total land area.
- The continent is present in the Eastern Hemisphere.
- There are around 48 countries recognized by the United Nations and a few other dependencies.
- The cancer tropic runs through this continent.
- The Ural Mountains separate this continent from Europe in the west. Eurasia is the landmass that connects Europe and Asia.
|
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
| Area | 44,579,000 sq km |
| Percentage of Land covered with respect to the total land area on earth | 29.8% |
| Oceans | Arctic, Pacific, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Caspian Sea, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Bay of Bengal, China Sea |
| Important Lakes | Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Lake Baikal, Balkhash |
| Average Elevation | 923m |
| No. of Countries in the continent | 50 |
| Important Mountain Ranges | Tian Shan, Ural Mountains, Kamchatka Ranges, Verkhoyansk Mountains, Western Ghats, Zagros Mountains, Elburz Mountains, Caucasus Mountains |
| Major Plateau | Asia Minor, Anatolian Plateau (Turkey), Pamir Plateau |
| Major Deserts | Arabian Desert, Gobi Desert, Takla Makan, Karakum, Thar Desert, Kalkulam, Lut Desert |
| Grasslands | Steppe |
| Latitude | 10° South and 80° North |
| Longitude | 25° East and 170° West |
| Land-Locked Countries | Total Ten: Kazakhstan (largest), Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, Laos |
2. Africa
- After Asia, Africa is the world’s second-largest continent.
- The Equator, often known as 0 degrees latitude, runs practically the whole length of the continent.
- The Northern Hemisphere encompasses a vast portion of Africa.
- It is the only continent where the Tropic of Cancerthe , the Equator, and the Tropic of Capricorn all pass through.
- Africa includes a total of 54 countries.
- It is the birthplace of the Nile, the world’s longest river, and also the Sahara, the world’s largest desert.
- Ethiopia, the world’s hottest region is also located in Africa.
- Mountain Atlas is located in the northwestern part of Africa. Other geographical areas’ locations are the in Abyssinian Plateau: East Africa, the Guiana Highlands: North-Western Africa, Okavango Basin: South-western Africa.
|
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Area |
30,365,000 sq km. |
|
Percentage of land covered with respect to the total land area on earth |
20.3% |
|
Important Lakes |
Lake Victoria, Tanganyika, Malawi, Chad, Rudolf, Albert |
|
Oceans |
Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Gulf of Guinea, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean |
|
Average Elevation |
600m |
|
No. of countries in the continent |
54 |
|
Important Mountain Ranges |
Atlas Mountains, Drakensberg Range |
|
Major Deserts |
Sahara Desert, Somali Desert, Sonoran Desert |
|
Grasslands |
Velds, Savanna |
|
Latitude |
35 degrees South and 37 degrees North |
|
Longitude |
50 degrees East and 17 degrees West |
|
Land-Locked Countries |
Total 16: Botswana, Burundi, Chad, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso |
3. Europe
- Europe is far smaller than Asia.
- To the west of Asia is the continent.
- It is traversed by the Arctic Circle. On three sides, it is surrounded by water.
- There are no deserts in Europe and was the central point of both World Wars.
- Europe also has the World’s tiniest country, Vatican City.
- The euro, is the single currency used throughout the countries in Europe.
- The most populous country in Europe is Germany and the most populous cities are London and Paris.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Area | 9,938,000 sq km |
| Percentage of land covered with respect to the total land area on earth | 6.7% |
| Oceans | Arctic Ocean, Caspian Sea, Gulf of Finland, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea, White Sea, Norwegian Sea, Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Adriatic Sea |
| Important Lakes | Lake Ladoga, Onega, Peipus, Vänern, Vänern |
| Average Elevation | 233m |
| No. of countries in the continent | 51 |
| Important mountain ranges | Scandinavian Mountains, Alps, Apennines |
| Major Plateau | Meseta Plateau in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) |
| Grasslands | Steppe, Puszta (Hungary) |
| Latitude | 35° North and 73° North |
| Longitude | 25° West and 65° East |
| Continents Europe countries | Total 18: Austria, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Hungary, Serbia, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, South Ossetia, Armenia, Belarus, Liechtenstein, Vatican City, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, San Marino |
4. North America
- North America is the third-largest continent on Earth.
- It has many climates: tropical, desert, continental, moderate, and even polar.
- In North America, there is a total of five time zones.
- The USA, which is the world’s largest economy is also situated in North America.
- The great lake in the world, Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world is also situated in North America.
- The Isthmus of Panama connects it to South America.
- The northern and western hemispheres encompass the entire continent.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Area | 24,709,000 sq km |
| Percentage of land covered with respect to the total land area on earth | 16.2% |
| Oceans | Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Alaska, Atlantic Ocean, Bering Sea, Hudson Bay |
| Important Lakes | Lake Superior (Largest sweet water lake), Great Slave, Huron, Michigan, Great Bear, Ontario |
| Average Elevation | 720m |
| No. of countries in the continent | 23 |
| Important mountain ranges | Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Cascade Range, Sierra Madre Oriental, Western Sierra Madre, Sierra Madre del Sur, Alaska Mountains |
| Major Plateau | Chiapas Plateau (Southern Mexico), Alaska/Ukraine Plateau, Columbia Plateau, Great Basin Plateau, Colorado Plateau, Greenland Plateau |
| Major desert | Mojave Desert (South California) |
| Grasslands | Prairies |
| Latitude | 7° North and 84° North |
| Longitude | 20° West and 180° West |
5. South America
- South America had the world’s largest lake- The Amazon River.
- Anaconda, which is one of the largest snakes is also found on this continent.
- South America is also home to two of the world’s tallest volcanoes: Mt. Cotopaxi and Mt. Chimborazo. Brazil, which is situated in South America is the largest coffee producer.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Area | 17,840,000 sq km |
| Percentage of land covered with respect to the total land area on earth | 11.9% |
| Oceans | Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea |
| Important Lakes | Lake Maracaibo, Titicaca |
| Average Elevation | 554 m |
| No. of countries in the continent | 12 |
| Important Mountain Ranges | Cordillera de los Andes |
| Major Plateau | Patagonia Plateau |
| Major Deserts | Atacama (World’s Driest Desert), Sechura (Northwest Peru), Patagonia Desert (Argentina and Chile) |
| Grasslands | Campos, Llanos, Pampas |
| Latitude | 12° North and 55° North |
| Longitude | 35° West and 81° West |
| Land-locked Countries | Total Two: Bolivia, Paragua |
6. Australia
- Australia is also referred to as the “Island Continent”.
- Australia is also the smallest continent in the world.
- There are only 3 countries. They are Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
- It is also known as the ” The Land Down Under” because it lies completely south of the equator.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Area | 7,687,000 sq km |
| Percentage of land covered with respect to the total land area on earth | 5.7% |
| Oceans and seas | Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Tasman Sea, Timor Sea, Arafura Sea, Gulf of Carpentaria, Great Australian Bight, Coral Sea |
| Important Lakes | Lake Eyre |
| Average Elevation | 308 m |
| No. of countries in the continent | 14 |
| Important mountain ranges | Great Dividing Range |
| Major desert | Australian Desert (Great Victoria, Simpson, Gibson, Stuart, and Great Sandy Desert areas combined formed the Australian Desert) |
| Grasslands | Downs, Savanna, Canterbury (New Zealand) |
| Latitude | 10° South and 80° North |
| Longitude | 25° East and 170° West |
7. Antarctica
- Antarctica is a vast continent that spans the entire Southern Hemisphere.
- In the summers, Antarctica occupies 14.2 million square kilometers, and with the vast sea ice that develops around the periphery during winters, the size doubles, Antarctica is also the world’s driest, windiest, emptiest, and coldest continent.
- This continent’s south pole is about in the middle.
- It is permanently covered by heavy ice sheets due to its location in the South Polar zone.
- Human settlements are not permanent. Antarctica is home to many countries’ research sites.
- There are similar research sites in India at Maitri and Dakshin Gangotri. It is the world’s tallest continent in terms of average elevation. It can be found in the vicinity of the South Pole.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Area | 13,209,000 sq km |
| Percentage of land covered with respect to the total land area on earth | 8.9% |
| Average Elevation | 1,846 m |
| No. of countries in the continent | No permanent inhabitants |
| Important mountain ranges | Transantarctic Mountains |
| Latitude | 10° South and 80° North |
| Longitude | 25° East and 170° West |
7 Continents of the World – Largest to Smallest
Here are the 7 continents in the world listed below from largest to smallest:
Asia > Africa > North America > South America > Antarctica > Europe > Australia.
Interesting Facts About The Continents
- Asia is the most diverse continent in terms of geography, climate, culture, and languages. More than 100 different languages are spoken in Asia.
- Africa is the most diverse continent in terms of wildlife. It has over 1,000 species of mammals, 2,500 species of birds, and 10,000 species of plants.
- North America is the birthplace of many important inventions, such as the lightbulb, the telephone, and the airplane.
- South America is home to the world’s largest rainforest– the Amazon, and the highest waterfall– Angel Falls.
- Europe is the second smallest continent on Earth, covering 2% of the total land area.
- It is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on Earth, with an average temperature of -57°C (-70°F).
- The world’s largest coral reef system- The Great Barrier Reef is located off Australia’s northeast coast.
Also, read:
- List of 7 Continents and 5 Oceans of the World
- GK Questions on African Continent
- Asian Countries with their Capitals
7 Continents of the World- FAQs
Q1. Which continent does Russia belong to?
Russia is part of both Europe and Asia. In the 7 continent model in fact, it’s not always clear that where to place Russia. If we had to place Russia in one continent or the other, so we placed it in Europe, following the United Nations classification. because 75% of the Russian population lives in the European continent. On the other hand, 75% of Russian territory is located in Asia.
Q2. What are the 7 continents of the world?
The names of the 7 continents are: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.
Q3. What was the first continent in the world?
Earth didn’t had 7 continents 300 million years ago; instead, it had one gigantic supercontinent called Pangaea.
Q4. Which continent does Hawaii belong to?
None. Hawaii is politically part of North America but geographically not part of the continent.
Q5. What is Antarctica known as?
Antarctica is also known as the “Frozen Continent“.
Q6. How is continent formed?
Continents are formed by the movement of tectonic plates over millions of years.