7 Continents Name List in Order with Countries, Oceans, & Size

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:

1. Asia: 44,614,000 square kilometers (17,226,200 square miles)
2. Africa: 30,370,000 square kilometers (11,725,000 square miles)
3. North America: 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,542,000 square miles)
4. South America: 17,814,000 square kilometers (6,877,000 square miles)
5. Antarctica: 14,200,000 square kilometers (5,500,000 square miles)
6. Europe: 10,180,000 square kilometers (3,930,000 square miles)
7. 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

1. Asia is the most diverse continent in terms of geography, climate, culture, and languages. More than 100 different languages are spoken in Asia.
2. 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.
3. North America is the birthplace of many important inventions, such as the lightbulb, the telephone, and the airplane.
4. South America is home to the world’s largest rainforest– the Amazon, and the highest waterfall– Angel Falls.
5. Europe is the second smallest continent on Earth, covering 2% of the total land area.
6. It is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on Earth, with an average temperature of -57°C (-70°F).
7. The world’s largest coral reef system- The Great Barrier Reef is located off Australia’s northeast coast.

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.