How Many Continents Are There? A Deep Dive Into the 7 Continents

Continents are large, continuous landmasses that make up the Earth’s surface. They are distinct regions separated by oceans and seas, each with their own unique geography, ecosystems, and cultures.

While continents vary in size, climate, and population, they serve as natural divisions of the planet. Together, the continents comprise 148 million square kilometers (57 million square miles) of land, which is about 29% of the Earth’s surface.

The seven continents

1. Africa
2. Antarctica
3. Asia
4. Australia (Oceania)
5. Europe
6. North America
7. South America

There is an estimated 8,057,236,243 population worldwide in 2024, according to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. Here’s how this is divided among the continents:

Continent	Total Land Area (Km²)	Total Land Area (sq mi)	Population (most recent estimate)	World Population Share
Africa	30,365,000	11,724,000	1,480,771,000	15%
Antarctica	14,200,000	5,500,000	1,000 to 5,000	0%
Asia	44,614,000	17,226,200	4,772,123,000	60%
Australia (Oceania)	9,000,000	3,500,000	52,600,000	1%
Europe	10,000,000	4,000,000	751,000,000	10%
North America	24,230,000	9,355,000	592,000,000	8%
South America	17,814,000	6,878,000	434,000,000	6%

Africa

Africa is the second largest continent in terms of area and population. There are currently 54 recognized sovereign states in Africa, however some may recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as the 55th.

Asia

Asia is by far the largest and most populous continent. There are 49 countries in Asia, some of which extend to the continents of Africa and Europe. Some sources may include Taiwan as a country which is subject to international debate.

Australia

The continent of Australia, often referred to as Oceania due to the Pacific Islands in the region, encompasses 16 countries. It is the smallest continent on which Australia dominates.

Antarctica

People do not live in Antarctica permanently, the coldest and windiest continent on Earth. However, there are people who stay there temporarily for scientific research. There are also no countries in Antarctica, nor does any country own the continent.

Several countries (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom) maintain territorial claims, but these claims are not recognized by the majority of countries.

Europe

Europe, though the second smallest continent, has played a pivotal role in the colonization of many nations across the world between the 15th and 20th centuries. There are 49 countries in Europe, with 27 members of the European Union (EU).

North America

North America is more than just the United States of America; it is comprised of 23 countries from the Alaskan island chains to the isthmus of Panama. North America is the third-largest continent after Asia and Africa.

South America

South America is the closest continent to Antarctica, located mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. It is divided into 12 countries, the largest of which is Brazil.

A worthy mention: Eurasia

Eurasia exists as a concept because Europe and Asia are technically part of the same continuous landmass. Geographically, there’s no clear natural boundary that fully separates the two regions, as they are connected by vast stretches of land.

This is not universally agreed upon, however; Europe and Asia are often considered separate continents due to historical, cultural, and political distinctions. Europe developed different civilizations, cultures, and political systems from those in Asia, leading to their classification as distinct continents despite being part of the same landmass.

Related: How many countries are there?

Continents and Their Oceans

While the continents make up 29% of the Earth’s surface, water accounts for the other 71%. The five oceans, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Antartic Ocean divide the continents.

Countries Listed by Continents

A list of all the countries in the world and the continents to which they belong.

Country	Country Capital	Country Code	Region	Continent
Afghanistan	Kabul	AF	South-Central Asia	Asia
Albania	Tirana	AL	Balkan Peninsula, Southeastern Europe	Europe
Algeria	Algiers	DZ	Northern Africa	Africa
Andorra	Andorra la Vella	AD	Southwestern Europe	Europe
Angola	Luanda	AO	Southwest Africa	Africa
Antigua and Barbuda	St. John's	AG	Lesser Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Argentina	Buenos Aires	AR	Southern South America	South America
Armenia	Yerevan	AM	Causcasus Region, Southwestern Asia	Asia
Australia	Canberra	AU	Oceania	Australia
Austria	Vienna	AT	Central Europe	Europe
Azerbaijan	Baku	AZ	Causcasus Region, Southwestern Asia	Asia, Europe
Bahamas, The	Nassau	BS	North Atlantic Ocean	North America
Bahrain	Manama	BH	Arabian Peninsula, Middle East	Asia
Bangladesh	Dhaka	BD	Southern Asia	Asia
Barbados	Bridgetown	BB	Lesser Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Belarus	Minsk	BY	Eastern Europe	Europe
Belgium	Brussels	BE	Western Europe	Europe
Belize	Belmopan	BZ	Central America	North America
Benin (Dahomey)	Porto-Novo	BJ	Western Africa	Africa
Bhutan	Thimphu	BT	Southern Asia	Asia
Bolivia	La Paz (administrative capital), Sucre (constitutional capital)	BO	Central South America	South America
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo	BA	Balkan Peninsula, Southeastern Europe	Europe
Botswana	Gaborone	BW	Southern Africa	Africa
Brazil	Brasilia	BR	Eastern South America	South America
Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan	BN	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Bulgaria	Sofia	BG	Balkan Peninsula, Southeastern Europe	Europe
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)	Ouagadougou	BF	Western Africa	Africa
Burundi	Gitega (political capital), Bujumbura (commercial capital)	BI	Eastern Africa	Africa
Cabo Verde	Praia	CV	Western Africa	Africa
Cambodia	Phnom Penh	KH	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Cameroon	Yaoundé	CM	Western Africa	Africa
Canada	Ottawa	CA	Northern North America	North America
Central African Republic	Bangui	CF	Central Africa	Africa
Chad	N'Djamena	TD	Central Africa	Africa
Chile	Santiago	CL	Southern South America	South America
China	Beijing	CN	Eastern Asia	Asia
Colombia	Bogota	CO	Northernwestern South America	South America
Comoros	Moroni	KM	Eastern African Coast	Africa
Cook Islands	Avarua	CK	Polynesia, Oceania	Australia
Costa Rica	San Jose	CR	Central America	North America
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	Yamoussoukro (legislative capital), Abidjan (administrative capital)	CI	Western Africa	Africa
Croatia	Zagreb	HR	Balkan Peninsula, Southeastern Europe	Europe
Cuba	Havana	CU	Greater Antilles, Carbbean	North America
Cyprus	Nicosia	CY	Middle East	Asia
Czechia (Czech Republic)	Prague	CZ	Central Europe	Europe
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	CD	Central Africa	Africa
Denmark	Copenhagen	DK	Northern Europe	Europe
Djibouti	Djibouti city	DJ	Eastern Africa	Africa
Dominica	Roseau	DM	Lesser Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	DO	Greater Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Ecuador	Quito	EC	Western South America	South America
Egypt	Cairo	EG	Northeastern Africa, Southwestern Asia	Africa, Asia
El Salvador	San Salvador	SV	Central America	North America
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	GQ	Western Central Africa	Africa
Eritrea	Asmara	ER	Northeastern Africa	Africa
Estonia	Tallinn	EE	Eastern Europe	Europe
Eswatini (Swaziland)	Mbabane (administrative capital), Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)	SZ	Southern Africa	Africa
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	ET	Eastern Africa	Africa
Fiji	Suva	FJ	Melanesia, Oceania	Australia
Finland	Helsinki	FI	Northern Europe	Europe
France	Paris	FR	Western Europe	Europe
Gabon	Libreville	GA	Central Africa	Africa
Gambia, The	Banjul	GM	Western Africa	Africa
Georgia	Tbilisi	GE	Causcasus Region, Southwestern Asia	Europe, Asia
Germany	Berlin	DE	Central Europe	Europe
Ghana	Accra	GH	Western Africa	Africa
Greece	Athens	GR	Southern Europe	Europe
Grenada	Saint George's	GD	Lesser Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Guatemala	Guatemala City	GT	Central America	North America
Guinea	Conakry	GN	Western Africa	Africa
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	GW	Western Africa	Africa
Guyana	Georgetown	GY	Northern South America	South America
Haiti	Port-au-Prince	HT	Greater Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Holy See (Vatican City)	Vatican City	VA	Southern Europe within Italy	Europe
Honduras	Tegucigalpa	HN	Central America	North America
Hungary	Budapest	HU	Central Europe	Europe
Iceland	Reykjavík	IS	Northern Europe	Europe
India	New Delhi	IN	Southern Asia	Asia
Indonesia	Jakarta	ID	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Iran	Tehran	IR	Middle East	Asia
Iraq	Baghdad	IQ	Middle East	Asia
Ireland	Dublin	IE	Northwestern Europe	Europe
Israel	Jerusalem	IL	Middle East	Asia
Italy	Rome	IT	Southern Europe	Europe
Jamaica	Kingston	JM	Greater Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Japan	Tokyo	JP	Eastern Asia	Asia
Jordan	Amman	JO	Middle East	Asia
Kazakhstan	Astana	KZ	Central Asia, Eastern Europe	Asia, Europe
Kenya	Nairobi	KE	Eastern Africa	Africa
Kiribati	Tarawa	KI	Micronesia, Oceania	Australia
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of	Pyongyang	KP	Eastern Asia	Asia
Kosovo	Pristina	KV	Balkan Peninsula, Southeasten Europe	Europe
Kuwait	Kuwait City	KW	Middle East	Asia
Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek	KG	Central Asia	Asia
Laos	Vientiane	LA	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Latvia	Riga	LV	Eastern Europe	Europe
Lebanon	Beirut	LB	Middle East	Asia
Lesotho	Maseru	LS	Southern Africa	Africa
Liberia	Monrovia	LR	Western Africa	Africa
Libya	Tripoli	LY	Northern Africa	Africa
Liechtenstein	Vaduz	LI	Central Europe	Europe
Lithuania	Vilnius	LT	Eastern Europe	Europe
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	LU	Western Europe	Europe
Madagascar	Antananarivo	MG	Southeastern Africa Coast	Africa
Malawi	Lilongwe	MW	Southeastern Africa	Africa
Malaysia	Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur	MY	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Maldives	Malé	MV	Southern Asia	Asia
Mali	Bamako	ML	Western Africa	Africa
Malta	Valletta	MT	Southern Europe	Europe
Marshall Islands	Majuro	MH	Micronesia, Oceania	Australia
Mauritania	Nouakchott	MR	Western Africa	Africa
Mauritius	Port Louis	MU	Southern Africa	Africa
Mexico	Mexico City	MX	North America	North America
Micronesia	Palikir	FM	Micronesia, Oceania	Australia
Moldova	Chișinău	MD	Eastern Europe	Europe
Monaco	Monaco	MC	Western Europe	Europe
Mongolia	Ulaanbaatar	MN	Central Asia	Asia
Montenegro	Podgorica	ME	Balkan Peninsula, Southeastern Europe	Europe
Morocco	Rabat	MA	Northern Africa	Africa
Mozambique	Maputo	MZ	Southeastern Africa	Africa
Myanmar (Burma)	Naypyidaw	MM	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Namibia	Windhoek	NA	Southern Africa	Africa
Nauru	Yaren (de facto)	NR	Micronesia, Oceania	Australia
Nepal	Kathmandu	NP	Southern Asia	Asia
Netherlands, The	Amsterdam	NL	Northwestern Europe	Europe
New Zealand	Wellington	NZ	Oceania	Australia
Nicaragua	Managua	NI	Central America	North America
Niger	Niamey	NE	Western Africa	Africa
Nigeria	Abuja	NG	Western Africa	Africa
Niue	Alofi	NU	Polynesia, Oceania	Australia
North Macedonia	Skopje	MDK	Balkan Peninsula, Southeast Europe	Europe
Norway	Oslo	NO	Northern Europe	Europe
Oman	Muscat	OM	Arabian Peninsula, Middle East	Asia
Pakistan	Islamabad	PK	Southern Asia	Asia
Palau	Ngerulmud	PW	Micronesia, Oceania	Australia
Panama	Panama City	PA	Central America	North America
Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	PG	Melanesia, Oceania	Australia
Paraguay	Asunción	PY	Central South America	South America
Peru	Lima	PE	Western South America	South America
Philippines	Manila	PH	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Poland	Warsaw	PL	Central Europe	Europe
Portugal	Lisbon	PT	Southwestern Europe	Europe
Qatar	Doha	QA	Arabian Peninsula, Middle East	Asia
Republic of Korea (South Korea)	Seoul	KR	Eastern Asia	Asia
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	CG	Central Africa	Africa
Romania	Bucharest	RO	Balkan Peninsula, South-East Europe	Europe
Russia	Moscow	RU	Eastern Europe and Northern Asia	Europe, Asia
Rwanda	Kigali	RW	Central Africa	Africa
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	KN	Lesser Antolles, Caribbean	North America
Saint Lucia	Castries	LC	Lesser Antolles, Caribbean	North America
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	VC	Lesser Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Samoa	Apia	WS	Polynesia, Oceania	Australia
San Marino	San Marino	SM	Southern Europe within Italy	Europe
São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	ST	Central Africa	Africa
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	SA	Arabian Peninsula, Middle East	Asia
Senegal	Dakar	SN	Western Africa	Africa
Serbia	Belgrade	RS	Balkan Peninsula, South-East Europe	Europe
Seychelles	Victoria	SC	Eastern African Coast	Africa
Sierra Leone	Freetown	SL	Western Africa	Africa
Singapore	Singapore	SG	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Slovakia	Bratislava	SK	Central Europe	Europe
Slovenia	Ljubljana	SI	Balkan Peninsula, Central Europe	Europe
Solomon Islands, The	Honiara	SB	Melanesia, Oceania	Australia
Somalia	Mogadishu	SO	Eastern Africa	Africa
South Africa	Pretoria (administrative capital), Bloemfontein (judicial capital), Cape Town (legislative capital)	ZA	Southern Africa	Africa
South Sudan	Juba	SS	East-Central Africa	Africa
Spain	Madrid	ES	Southwestern Europe	Europe
Sri Lanka	Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital), Colombo (judicial capital)	LK	Southern Asia	Asia
Sudan	Khartoum	SD	Northeastern Africa	Africa
Suriname	Paramaribo	SR	Northern South America	South America
Sweden	Stockholm	SE	Northern Europe	Europe
Switzerland	Bern	CH	Central Europe	Europe
Syria	Damascus	SY	MIddle East	Asia
Tajikistan	Dushanbe	TJ	Central Asia	Asia
Tanzania	Dodoma	TZ	Eastern Africa	Africa
Thailand	Bangkok	TH	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Timor-Leste	Dili	TL	Maritime South-East Asia	Asia
Togo	Lomé	TG	Western Africa	Africa
Tonga	Nukuʻalofa	TO	Polynesia, Oceania	Australia
Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	TT	Lesser Antilles, Caribbean	North America
Tunisia	Tunis	TN	Northern Africa	Africa
Türkiye (Turkey)	Ankara	TR	Southeastern Europe, Western Asia	Europe, Asia
Turkmenistan	Ashgabat	TM	Central Asia	Asia
Tuvalu	Funafuti	TV	Polynesia, Oceania	Australia
Uganda	Kampala	UG	East-Central Africa	Africa
Ukraine	Kyiv	UA	Eastern Europe	Europe
United Arab Emirates, The	Abu Dhabi	AE	Arabian Peninsula, Middle East	Asia
United Kingdom, The	London	GB	Northwestern Europe	Europe
United States, The	Washington D.C.	US	North America	North America
Uruguay	Montevideo	UY	Southeastern South America	South America
Uzbekistan	Tashkent	UZ	Central Asia	Asia
Vanuatu	Port-Vila	VA	Melanesia, Oceania	Australia
Venezuela	Caracas	VE	Northern South America	South America
Vietnam	Hanoi	VD	Southeastern Asia	Asia
Yemen	Sana'a	YE	Arabian Peninsula, Middle East	Asia
Zambia	Lusaka	ZM	South-Central Africa	Africa
Zimbabwe	Harare	ZW	Southern Africa	Africa