How many continents are there on Earth?

There are seven continents on Earth. That’s the short answer.

However, not everyone agrees on this. In this article, we explain what exactly a continent is and why there is so much disagreement about the number of continents our world has.

What is a continent?

The word continent is used to distinguish between several large land areas. The Earth’s land surface is divided into continents. All of the Earth’s continents together make up about a third of the planet’s total surface area, while more than two thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water.

The Earth’s land masses are unevenly distributed, with two thirds of the continental land masses located in the Northern Hemisphere. However, several million years ago, most of the Earth’s land mass was in the southern hemisphere. But how many different continents are there?

The seven continents model

The seven-continent model is usually taught in Europe, most English-speaking countries, China and India.

In the seven-continent model, the continents are:

Africa
Australia/Oceania
Antarctica
Europe
Asia
North America
South America

How many countries are there in each continent?

44 countries in Europe, 23 in North America, 48 in Asia, 54 in Africa, 14 in Oceania and 12 in South America.

The Six Continents Model

In other parts of the world, children learn that the world is only divided into six continents. However, there is disagreement about what these continents are. The two most common six-continent models combine either Europe and Asia or North and South America.

The combined six-continent-Eurasia model is mainly used in Russia and Japan. In the combined six-continent-Eurasia model, the continents are:

Africa
Australia/Oceania
Antarctica
Eurasia
North America
South America

The second six-continent model, combining North and South America, is commonly used in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Latin America and Greece. It consists of the following continents: