How many continents are there and their names

5 are the continents that, traditionally, there are in the world. But, after studies and research by experts, it has been determined that Antarctica is also a continent and, therefore, the answer to how many continents there are would be 6. But it does not end here! There are scholars who consider that America is divided into two continents, the South and the North and, therefore, according to this theory there are 7 continents in the world.

In a PROFESSOR we will clear your doubts about it and we will tell you how many continents are there and their names so that you know them and can better understand the current division of the world. Attentive!

Index

1. How many continents are there? The 3 current theories
2. What are the 5 continents of the world and their countries? MAP
3. What is each of the continents called? Interesting data
4. The largest and smallest continents
5. Is Australia a continent? NOT

There are 5 continents in the world Or, at least, that is the most supported theory. These continents are: Asia, Africa, America, Europe and Oceania. However, some variations of this official premise have been introduced that have in consideration of other parts of our planet as well as areas that, due to their size, have been divided in two continents.

The continents of the world according to different theories:

• There are 5 continents on Earth if we only take into account those that are populated and, therefore, counting areas such as America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania
• There are 6 continents if all the portions of land on the planet are included, even if they are not populated. In this conception Antarctica is included.
• There are 7 continents if the American is separated into its two zones, that is, North and South.

So what is the correct answer? The truth is that, to date, the scientific community has not agreed with this topic. Although, it is true that the model of the 5 continents of the world is the one used by official organizations as important as the United Nations or, also, the International Olympic Committee.

The model of the 6 continents is the most popular in Latin America and the model of the 7 is defended by the North American countries that differ by the use of the English language as the official language.

In a teacher we discover you countries and capitals of the world by continents in ready practice so you can study fast.

Image: You are interested in Knowing

Now we are going to offer you the world continents map specifying the theory of 6 continents which, as we have seen, is the most used in Latin America.

When we talk about "continents" we refer to tracts of land that are scattered around our planet. These must be large enough to be considered a continent (an island or a small country, for example, will not be considered continents).

Although it is true that the division between continents such as Asia and Europe, for example, is imaginary, that is, a political border between both territories due to ethnic, cultural, religious and language differences.

Therefore, we have to take into account that the continents of the world are differentiated, also, for territorial and political reasons, That is why there are areas such as Europe and Asia or Asia and Africa that are not entirely well separated but that are also continents differentiated.

Now that you know how many continents there are, below, so you can better know the political and social reality of each continent, we are going to give you some interesting data such as, for example, the extension of each area, the number of inhabitants that populate the continent and the most populated city.

Asia

• Dimension of Asia: 43,820,000 km
• Population: 4,164,252,000 inhabitants
• Most populous city: Shanghai, China

Africa

• Dimension of Africa: 30,370,000 km
• Population: 1,002,234,000 inhabitants
• Largest city: Lagos, Nigeria

Antarctica

• Dimension: 13,720,000 km
• Population: 4,490 inhabitants
• Largest city: McMurdo Station, US

Oceania

• Dimension: 3,478,200 km
• Population: 29,127,000 inhabitants
• Largest city: Sydney, Australia

Europe

• Dimension: 3,390,000 km
• Population: 738,199,000 inhabitants
• Most populous city: Moscow, Russia

North America

• Dimension: 9,460,000 km
• Population: 542,056,000 inhabitants
• Most populous city: Mexico City, Mexico

South America

• Dimension: 6,890,000 km
• Population: 392,555,000 inhabitants
• Most populous city: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Here you can discover the continents and oceans in the world, with maps and a well explained summary.

And to finish teaching you in this lesson more information about the continents of the world, below we are going to explain some lines so that you can learn interesting facts about them.

The largest continents

• Asia: It is the largest continent on the entire planet and the one that also has the largest number of inhabitants, it is estimated that the figure reaches 4,463 million people. It occupies 30% of the layers of earth that we have in the world and the border between this continent and the European are not marked physically, but only politically, that is why there are areas that can be considered as countries "Eurasians".
• Africa: the second largest continent on earth and also the second with the largest amount of population. 15% of the world's people live in this area, which, in fact, is what is considered to be the birthplace of the first humans.
• America: divided between North and South America, this continent is also one of the largest on the planet, especially if we consider it in its entirety (that is, joining both hemispheres). In the northern part, mainly English is spoken and in the southern part the official language is Spanish, except in Brazil, which is Portuguese. These variations come from the time of the discovery of America and the colonization by European countries such as Great Britain, Spain and Portugal.

The smallest continents in the world

• AntarcticaAlthough it occupies a large portion of land, this continent of the world must be on the list of the smallest because its size cannot be compared to those mentioned above. In this part of the world freezing temperatures are reached that can even reach 89 degrees below zero.
• Europe: it is the second smallest continent on earth and is made up of 50 countries. But, despite its small size, it is the third place in the world that houses the largest amount of population Russia being the country with the most inhabitants and, also, the largest (since it occupies 40% of the surface).
• Oceania: it is the smallest continent of all and, in fact, it is sometimes referred to as "island-continent". It is made up of a large number of islands and is home to countries as important as Australia.

Image: Slideshare

There are many people who wonder whether Australia is a continent. The truth is the answer is no. There is no continent that is Australian because Australia is a country whose capital is Canberra. This country is located on the continent of Oceania where, in addition to Australia, we also find 13 other countries, such as New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, and so on.

In order for you to get to know this continent better, in a PROFESSOR we offer you a list of countries in Oceaniaamong which is Australia as the largest country. But it is NOT any continent, this must be very clear.

If you want to read more articles similar to How many continents are there and their names, we recommend that you enter our category of Geography.

• Wegener, A., Virella, F. A., & García, J. C. H. (1983). The origin of the continents and oceans. Pyramid.
• Garfield, S. (2013). In the map. How the world got its appearance. Taurus.