Madeline and I grew up learning about seven continents. But in some parts of the world, students are taught there are six, combining North America and South America and calling it the Americas. Other students instead combine Europe and Asia and call it Eurasia.
For this blog I use seven continents:
- Africa
- Antarctica
- Asia
- Europe
- North America
- Oceania (grouping of Australia, New Zealand and southwestern Pacific islands)
- South America
We haven’t been to Antarctica yet but have traveled to all the others. We plan to visit Antarctica later in 2019. As you would guess, commercial airlines don’t fly to Antarctica. Nor are there any luxury hotels on the continent. There are, however, many travel services that will get you there by cruise line.
Continent Comparison
The continents are different in many ways. I find it interesting to see how they compare.
Here they are sorted by size:
| Rank | Continent | Area (million square miles) |
| 1 | Asia | 17.2 |
| 2 | Africa | 11.6 |
| 3 | North America | 9.5 |
| 4 | South America | 6.9 |
| 5 | Antarctica | 5.4 |
| 6 | Europe | 3.9 |
| 7 | Oceania | 3.3 |
Take a look at how they compare by population:
| Rank | Continent | Population |
| 1 | Asia | 4.3 Billion |
| 2 | Africa | 1.1 Billion |
| 3 | Europe | .7 Billion |
| 4 | North America | .5 Billion |
| 5 | South America | .4 Billion |
| 6 | Oceania | 38 Million |
| 7 | Antarctica | 4,490 |
Did you know Africa has more countries than Europe or Asia?
| Rank | Continent | Number of Countries |
| 1 | Africa | 54 |
| 2 | Europe | 50 |
| 3 | Asia | 48 |
| 4 | North America | 23 |
| 5 | Oceania | 14 |
| 6 | South America | 12 |
| 7 | Antarctica | 0 |
In terms of tourism, Europe tops the list:
| Rank | Destination | International tourist arrivals (million) | Continent |
| 1 | France | 82.6 | Europe |
| 2 | USA | 75.6 | North America |
| 3 | Spain | 75.6 | Europe |
| 4 | China | 59.3 | Asia |
| 5 | Italy | 52.4 | Europe |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 35.8 | Europe |
| 7 | Germany | 35.6 | Europe |
| 8 | Mexico | 35.0 | North America |
| 9 | Thailand | 32.6 | Asia |
| 10 | Austria | 28.1 | Europe |
Six of the top ten are in Europe; two in North America; and two in Asia. Countries from Oceania, Antarctica, South America and Africa don’t even make the list.
More Information
Find out more about each of the seven continents with these posts:
- Africa: A Continent You Should Explore
- Searching for Shackleton in the Undiscovered Continent of Antarctica
- Asia: One of the Seven Continents of the World
- Europe: A Continent with Countries You Should Visit
- North America: A Diverse Continent You Should Explore
- Oceania: One of the World’s Seven Continents You Need to Explore
- South America Interesting Facts
And here are posts related to each of the seven continents: