How many continents are there?
7 continents
There are 7 continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Oceania. People live on 6 of them, with 195 countries in all. No one lives permanently in Antarctica and it has no countries.
How many countries are on each continent?
- Africa 54 countries
- Asia 48 countries
- Europe 44 countries
- North America 23 countries
- Oceania 14 countries
- South America 12 countries
- Antarctica no countries
Grouped by the UN geoscheme (M49): Russia in Europe; Türkiye, Cyprus, and the Caucasus in Asia; and Egypt in Africa. We count Central America and the Caribbean as part of North America, as the seven-continent model does.
All continents at a glance
Africa
54 countriesAll countries in Africa, including North Africa and the island countries
See all countries →Asia
48 countriesAll countries in Asia, including the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia
See all countries →Europe
44 countriesAll countries in Europe, from Iceland to Russia
See all countries →North America
23 countriesAll countries in North America, including Central America and the Caribbean
See all countries →Oceania
14 countriesAll countries in Oceania, from Australia to the islands in the Pacific Ocean
See all countries →South America
12 countriesAll countries in South America
See all countries →What is a continent?
A continent is one of the large landmasses the world is divided into, together with the islands near it. Antarctica counts as a continent. No one lives there permanently; researchers stay there for a while at research stations. It has no countries. That is why only the other 6 continents have a page here.