CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD - Degree College CCW

The term continent is used to differentiate between the various large areas of the Earth into which all the land surface of the earth is divided. So, the continent is a large, continuous area of land on Earth. All continents together constitute less than one-third of the Earth’s surface and about two third of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. Two third of the continental land mass is located in the northern hemisphere (the upper half of the globe, north of the equator). The world is divided into seven continents which are given below:

Asia
Africa
North America
South America
Antarctica
Europe
Australia

1. Asia

Asia is the world’s largest continent having an area 43,810,582 kilometer square covering approximately 30% of the Earth’s land and 8.66% of the Earth’s surface. Ural Mountains are on the west side, the Arctic Ocean to the North, the Pacific Ocean to the East and the Indian Ocean to the South. The longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world is the Yangtze (6211km) which flow through China. Also check economic and commercial geography

The largest desert in Asia is the Gobi desert measuring 281,800-kilometer square. The highest point in the world is Mount Everest(8848m) situated in the Tibetan region of the Himalayas. There are 53 countries in Asia including Russia and Turkey lie in both Europe and Asia and Taiwan which is technically a part of China.

Asia is the most populated continent containing 60% of the world’s population. The population of Asia is growing with the growth rate of approximately 2%. The total population of Asia is approximately 4,629,000,000(2005). Asia is broadly divided into Six regions i.e. Northern Asia, Eastern Asia, Central Asia, Western Asia, Southern Asia and South East Asia.

Regions and their Countries

i. Eastern Asia

China, Hong Kong, Macao, Tibet, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia and Taiwan

ii.Northern Asia

Russian federation

iii.Central Asia

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan.

iv. Western Asia

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordon, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

v. Southern Asia

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan

vi. South East Asia

Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam.

2. Africa

Africa is the world’s second largest continent having area 30,065,000 square kilometer. It covers about 6% of the Earth’s surface and 20% of the Earth’s land. Africa continent is covered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West, the Indian Ocean to the East and the Mediterranean Sea to the North East and separate Africa from Europe. The world’s largest desert, the Sahara, measuring 9000,000 square kilometer cover much of North Africa. The Atlas mountain range lies in the North West of Africa and the highest mountain Kilimanjaro 5895m is in Tanzania.

There are 54 countries in the continent of Africa. Africa continent is divided into five regions such as Northern Africa, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Islands. The population of Africa is approximately 1,330,780,233(2020). Its population is growing with a growth rate of 3% per annum. The desert regions are least populated and the regions where weather conditions are suitable having more population.

Regions and their Countries

i. Northern Africa

Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia.

ii. Eastern Africa

Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

iii. Central Africa

Angola, Cameron, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and principle.

iv. Western Africa

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

v. Southern Africa

Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

3. North America

North America is the world’s third largest continent. It covers area of 24,474,000 square kilometers. It is covered by the Atlantic Ocean of the East, the Arctic Ocean to the North and the Pacific Ocean to the West. The highest mountains of this continent are Alaska (6194) and the longest river of this continent is Mississippi (3765km).

There are 38 countries that lie in this continent. North America is the fourth most populated continent with a total population of 368,187,260(2020) which is 5.5%of the world’s population. North America can be broadly divided into the six regions i.e. Greenland, Canada, United States, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean. There are 23 countries in this continent; Canada and USA comprise 80% of the total land.

Countries

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Canada, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras Costarica, Panama etc.

4. South America

South America is the fourth largest world’s continent. The area of this continent is about 17, 84,000 square kilometers. South America is the fifth most populated continent with a total population of 429,705,655(2020). Brazil is by far the most populous South American country, with more than half of the continent’s population. The north-west coastal region and the eastern coast of Brazil are the most densely populated areas. There are 12 countries in this continent. The largest river in the world, the Amazon (6400 km) flows across the top of the continent.

Countries in South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.

5. Antarctica

Antarctica is the fifth world’s largest continent. Its area is about 14 million km2. It is covered by Southern Ocean and it lies entirely within the Antarctica circle. 98% of the land area is permanently covered with ice. West Antarctica, on the other hand, is a series of frozen islands stretching toward the southern tip of South America. The ice of Antarctica is not a smooth sheet but a continuously changing expanse.

Glaciers inch across the continent, cracking and breaking the ice. East Antarctica makes up two thirds of the continent, and is about the size of Australia. There are no countries in Antarctica but have various regions. Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent. There are a number of rivers and lakes in Antarctica. The continent is divided into two regions, known as East and West Antarctica.

6. Europe

Europe is the world’s second smallest continent. Its area is about 10,180,000 km2 .it covers by Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the North, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south and Asia to the East. Europe is the third most populated continent with a total population of around 747,504,293(2020) about 11% of the world’s population. Southern England, Western Germany, the Netherlands and North Italy are the most populated areas. There are 50 countries in Europe. Europe can be broadly divided into three regions; Western Europe, Eastern Europe and central Europe. Regions and their Countries

i. Central Europe

Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and Slovenia.

ii. Eastern Europe

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and Kosovo.

iii. Western Europe

Belgium, France, Ireland, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Monaco and Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, Norway

7. Australia/Oceonia

Australia is the smallest of the world’s continents. Its area is about 7,686,850 km2 . The population of this continent is approximately 42,677,813(2020). It is surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils. Australia is the driest inhabited continent; its annual rainfall averaged over continental area is less than 500 mm. The continent primarily sits on the Indo-Australian plate. Because of its central location on its tectonic plate, Australia doesn’t have any active volcanic region, the only continent with this distinction. Best known animals are the Kangaroo, Koala, Echidna, Dingo, Platypus, Wallaby and Wombat. Temperature remains constant over a long period of time.