No mania for grandeur, no desire for success: it is however inevitable that when you want to draw up a ranking there are elements that prevail over others. This also applies to the continents of which our planet is composed, some larger, others smaller and with a smaller number of inhabitants. But first of all let’s try to understand: how many continents really are
SEE ALSO : The complete map of the continents
How many continents are there
Just reading the newspapers or surfing the internet to get a doubt: in how many continents is our planet divided
In fact to answer this question we must consider the chosen model:
Model N ° Continents Continents UN 5 Asia, Africa, America, Europe, Oceania
Geographic 6 Asia, Africa, America, Europe, Oceania, Antarctica
Historical-cultural 7 Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Oceania, Antarctica
- Model established by the UN on 5 continents
Asia, Africa, America, Europe and Oceania. In this case, only those accustomed by man are considered as continents, and this is the model that also gave life to the famous Olympic circle. - Geographic Model with 6 continents
Antarctica is added as an uninhabited continent, thus becoming: Asia, Africa, America, Europe, Oceania and Antarctica. - Historical-Cultural Model with 7 Continents
This model takes into account the historical and cultural differences and events that separate South America from North America, thus becoming: Asia, Africa, North America and South America, Europe, Oceania and Antarctica.
Continents in order of size
Below is a list of continents from largest to smallest in terms of surface, based on the 5 model.
Continent Area (sq km) Population (2018) Number of States Asia 44.579.000 4.519.451.671 51
America 42.549 .000 982.826.823 35
Africa 30.221.532 1.277.292.130 54
Europe 10.300.734 739.495.014 48
Oceania 8.525.989 41.027.678 14
5th position: Oceania (smallest continent) Oceania
is the smallest of the continents: it is an island continent, that is, made up of a large number of islands. Most of Oceania is made up of Australia and New Zealand. Let’s see some numbers:
- Population : 41,027,678 (2018)
- Surface : 8,525,989 sq km
- Number of states : 14
4th position: Europe Europe
is the second of the smallest continents: with a fundamental role first from the point of view of colonization and then industrial, Europeans over the centuries have spread to many areas of the earth influencing other countries. Europe is home to around 11% of the earth’s population.
- Population : 739,495,014 (2018)
- Surface : 10,300,734 sq km
- Number of states : 48
3rd position: Africa
Africa , with its numerous states and with a history of different peoples and languages due to long years of colonization, is at the center of the continent ranking, in terms of the vastness of the territory. Regarding the number of population, Africa instead ranks second after Asia.
- Population : 1,277,292,130 (2018)
- Surface : 30,221,532 sq km
- Number of states : 54
2nd position: America
According to the UN model of the subdivision of continents, America is understood as a single continent without distinction between North and South. With its 35 states (23 in the north and 12 in the south), America has a territory very large that puts it in second place in the ranking:
- Population : 982,826,823 (2018)
- Area : 42,549,000 sq km
- Number of states : 35
1st position: Asia (largest continent)
And here we are at the largest continent in the world , the Asian one: its extension is over 5 times that of Oceania and 4 times that of Europe.
Asia is also the most populous continent in the world : this is why we often hear about overpopulation. It is also a highly cosmopolitan continent: very different ethnic groups live there, with cultures of different origins.
- Population : 4,519,451,671 (2018)
- Area : 44,579,000 sq km
- Number of states : 51
Etymology of names: historical and mythological origins
- Africa : It derives from Afer – “land of Afri”, a term used by the Romans to refer to the northern part of the continent, a territory that corresponds to today’s Tunisia. The origin of Afer in turn could go back to the Greek term Aphrike (ἀφρίκη – without cold) or to the Latin Aprica (sunny).
- America : takes its name from the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first to hypothesize that the western land discovered by Christopher Columbus could actually belong to a continent. Subsequently it was the German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller who attributed the name of “America” in a map he made (even if in truth this map only portrayed what we now know as South America).
- Asia: comes from the ancient Greek word Ἀσία, used for the first time by Herodotus around 440 BC. Originally the name was used to define for the eastern shore of the Aegean Sea (Assuwa). Later the Greeks and Romans used it to refer to the entire region known as Anatolia (the peninsula that makes up the Asian portion of present-day Turkey). With the passing of the centuries the territory defined by the term extended more and more towards the east, until it corresponded to the terrestrial area to which we associate it today. Regarding the meaning of the name, there are two possible etymological origins: the first and Asis (it means “muddy”, referring to the eastern coasts of the Aegean Sea); the second is Asu (which means both “rise” and “light”, referring to the alba therefore takes on the meaning of “Eastern Land”). In Greek mythology, Ἀσία was the name of an oceanine (the daughters of the titan Ocean).
- Europe : the exact and unknown etymology. According to some theories it derives from the Semitic word ereb (which means “darkness” and “descent”, in reference to the sunset therefore assumes the meaning of “Western land”) used by the Phoenicians in reference to the lands located west of Syria. According to other theories, the origin of the name would be the Greek term Εὐρώπη (which in turn can derive from eu-rope, “well irrigated”; or from the union of eurus and ops “eye”, meaning “wide gaze”) , used in reference to the lands north of the Aegean. In Greek mythology, Europa was the beautiful daughter of a Phoenician king named Agenore who was kidnapped by Zeus (transformed into a bull) and taken to Crete, where I gave birth to three children (Minos, Radamanthus and Sarpedon).
- Oceania : derives from the Greek Ὠκεανός (Okeanos), it was the name of a river deity, son of Uranus and Gaea and ruler of the waters surrounding the earth. According to Hesiod, Oceano forms with his sister Thetis the oldest couple of Titans, from which the waters of the world were generated.
