In simplest terms, water makes up about 71% of the Earth’s surface, while the other 29% consists of continents and islands.
The continents are, from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.
Asia covers about 9 percent of the earth’s surface. North America covers almost 4.8 percent of the earth’s surface and comprises around 16.5 percent of the whole land area on earth. Covering almost 2 percent of the earth’s surface, Europe takes 6.8 percent of the world’s total land area.
Africa, the second-largest continent, covers an area more than three times that of the United States. South America, the fourth-largest continent and extends from the sunny beaches of the Caribbean Sea to the frigid waters near the Antarctic Circle.
Antarctica is the windiest, driest, and iciest place on Earth. It is larger than Europe or Australia, but unlike those continents, it has no permanent population.
Australia, the smallest continent, is also the flattest and the second-driest, after Antarctica. Australia covers just fewer than 8.5 million square kilometers (about 3.5 million square miles).
Learn some basic facts about the seven continents on 7continents5oceans.com and NationalGeographic.org.