1. A continent is one of Earth’s seven main divisions of land.
Continents are made up of many countries and each continent is a large solid area of land.
2. The Earth initially had only one large landmass called Pangaea.
There wasn’t always continents – in fact millions of years ago there was one large mass of land we call Pangea.
3. 200 million years ago, Pangaea began to break apart
The pieces of Pangaea that began to move apart were the beginnings of the continents that we know today.
4. There are 7 continents – although some people disagree with this
There are seven continents.
Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Sometimes Europe and Asia are considered one continent called Eurasia.
5. Asia is the largest continent in size.
It has the biggest land area and the world’s biggest population with 4.6 Billion people living in Asia. This means most people on our Earth live on the Asian continent.
6. Australia is also known Oceania and is the smallest continent of the planet.
Oceania is a geographic region that includes Australasia, Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.
7. Africa is the continent with the most countries.
There are 54 countries on the African continent. These included Nigeria, Kenya (read our Kenya Top 10 Facts here) and Zimbabwe.
Find out all about Africa with our Top 10 Facts on Africa!
8. When geographers identify a continent, they usually include all the islands nearby.
For example Japan is an island that is part of the continent of Asia. The United Kingdom is an island considered part of the continent of Europe.
9. The positions of the continents are always changing.
North America and Europe are moving away from each other at the rate of about 2.5 centimeters (one inch) per year.