Continents by Population

There are seven continents in the world:

  • Asia
  • Africa
  • Europe
  • North America
  • South America
  • Oceania
  • Antarctica

Asia is the most populous continent in the world, with 4.756 Billion people accounting for nearly 59.3% of the world population as of 2022. Africa is the second most largest continent by population, with around 1.41 billion people, or 17.6% of the world’s population. Only these two continents have crossed one billion milestone. Asia and Africa, together share about 77% of the global population. Europe has a population of around 751 million (9.37%), North America is home to around 605 million (7.55%), South America, the second least populated continent, has about 441 million inhabitants (5.50%). Oceania (44 million) is the smallest continent on the basis population if Antarctica is excluded as there is no population estimates for Antarctica by UN (World Population Prospects 2022).

Continents by Population 2022

No Data Found

RankContinentPopulation 2022% of World
-World7,973,828,215100%
1Asia4,756,790,221 59.33 %
2Africa1,418,364,297 17.69 %
3Europe748,087,103 9.37 %
4North America605,287,221 7.55 %
5South America441,245,311 5.50 %
6Oceania44,809,620 0.55 %
7Antarctica2,500N/a

Africa has the highest population growth rate as all three subregions growing over 2% are in Africa. Middle Africa has highest rate of close to 3% followed by Western Africa and Eastern Africa growing over 2%. The population growth rate of Africa (2.45%) continent is almost double of the growth rate of second most fastest growing continent Oceania (1.27%). Except Africa and Oceania, remaining four continent have growth grate below 1%. Population of Asia (0.83%), South America (0.81%) and North America (0.76%) are increasing with almost similar rate. Eleven subregions have growth rate above 1%. Europe is the only continent with modest growth rate of 0.06% as lowest three ranked subregions are located in Europe. Southern Europe and Eastern Europe have negative growth rate.

With 99 million more people in 2022 compare to 2021, Asia is the top contributor of the total world population increment closely followed by Africa (32 million). These two together account for 89% of the total global population increament. Remaining all four continents have total increase below 5 million.

Asia

Asia Current Population

4.756 Billion

This continent is the largest of the seven, with 30% of the earth’s land mass and 60% of its population. It is connected to the main land mass of Europe, with the border defined somewhat by the Ural Mountains that run through Russia and the Bosphorus that cuts through Türkiye. Two countries are split between Europe and Asia: Turkey and Russia. Additionally, Asia borders North Africa via the sections that Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia share with Egypt.

No Data Found

RankNamePopulation 2022Density (km²)
1China1,425,887,337 146.89
2India1,417,173,173 431.07
3Indonesia275,501,339144.65
4Pakistan235,824,862 267.40
5Bangladesh171,186,372 1160.04
6Japan123,951,692 327.98
7Philippines115,559,009 337.54
8Vietnam98,186,856 296.45
9Iran88,550,570 53.73
10Turkey85,341,241 108.91
11Thailand71,697,030 139.73
12Myanmar54,179,306 80.08
13South Korea51,815,810 517.07
14Iraq44,496,122 101.52
15Afghanistan41,128,771 63.06
16Saudi Arabia36,408,820 16.94
17Uzbekistan34,627,652 77.40
18Malaysia33,938,221 102.59
19Yemen33,696,614 63.82
20Nepal30,547,580 207.55
21North Korea26,069,416 216.28
22Taiwan23,893,394 660.17
23Syria22,125,249 119.48
24Sri Lanka21,832,143 332.76
25Kazakhstan19,397,998 7.12
26Cambodia16,767,842 92.62
27Jordan11,285,869 126.32
28Azerbaijan10,358,074 119.61
29Tajikistan9,952,787 69.55
30United Arab Emirates9,441,129112.93
31Israel9,038,309 435.16
32Laos7,529,475 31.80
33Hong Kong7,488,8656783.39
34Kyrgyzstan6,630,623 33.16
35Turkmenistan6,430,770 13.18
36Singapore5,975,689 8416.46
37Lebanon5,489,739 525.23
38Palestine5,250,072 844.06
39Oman4,576,298 14.79
40Kuwait4,268,873 239.58
41Georgia3,744,385 53.72
42Mongolia3,398,366 2.17
43Armenia2,780,469 93.48
44Qatar2,695,122 232.62
45Bahrain1,472,233 1924.49
46Timor-Leste1,341,296 90.18
47Bhutan782,455 20.38
48Macau695,168 23172.27
49Maldives523,787 1745.96
50Brunei449,002 77.88

Africa

Africa Current Population

1.418 Billion

After Asia, Africa is the largest and most populous of the seven continents. Today, there are 55 sovereign states in Africa, though there are thousands of people groups, many of which speak their own languages, have their own traditions and cultures, and consider themselves to be nations.

Today, Africa is best understood as being divided into two regions. North Africa is north of the Sahara desert; its countries are predominantly Muslim, and most of the people speak Arabic. Sub-Saharan Africa lies south of the Sahara desert, and while it includes many Muslim populations, it also has significant communities of Christians and other religions.

No Data Found

RankNamePopulation 2022
1Nigeria218,541,212
2Ethiopia123,379,924
3Egypt110,990,103
4DR Congo99,010,212
5Tanzania65,497,748
6South Africa59,893,885
7Kenya54,027,487
8Uganda47,249,585
9Sudan46,874,204
10Algeria44,903,225
11Morocco37,457,971
12Angola35,588,987
13Ghana33,475,870
14Mozambique32,969,518
15Madagascar29,611,714
16Ivory Coast28,160,542
17Cameroon27,914,536
18Niger26,207,977
19Burkina Faso22,673,762
20Mali22,593,590
21Malawi20,405,317
22Zambia20,017,675
23Chad17,723,315
24Somalia17,597,511
25Senegal17,316,449
26Zimbabwe16,320,537
27Guinea13,859,341
28Rwanda13,776,698
29Benin13,352,864
30Burundi12,889,576
31Tunisia12,356,117
32South Sudan10,913,164
33Togo8,848,699
34Sierra Leone8,605,718
35Libya6,812,341
36Republic of the Congo5,970,424
37Central African Republic5,579,144
38Liberia5,302,681
39Mauritania4,736,139
40Eritrea3,684,032
41Gambia2,705,992
42Botswana2,630,296
43Namibia2,567,012
44Gabon2,388,992
45Lesotho2,305,825
46Guinea-Bissau2,105,566
47Equatorial Guinea1,674,908
48Mauritius1,299,469
49Eswatini1,201,670
50Djibouti1,120,849
51Reunion974,052
52Comoros836,774
53Cape Verde593,149
54Western Sahara575,986
55Mayotte326,101
56Sao Tome and Principe227,380
57Seychelles107,118

Europe

Europe Current Population

748 Million

Europe has the second-smallest landmass (after Australia), but its people and culture have done more to shape the entire world than those from any other continent. It has about 50 sovereign states, though two of them (Russia and Turkey) are located in both Europe and Asia; Armenia, though a party to many European agreements, is actually in Asia. The smallest country is Luxembourg, measuring at just 11 miles across, whereas Russia is the largest, which crosses 11 time zones.

No Data Found

RankNamePopulation 2022Density (km²)
1Russia144,713,314 8.46
2Germany83,369,843 233.45
3United Kingdom67,508,936 277.93
4France64,626,628 117.14
5Italy59,037,474 195.92
6Spain47,558,630 93.99
7Poland39,857,145 127.47
8Ukraine39,701,739 65.79
9Romania19,659,267 82.47
10Netherlands17,564,014 419.69
11Belgium11,655,930 381.81
12Sweden10,549,347 23.43
13Czech Republic10,493,986 133.06
14Greece10,384,971 78.68
15Portugal10,270,865 111.53
16Hungary9,967,308 107.14
17Belarus9,534,95445.93
18Austria8,939,617 106.59
19Switzerland8,740,472 211.72
20Serbia7,221,365 81.73
21Bulgaria6,781,953 61.17
22Denmark5,882,261 136.50
23Slovakia5,643,453 115.09
24Finland5,540,745 16.37
25Norway5,434,319 16.78
26Ireland5,023,109 71.48
27Croatia4,030,358 71.22
28Moldova3,272,996 96.70
29Bosnia and Herzegovina3,233,526 63.14
30Albania2,842,321 98.87
31Lithuania2,750,055 42.11
32Slovenia2,119,844 104.56
33North Macedonia2,093,599 81.42
34Latvia1,850,651 28.67
35Estonia1,326,062 29.32
36Cyprus1,251,488 135.28
37Luxembourg647,599 250.42
38Montenegro627,082 45.40
39Malta533,286 1687.61
40Iceland372,899 3.62
41Jersey110,778 954.98
42Isle of Man84,519 147.76
43Andorra79,824 170.56
44Guernsey63,301 811.55
45Faroe Islands53,090 38.11
46Liechtenstein39,327 245.79
47Monaco36,469 18053.96
48San Marino33,660 551.80
49Gibraltar32,649 5441.50
50Vatican City510 1159.09

North America

North America Current Population

605.2 Million

In terms of land mass, North America is the third-largest of the seven continents. It also has just three countries including Canada, the United States of America, and Mexico. It extends from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, which stretch to the maritime border with Russia, down to the tiny Isthmus of Panama, and all the way to Greenland off the eastern coast of Canada.

No Data Found

RankNamePopulation 2022Density (km²)
1United States338,289,85736.09
2Mexico127,504,12564.91
3Canada38,454,3273.85
4Guatemala17,843,908163.87
5Haiti11,584,996417.48
6Dominican Republic11,228,821230.71
7Cuba11,212,191102.04
8Honduras10,432,86092.74
9Nicaragua6,948,39253.30
10El Salvador6,336,392301.15
11Costa Rica5,180,829101.39
12Panama4,408,58158.46
13Puerto Rico3,252,407366.67
14Jamaica2,827,377257.24
15Trinidad and Tobago1,531,044298.45
16Bahamas409,98429.40
17Belize405,27217.65
18Guadeloupe395,752243.09
19Martinique367,507325.80
20Barbados281,635654.97
21Curacao191,163430.55
22Saint Lucia179,857291.98
23Grenada125,438364.65
24Aruba106,445591.36
25Saint Vincent and the Grenadines103,948267.22
26United States Virgin Islands99,465286.64
27Antigua and Barbuda93,763212.13
28Dominica72,73796.85
29Cayman Islands68,706260.25
30Bermuda64,1841188.59
31Greenland56,4660.03
32Saint Kitts and Nevis47,657182.59
33Turks and Caicos Islands45,70348.21
34Sint Maarten44,1751299.26
35Saint Martin31,791599.83
36British Virgin Islands31,305207.32
37Anguilla15,857174.25
38Saint Barthelemy10,967522.24
39Saint Pierre and Miquelon5,86224.22
40Montserrat4,39043.04

South America

South America Current Population

441.2 Million

Since Mexico and Central America are culturally more similar to South America, the entire region is here grouped as Latin America. Though the term “Latin America” generally refers to Spanish-speaking countries, the region is incredibly diverse, and many languages besides Spanish are spoken there. In Brazil, the dominant language is Portuguese, and countries like Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela have their own dialects of Spanish. There are many indigenous people groups that live throughout Latin America, such as descendants of the Maya, Aztecs, and Inca, and they still speak the indigenous languages of their ancestors.

No Data Found

RankNamePopulation 2022
1Brazil215,313,498
2Colombia51,874,024
3Argentina45,510,318
4Peru34,049,588
5Venezuela28,301,696
6Chile19,603,733
7Ecuador18,001,000
8Bolivia12,224,110
9Paraguay6,780,744
10Uruguay3,422,794
11Guyana808,726
12Suriname618,040
13French Guiana304,557
14Falkland Islands3,780

Oceania

Oceania Current Population

43.80 Million

There is a country called Australia, and it is the largest country in the continent of Australia. To distinguish between the country and the continent, some have suggested calling the continent Meganesia (“great continent”) or “Australinea.” Out of the seven continents, Australia is the smallest. It includes the countries of Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, as well as some portions of the Indonesian archipelago (known as West Papua).

No Data Found

RankNamePopulation 2022Density (km²)
1Australia26,177,4133.40
2Papua New Guinea10,142,61921.91
3New Zealand5,185,28819.17
4Fiji929,76650.88
5Solomon Islands724,27325.06
6Vanuatu326,74026.81
7French Polynesia306,27973.50
8New Caledonia289,95015.61
9Samoa222,38278.25
10Guam171,774312.89
11Kiribati131,232161.82
12Micronesia114,164162.63
13Tonga106,858143.05
14Northern Mariana Islands49,551106.79
15American Samoa44,273222.48
16Marshall Islands41,569229.66
17Palau18,05539.34
18Cook Islands17,01172.08
19Nauru12,668603.24
20Wallis and Futuna11,57281.49
21Tuvalu11,312435.08
22Niue1,9347.44
23Tokelau1,871155.92
Categories: GDP