Continents Ranked by Size: Largest to Smallest

Here are Earth's seven continents ordered by total land area (including associated islands):

1. Asia – 44.6 million km² (17.2M sq mi)
2. Africa – 30.4 million km² (11.7M sq mi)
3. North America – 24.7 million km² (9.5M sq mi)
4. South America – 17.8 million km² (6.9M sq mi)
5. Antarctica – 14.2 million km² (5.5M sq mi)
6. Europe – 10.2 million km² (3.9M sq mi)
7. Australia (Oceania) – 8.6 million km² (3.3M sq mi)

Quick Facts

• Asia covers ~30% of Earth's land; Australia is the smallest continent.
• Some models combine Europe + Asia as "Eurasia" (54.8M km²) or group Australia with Pacific islands as "Oceania."
• Antarctica has no permanent residents; research stations host 1,000–5,000 seasonal personnel.