Is Australia the Smallest Continent?

Australia is the smallest of the seven traditional continents (by land area: ~7.69 million km²).

However, the phrasing "smallest continent" is sometimes contested because:

• Geologically: Australia sits on its own tectonic plate (Australian Plate), qualifying as a continent.
• Alternative models: Some systems merge Europe + Asia = Eurasia (6 continents), or combine Americas (6), or group Oceania as a region (not continent).
• Greenland (2.16M km²) is the world's largest island—not a continent.

By the standard 7-continent model taught in most English-speaking countries: Australia is the smallest continent. It is also the only continent that is a single country.