How many continents are there? KS3 Geography

Most UK schools teach that there are seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia (sometimes called Oceania), Europe, North America and South America. This is the standard model used across KS3 Geography in England and Wales, and it is the one you should learn for school assessments.

This guide is written for KS3 (Year 7 to Year 9) students. It explains each of the seven continents, why some countries count five or six instead, and the geography facts examiners and teachers want you to remember about each one.

A continent is a very large landmass on Earth. Geographers usually define continents by their tectonic plates, their physical separation by oceans, and shared geological or cultural history. The word "continent" comes from the Latin "terra continens", meaning "continuous land".

There is no single international rule for how many continents exist, which is why different countries teach different numbers. The UK, US, Australia, India and most English-speaking countries teach seven. France, Spain and parts of Latin America teach six. Some Eastern European countries also teach six but combine the Americas instead of Europe and Asia.

Below is the standard UK list, in alphabetical order. For each one, you need to know its rough size, an example country, and one key feature. Examiners love quick comparison questions, so memorise the order by size as well as by name.

Asia is the largest continent, both by area and by population. Over 4.7 billion people live there, more than half of the world's population. It contains the highest mountain (Mount Everest, 8,849 m), the deepest lake (Lake Baikal) and the most populous countries (China and India).

Asia's biomes range from tropical rainforests in Indonesia to frozen tundra in Siberia. The continent is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south, and the Arctic Ocean to the north.

Africa is the second largest continent. It contains 54 recognised countries and is home to the longest river in the world (the Nile, 6,650 km) and the largest hot desert (the Sahara). Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is the highest peak at 5,895 m.

Africa straddles the Equator, which means it has tropical climates near the centre and Mediterranean climates in the north and south. Around 1.4 billion people live there, the second highest of any continent.

North America includes the USA, Canada, Mexico, and the countries of Central America and the Caribbean. It is the third largest continent. Famous features include the Rocky Mountains, the Mississippi river, the Great Lakes (five massive freshwater lakes between the US and Canada), and the Grand Canyon.

The continent stretches from the icy north of Canada and Greenland to the tropical beaches of the Caribbean, so it spans almost every climate zone on Earth.

South America is dominated by two huge geographical features: The Amazon rainforest (the largest rainforest on Earth) and the Andes (the longest mountain range on Earth at 7,000 km). The Amazon river is the second longest river in the world and carries more water than any other.

Brazil is the largest country in South America by area and population. The continent has 12 countries plus French Guiana, a French territory.

Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent. Roughly 98% of it is covered in ice, with an average thickness of nearly 2 km. The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth, -89.2°C, was measured at the Soviet Vostok station in 1983.

Antarctica has no permanent population. It is governed by the Antarctic Treaty (1959), which dedicates the continent to peaceful scientific research. The only people who live there are around 1,000 to 5,000 researchers depending on the season.

Europe is the second smallest continent by area but one of the most densely populated. It includes 44 recognised countries, from Iceland in the north to Greece in the south. The Ural Mountains in Russia are the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.

The longest river in Europe is the Volga (3,531 km) in Russia, and the highest peak is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m), also in Russia. Around 750 million people live in Europe.

Australia is the smallest continent by area. Some textbooks call this continent "Oceania" because it also includes New Zealand and the thousands of Pacific islands such as Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea.

Australia is famous for the Great Barrier Reef (the world's largest coral reef system), Uluru (a giant red sandstone monolith), and unique wildlife including kangaroos, koalas and platypuses. Most of the centre of Australia is desert, known as the Outback.

Different teaching traditions count five, six or seven continents depending on how they define a continent. The seven-continent model splits North and South America and treats Europe and Asia separately. Other models combine these in different ways.

A mnemonic is a memory trick using the first letter of each item. Two reliable ones are: "Eat An Aspirin After A Nasty Sandwich" (Europe, Antarctica, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America) or in order of size, "All Astronauts See Stars And Earth At Once" works as a quick prompt.

Another approach is to group them: Two with "North" or "South" (North America, South America), two starting with A and big (Africa, Asia), two starting with A and small (Antarctica, Australia), and one outlier (Europe).