List of countries by continents facts for kids
This article consists of a list of countries by continent, along with their capitals.
There are multiple continent classification systems in use. The first continent system is the seven continent system consisting of Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania/Australasia, North America, South America and Antarctica.
The six continent system is essentially the same as the seven continent system, the only difference being two continents are merged. There are two versions of the six continent system, one merging Europe and Asia to create Eurasia, and the other merging North and South America to create The Americas
The five continent system is applying Eurasia and The Americas together, all other continents remain the same.
Finally the four continent system is the same as the prior, however Africa joins Eurasia to become Afro-Eurasia, leaving only Oceania and Antarctica as separate continents.
The only variable in these systems is Antarctica. As Antarctica has no permanent population it isn't uncommon for it to be removed from these classification systems.
The most common system used varies from country to country.
There is no universally accepted answer as to how many countries in the world there actually are. The minimum answer is the 193 United Nations member states. However, there are many more constituent, de facto and self-proclaimed independent states that are typically added to that list. Additionally certain highly autonomous first level administrative divisions fall under the definition of the word country.
The list below follows the seven continent system and predominantly includes only U.N member states unless otherwise stated.
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area, accounting for about a fifth of the world's land. With 1.3 billion people as of 2018, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. It is surrounded by large areas of water. There are 54 fully recognized and independent countries in Africa, and 14.7% (1.216 billion) of the world's population lives there. It is thought to be the continent where the first humans evolved.
- Algeria - Algiers
- Angola - Luanda
- Benin - Porto Novo, Cotonou
- Botswana - Gaborone
- Burkina Faso - Ouagadougou
- Burundi - Gitega
- Cameroon (also spelled Cameroun) - Yaoundé
- Cape Verde - Praia
- Central African Republic - Bangui
- Chad (Tchad) - N'Djamena
- Comoros - Moroni
- Republic of the Congo - Brazzaville
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) - Kinshasa
- Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) - Yamoussoukro
- Djibouti - Djibouti
- Egypt (Misr) - Cairo
- Equatorial Guinea - Malabo
- Eritrea - Asmara
- Ethiopia (Abyssinia) - Addis Ababa
- Gabon - Libreville
- The Gambia - Banjul
- Ghana - Accra
- Guinea - Conakry
- Guinea-Bissau - Bissau
- Kenya - Nairobi
- Lesotho - Maseru
- Liberia - Monrovia
- Libya - Tripoli
- Madagascar - Antananarivo
- Malawi - Lilongwe
- Mali - Bamako
- Mauritania - Nouakchott
- Mauritius - Port Louis
- Morocco (Al Maghrib) - Rabat
- Mozambique - Maputo
- Namibia - Windhoek
- Niger - Niamey
- Nigeria - Abuja
- Rwanda - Kigali
- São Tomé and Príncipe - São Tomé
- Senegal - Dakar
- Seychelles - Victoria, Seychelles
- Sierra Leone - Freetown
- Somalia - Mogadishu
- South Africa - Pretoria
- South Sudan - Juba
- Sudan - Khartoum
- Swaziland (Eswatini) - Mbabane
- Tanzania - Dodoma
- Togo - Lome
- Tunisia - Tunis
- Uganda - Kampala
- Western Sahara - El Aaiún (disputed)
- Zambia - Lusaka
- Zimbabwe - Harare
Antarctica
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent. It contains the geographic South Pole and is in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle. It is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,000,000 square kilometres (5,400,000 square miles), it is the fifth-largest continent. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia.
About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice. However, there is a large part where the ice does not cover land: the ice shelves. There are important geographical features covered by the ice. The huge Lake Vostok has been covered by ice for at least 15 million years. There is a massive rift valley and a huge mountain range, both of which are covered at present.
Asia
Asia is the largest and most populous continent and is a continent in the seven continent system. Asia consists of forty-eight countries as per the United Nations along with many other highly autonomous regions and disputed areas that are often generalised as countries of their own.
- Afghanistan - Kabul
- Armenia - Yerevan
- Azerbaijan - Baku
- Bahrain - Manama
- Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) - Dhaka (ঢাকা)
- Bhutan - Thimphu
- Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia (Kampuchea) - Phnom Penh
- China - Beijing
- East Timor (Timor Leste) - Dili
- Georgia - Tbilisi
- India - New Delhi
- Indonesia - Jakarta
- Iran - Tehran
- Iraq - Baghdad
- Israel - Tel Aviv
- Japan - Tokyo
- Jordan (Al Urdun) - Amman
- Kazakhstan - nursultan
- Kuwait - Kuwait city
- Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek
- Laos - Vientiane
- Lebanon (Lubnan) - Beirut
- Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
- Maldives - Malé
- Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar
- Myanmar (Burma) - Naypyidaw
- Nepal - Kathmandu
- North Korea - Pyongyang
- Oman - Muscat
- Pakistan - Islamabad
- Philippines - Manila
- Palestine - Jerusalem
- Qatar - Doha
- Russia - Moscow (Russia is a part of Asia geographically,but politically it is a part of Europe)
- Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
- Singapore - Singapore
- South Korea - Seoul
- Sri Lanka - Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte (administrative), Colombo (commercial)
- Syria - Damascus
- Tajikistan - Dushanbe
- Thailand (Muang Thai) - Bangkok
- Turkey - Ankara
- Turkmenistan - Aşgabat
- Taiwan - Taipei
- United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi
- Uzbekistan - Tashkent
- Vietnam - Hanoi
- Yemen - Sana'a
There is no official boundary between Europe and Asia, however Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are considered a part of Asia by the United Nations.
Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations due to the ongoing dispute with the People's Republic of China
Europe
Europe is the second smallest continent, but the third most populous. It is a continent in one of the six continent systems and the seven continent system. In other systems it is part of Asia, Eurasia or Eurafrasia. Below is the list of fully sovereign or de facto countries that are indisputably and entirely situated within Europe. The 45 countries are:
- Albania (Shqipëria) - Tirana
- Andorra - Andorra la Vella
- Austria (Österreich) - Vienna
- Belarus (Беларусь) - Minsk
- Belgium (Dutch: België, French: Belgique, German: Belgien) - Brussels
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina) - Sarajevo
- Bulgaria (България) - Sofia
- Croatia (Hrvatska) - Zagreb
- Cyprus (Κύπρος) - Nicosia
- Czech Republic (Česko) - Prague
- Denmark (Danmark) - Copenhagen
- Estonia (Eesti) - Tallinn
- Finland (Suomi) - Helsinki
- France - Paris
- Germany (Deutschland) - Berlin
- Greece (Ελλάδα) - Athens
- Hungary (Magyarország) - Budapest
- Iceland** (Island) - Reykjavik
- Republic of Ireland (Éire) - Dublin
- Italy (Italia) - Rome
- Kosovo** - Pristina
- Latvia (Latvija) - Riga
- Liechtenstein - Vaduz
- Lithuania (Lietuva) - Vilnius
- Luxembourg - Luxembourg City
- North Macedonia (Македонија) - Skopje
- Malta - Valletta
- Moldova - Chisinau
- Monaco - Monte Carlo Quarter
- Montenegro (Crna Gora, Црна Гора) - Podgorica
- Netherlands (Nederland) - Amsterdam (Capital), The Hague (Government)
- Norway (Norge) - Oslo
- Poland (Polska) - Warsaw
- Portugal - Lisbon
- Romania - Bucharest
- Russia** Moscow (Europe up to the Ural Mountains; Asia: the rest to Vladivostok)
- San Marino - San Marino
- Serbia (Србија) - Belgrade
- Slovakia (Slovensko) - Bratislava
- Slovenia (Slovenija) - Ljubljana
- Spain (España) - Madrid
- Sweden (Sverige) - Stockholm
- Switzerland (German: Schweiz, French: Suisse, Italian: Svizzera, Romansh: Svizra) - Bern
- Ukraine (Україна) - Kyiv or Kiev
- United Kingdom - London
- Vatican City** (Italian: Città del Vaticano, Latin: Civitas Vaticana) - Vatican City
There is no official boundary between Europe and Asia, as a result the continental status of some countries is often disputed. However Russia is considered to be European by the United Nations. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are considered to be a part of Asia by the United Nations.
Kosovo is a highly recognised disputed territory with de facto independence.
Iceland sits on the European - North American tectonic plates. The Western half sits in North America, while the Eastern half sits on the European tectonic plate.
Vatican City State is a U.N observer state and not a U.N member.
North America
North America is the third largest continent and the fourth most populous. It is a continent in the 7 continents system, consisting of 23 countries and 22 dependent territories which are:
- Antigua and Barbuda - St. John's
- Anguilla - The Valley (territory of U.K.)
- Aruba - Oranjestad (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- The Bahamas - Nassau
- Barbados - Bridgetown
- Belize - Belmopan ( Central America)
- Bermuda - Hamilton (territory of U.K.)
- Bonaire - part of the Netherlands
- British Virgin Islands - Road Town (territory of U.K.)
- Canada - Ottawa
- Cayman Islands - George Town (territory of U.K.)
- Clipperton Island - (territory of France)
- Costa Rica - San José ( Central America)
- Cuba - Havana
- Curaçao - Willemstad (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Dominica - Roseau
- Dominican Republic (Republica Dominicana) - Santo Domingo
- El Salvador - San Salvador ( Central America)
- Greenland - Nuuk (territory of Denmark)
- Grenada - St George's
- Guadeloupe - (territory of France)
- Guatemala - Guatemala
- Haiti - Port-au-Prince
- Honduras - Tegucigalpa ( Central America)
- Jamaica - Kingston
- Martinique - Fort-de-France Bay (territory of France)
- Mexico - Mexico City
- Montserrat - Plymouth, Brades, Little Bay (territory of U.K.)
- Navassa Island - Washington, D.C. (territory of U.S.)
- Nicaragua - Managua ( Central America)
- Panama (Panamá) - Panama City ( Central America)
- Puerto Rico - San Juan (territory of U.S.)
- Saba - The Bottom (territory of Netherlands)
- Saint Barthelemy - Gustavia (territory of France)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis - Basseterre
- Saint Lucia - Castries
- Saint Martin - Marigot (territory of France)
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon - Saint-Pierre (territory of France)
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Kingstown
- Sint Eustatius - Oranjestad (territory of Netherlands)
- Sint Maarten - Philipsburg (Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Trinidad and Tobago - Port of Spain
- Turks and Caicos - Cockburn Town (British Overseas Territory)
- United States of America - Washington, District of Columbia
- US Virgin Islands - Charlotte Amalie (territory of U.S.)
South America
South America is the fourth largest continent and fifth most populous. It is a continent in the seven continent system. In other systems it is part of The Americas. The 12 countries and 3 dependent territories belonging to it are as follows:
- Argentina - Buenos Aires
- Bolivia - Sucré
- Brazil (Brasil) - Brasília
- Chile - Santiago
- Colombia - Bogotá
- Ecuador - Quito
- Falkland Islands - Stanley (territory of U.K.)
- French Guiana - Cayenne (territory of France)
- Guyana - Georgetown
- Paraguay - Asunción
- Peru - Lima
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands - (territory of U.K.)
- Suriname - Paramaribo
- Uruguay - Montevideo
- Venezuela - Caracas
Australia
Several terms are in use to describe the region of Australia and the nations of the Pacific Ocean. The term Oceania is usually preferred, and this is the term in use by the United Nations. The term Pacific Islands generally excludes the islands of New Zealand, and the continent of Australia. The indigenous Māori of New Zealand are Polynesian people.
Historically, the region was called Australasia. This term is based more on natural history (geology, and geography) rather than on politics. This term means Australia, New Zealand and the whole of New Guinea, plus those islands which are geologically connected.
The countries (14 total) are listed below according to their UN classification:
- Australia - Canberra
- Federated States of Micronesia - Palikir
- Fiji - suva
- Kiribati - South Tarawa
- Marshall Islands - Majuro
- Nauru - no capital; biggest city is Yaren
- New Zealand - Wellington
- Palau - Melekeok
- Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby
- Samoa - Apia
- Solomon Islands - Honiara
- Tonga - Nuku'alofa
- Tuvalu - Funafuti
- Vanuatu - Port Vila
Australasia is not a politically designated region. It is a natural region of islands designated by its geology, geography, botany and zoology. It is also an ecozone.
