Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a landmass and nearby islands either on or beyond its continental shelf, or a part of a larger landmass, as in the case of Asia and Europe within Eurasia.
A continent is a large continuous mass of land conventionally regarded as a collective region. There are seven continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia (listed from largest to smallest in size).
Below is an overview of the world's continent using the most popular classification system, the seven continent method. North America is the third largest continent in the world by land area. By population, it is the fourth largest.
Continents are generally defined as a large, continuous landmass that is separated from other landmasses by oceans or other significant natural barriers (Lewis and Wigen 1997).