Eurasia

For other uses, see Eurasia (disambiguation).

Eurasia
Area55,000,000 km2 (21,000,000 sq mi)
Population5.4 billion (As of 2023)[1][2]
Population density93/km2 (240/sq mi)
DemonymEurasian
Countries~93 countries
Dependencies9 dependencies
Time zonesUTC−1 to UTC+12
Part ofAfro-Eurasia

Eurasia (/jʊəˈreɪʒə/ yoor-AY-zhə, also UK: /-ʃə/ -⁠shə) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia.[3][4] According to some geographers, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent.[4] The concepts of Europe and Asia as distinct continents date back to antiquity, but their borders have historically been subject to change. For example, to the ancient Greeks, Asia originally included Africa but they classified Europe[5] as separate land. Eurasia is connected to Africa at the Suez Canal, and the two are sometimes combined to describe the largest contiguous landmass on Earth, Afro-Eurasia.[6]

  1. ^ "Population of Europe (2023) - Worldometers". www.worldometers.info. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Population of Asia (2023) - Worldometers". www.worldometers.info. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  3. ^ Nield, Ted. "Continental Divide". Geological Society. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  4. ^ a b McDaniel, Melissa; Sprout, Erin; et al. (20 September 2011). "How many continents are there?". Continent. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2017. By convention there are seven continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Antarctica. Some geographers list only six continents, combining Europe and Asia into Eurasia. In parts of the world, students learn that there are just five continents: Eurasia, Australia (Oceania), Africa, Antarctica, and the Americas.
  5. ^ Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. (2006). Early Modern Europe, 1450–1789. Cambridge University Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780521005210. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  6. ^ McColl, R. W., ed. (2005). 'continents' – Encyclopedia of World Geography, Volume 1. Golson Books Ltd. p. 215. ISBN 9780816072293. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2012. And since Africa and Asia are connected at the Suez Peninsula, Europe, Africa, and Asia are sometimes combined as Afro-Eurasia or Eurafrasia.