Seven continents are conventionally recognized on Earth.
The common seven-continent model lists Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Australia. In this model, Australia refers to the continent, while Oceania is a broader region that includes Australia, New Zealand, and many Pacific islands.
The definition of a continent is partly geographic and partly cultural, so the number is not universal. Some educational systems combine Europe and Asia as Eurasia, producing six continents. Others combine North and South America as one continent, also producing six. A model with five continents may group the inhabited continents or use the Olympic-ring convention.
The seven-continent arrangement is especially common in English-speaking countries and international general-knowledge references. It should not be confused with tectonic plates, which are geological structures and do not match continent boundaries exactly. Zealandia, for example, is a mostly submerged geological continent often discussed separately.