About 71% of Earth’s surface is covered by oceans. The more precise figure commonly given is approximately 70.8%, so the stored answer is the standard rounded value used in geography and general science quizzes.
Earth’s ocean is a connected body of salt water conventionally divided into five named oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic. Although continents and islands separate these regions, ocean water circulates between them through global currents and deep-water pathways.
The oceans cover most of the planet’s surface and contain roughly 97.5% of Earth’s water. The Pacific is the largest ocean, while the Arctic is the smallest and shallowest of the five. Ocean coverage is not the same as the percentage of Earth’s total water: most freshwater is locked in glaciers, ice caps, groundwater, lakes, rivers, and the atmosphere.