North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and covers an area of about 9,540,000 square miles (24,709,000 square kilometers), about 16.5% of the Earth’s land area, and about 4.8% of its total surface.  It’s the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2024, its population was estimated at nearly 600 million, or about 7.5% of the world’s population.