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Area

24.709 million km2 (9.54 million sq mi) (3rd)

592,296,233 (2021; 4th)

25.7/km2 (66.4/sq mi) (2021)[a]

$30.61 trillion (2022 est.; 2nd)[1]

$29.01 trillion (2022 est.; 2nd)[2]

$57,410 (2022 est.; 2nd)[3]

North American

003 – North America
019Americas
001Earth

Continental North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), representing approximately 16.5% of the Earth's land area and 4.8% of its total surface area. It is the third-largest continent by size after Asia and Africa, and the fourth-largest continent by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. As of 2021, North America's population was estimated as over 592 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population. In human geography, the terms "North America" and "North American" sometimes refer to just Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Greenland.[7][8][9][10][11]


It is unknown with certainty how and when first human populations first reached North America. People were known to live in the Americas at least 20,000 years ago[12] but various evidence points to possibly earlier dates.[13][14] The Paleo-Indian period in North America followed the Last Glacial Period, and lasted until about 10,000 years ago when the Archaic period began. The classic stage followed the Archaic period, and lasted from approximately the 6th to 13th centuries. Beginning in 1000 AD, the Norse were the first Europeans to begin exploring and ultimately colonizing areas of North America.


In 1492, the exploratory voyages of Christopher Columbus led to a transatlantic exchange, including migrations of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the early modern period. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves, immigrants from Europe, Asia, and descendants of these respective groups.


Europe's colonization in North America led to most North Americans speaking European languages, such as English, Spanish, and French, and the cultures of the region commonly reflect Western traditions. However, relatively small parts of North America in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America have indigenous populations that continue adhering to their respective pre-European colonial cultural and linguistic traditions.

Flags of North America

List of cities in North America

Table manners in North America

North American Union

web resources provided by GovPubs at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries

North America

at the Encyclopædia Britannica

North America

at the National Geographic Society

North America: Human Geography

at the National Geographic Society

European Colonization of North America

at Curlie

North America

. Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 760–765.

"North America" 

Columbia University Press

The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online

. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard Library. 2015. LCCN 2019234716. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.

"Colonial North America at Harvard Library"

Interactive SVG version of Non-Native American Nations Control over N America 1750–2008 animation