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A continent in the Earth's
northern hemisphere and almost fully in the western hemisphere. It is
bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic
Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by
the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast, connected to
North America by the isthmus of Panama. It covers an area of about
24,490,000 kmē (9,450,000 sq mi), or about 4.8% of the planet's surface. As
of October 2006, its population was estimated at over 514,600,000. It is the
third-largest continent in area, following Asia and Africa, and is fourth in
population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. |
