Regions of the World

the division of the land masses of the Earth into areas consisting of one or more continents or parts of continents, together with adjacent islands. The world is generally divided into the following regions: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South America, and Antarctica. Oceania, which is sometimes included as a special island region of the world, is on occasion joined with Australia to form a dual region. The division of the world’s land masses into regions should not be confused with the division into continents or into the Old World, which comprises Eurasia and Africa and was known before the discovery of America, and the New World, which comprises North and South America. Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica are disregarded in this division.