<Li> China = excludes Hong Kong and Macau </Li> <Li> 2030 = Medium variant </Li> <P> Six of the Earth's seven continents are permanently inhabited on a large scale . Asia is the most populous continent, with its 4.3 billion inhabitants accounting for 60% of the world population . The world's two most populated countries, China and India, together constitute about 37% of the world's population . Africa is the second most populated continent, with around 1 billion people, or 15% of the world's population . Europe's 733 million people make up 12% of the world's population as of 2012, while the Latin American and Caribbean regions are home to around 600 million (9%). Northern America, primarily consisting of the United States and Canada, has a population of around 352 million (5%), and Oceania, the least - populated region, has about 35 million inhabitants (0.5%). Though it is not permanently inhabited by any fixed population, Antarctica has a small, fluctuating international population based mainly in polar science stations . This population tends to rise in the summer months and decrease significantly in winter, as visiting researchers return to their home countries . </P> <Table> Population by continent (2016 estimates) <Tr> <Th> Continent </Th> <Th> Density (inhabitants / km) </Th> <Th> Population (millions) </Th> <Th> Most populous country </Th> <Th> Most populous city (metropolitan area) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Asia </Td> <Td> 96.4 </Td> <Td> 4,436 </Td> <Td> 1,382,300,000 - China </Td> <Td> 35,676,000 / 13,634,685 - Greater Tokyo Area / Tokyo Metropolis </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Africa </Td> <Td> 36.7 </Td> <Td> 1,216 </Td> <Td> 0186,987,000 - Nigeria </Td> <Td> 21,000,000 - Lagos </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Europe </Td> <Td> 72.9 </Td> <Td> 738 </Td> <Td> 0145,939,000 - Russia; approx. 112 million in Europe) </Td> <Td> 19,468,664 - Moscow </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> North America </Td> <Td> 22.9 </Td> <Td> 579 </Td> <Td> 0324,991,600 - United States </Td> <Td> 23,723,696 / 08,537,673 - New York Metropolitan Area / New York City </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> South America </Td> <Td> 22.8 </Td> <Td> 422 </Td> <Td> 0209,567,000 - Brazil </Td> <Td> 27,640,577 / 11,316,149 - Metro Area / São Paulo City </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Oceania </Td> <Td> 4.5 </Td> <Td> 39.9 </Td> <Td> 0024,458,800 - Australia </Td> <Td> 05,005,400 - Sydney </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Antarctica </Td> <Td> 0.0003 (varies) </Td> <Td> 0.004 in summer (non-permanent, varies) </Td> <Td> N / A </Td> <Td> 0000001,200 (non-permanent, varies) - McMurdo Station </Td> </Tr> </Table>

What percentage of the world's population is asian