Continents

Version 2.0.0 • Published Jun 08, 2025 00:00 UTC • by RefPack, Open Geospatial Consortium

A standardized list of world continents including their codes, full names, brief descriptions, and grouped regions. Useful for regional classification, filtering, or geographic data normalization.

Download v2.0.0 (.zip)

🌍 Continents Dataset (continents)

🧾 Overview

This dataset provides a standardized list of Earth's continents, including short codes, full names, and geographic scope. Each continent record includes an identifier (code), the full English name, a brief description, and regional coverage notes.

The dataset is ideal for use in applications requiring basic geographic classification, high-level regional filtering, or user segmentation by continent. It complements other datasets like countries or airports for organizing or grouping by broader regional categories.

🗂️ Dataset Structure

Each entry in the dataset represents one of the Earth's major continental regions with the following fields:

Field Name Data Type Description Required
code Text A short 2-letter or 3-letter identifier for the continent. Primary key Yes
name Text Full name of the continent in English. Yes
description Text A brief description of the continent. Yes
regions Array List of broad regional or geopolitical groupings under the continent. Yes

🌐 Standardization Info

  • code uses common geographic shorthand (e.g., NA = North America, EU = Europe).
  • regions can be used for sub-continental categorization (e.g., "Sub-Saharan Africa", "Southeast Asia").
  • English is the primary language of labels (name, description) for international usability.

🔍 Sample Entries

code name description regions
NA North America Continent in the Northern Hemisphere ["Northern America", "Central America"]
EU Europe Continent of mostly Western Eurasia ["Western Europe", "Eastern Europe"]
AS Asia Largest continent by area and population ["Southeast Asia", "Central Asia"]

🧩 Usage Scenarios

  • Grouping countries or cities by continent in applications or dashboards.
  • Filtering or aggregating regional data in analytical tools.
  • Creating regional dropdowns or filters in UIs.
  • Normalizing geographic data into top-level groupings.

🔒 Data Integrity

  • The code field serves as a unique primary identifier.
  • All fields are mandatory.
  • The dataset contains exactly 7 entries unless extended with regional variants (e.g., Antarctica research zones).

📊 Metadata & Versioning

  • Dataset ID: continents
  • Packager Version: 1.0.0
  • Packaged Date (UTC): 2025-06-08T00:00:00Z
  • Title: Continents Dataset
  • Description: A standardized list of world continents including codes, names, and associated regional groupings.
  • Authors & Contributors:
    • RefPack
    • Open Geospatial Consortium (referential)
  • License:
  • Tags: continents, geography, reference, region, localization, i18n, top-level geography