North America is a continent entirely within the Northen Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere ; it is also considered by some to be a northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean , and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea . North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 16.5% of the earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa , a nd the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe . I n 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states , or about 7.5% of the world's population, if nearby islands (most notably th...