Let's start with understanding what a continent is, and then proceed to the next question. The definition of a continent according to an English dictionary is that a Continent is a large, continuous land mass separated by an expanse of water. Contradicting this definition, Greenland much greater surface area than Australia but still is not a continent. So enter here to know as this definition of a continent is confusing if relate to the geographical parameters.
To understand about the continent to which countries like New Zealand belong to, we need to know more about the continents and its history. We all have been learning from schooldays that our planet consists of seven continents, i.e., Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Antarctica and five oceans Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Southern and Arctic ocean on our planet Earth. The best way to know where New Zealand lie is to study each continent one by one. Let's start with the largest continent, Asia.
ASIA
This is the largest continent on planet Earth and home to the largest population of the world. To the east of this continent lies the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean to South and Arctic Ocean to the North of Asia.
This continent consists of 54 countries. The name of these countries are Afghanistan, Srilanka , Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Armenia, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, , South Korea, Syria ,Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Qatar, Thailand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
AFRICA
Africa, mostly referred to as the black continent is the second largest continent on this planet. It consists of 54 countries and is also the second most populated continent on planet earth. The names of the countries in this continent are Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, , Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo,Central African Republic, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Cote d' Ivoire, Djibouti, Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea- Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Seychelles, Morocco, Mali, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Libya, Nigeria, Cabo Verdi, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, , Mauritius, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Angola, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Sao Tome Principe, and Zimbabwe.
The African Continent separates from Europe in the North by the Mediterranean Sea, by the Indian Ocean from the east and southeast and by the Atlantic Ocean on the west.
EUROPE
Europe consists of 51 countries, of which Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey resides in both Asia and Europe continent. The lists of countries are, Armenia, Switzerland, Andorra, Belarus, , Italy, Belgium, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Sweden, Albania, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungry, Austria, Iceland, Lithuania, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Spain, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, France, Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Slovakia, United Kingdom and Vatican City.
NORTH AMERICA
The third largest continent on this planet is North America and it fourth largest in population. It is touched by the Arctic Ocean in the North, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Pacific Ocean to the south and west. List of countries of this continent are Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala, Saint Lucia Bahamas, Canada, Jamaica, Nevis, Costa Rica, Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Haiti, Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Dominica, Panama, and Trinidad Barbados, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, and Tobago, Saint Kitts, Honduras, and United States of America.
SOUTH AMERICA
South America is surrounded from the west by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean from East and North. It consists of 12 countries; these are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
ANTARCTICA
This continent is mostly made up of glaciers which make it the least populated country in the world. It is the fifth largest continent and is the coldest continent among all the seven continents. This continent does not consist any individual country.
AUSTRALIA
This continent consists of a single country, Australia, and It is the smallest continent on the planet. It is touched by the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is an Oceania country, consisting of Australia and many other smaller islands . Neighboring countries of Australia are East Timor, Indonesia, Papua, New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Zealand.
CONCLUSION
After having an in-depth study of the continents individually, we can say that New Zealand is not a part of any continent but a neighbor of the smallest continent Australia. However, we cannot be so sure of this because with time theories regarding this are evolving. Some theories suggest that New Zealand is a part of Oceanic Country and some theories say that it is a neighbor of the continent Australia.So, to get the exact answer, we will have to keep digging the history of the continents and keep learning about the geography of our planet Earth.