RAS question
Which continent has the least population?
Correct answer: (D) Antarctica (no permanent population).
Antarctica is the continent with the least population because it has no permanent human inhabitants.
Explanation
Antarctica has the least population among continents because it has no permanent human population at all. The British Antarctic Survey handbook describes Antarctica as the remotest and most inhospitable continent and says it has no permanent inhabitants, making it the only continent for which this is true. Its human presence is therefore not a normal settled population: only temporary research-station personnel are present, roughly 1,000 to 5,000 depending on the season. This is why Antarctica ranks below even Australia/Oceania, which has about 45 million people among permanently inhabited continents.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Australia/Oceania is the least populous permanently inhabited continent, but it still has about 45 million people, while Antarctica has no permanent residents.
- (B) South America has about 430 million people, so it is far more populous than a continent with no permanent human population.
- (C) Europe has about 750 million people, which makes it much more populous than Antarctica.
Concept
This tests the world-geography distinction between a continent's permanent population and temporary research presence. It recurs in RAS because continent rankings are often asked through precise qualifiers such as least populous, inhabited, or permanently inhabited.