The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique while others talk of a “plurality of worlds”. Some treat the world as one simple object while others analyze the world as a complex made up of parts. In scientific cosmology, the world or universe is commonly defined as “[t]he totality of all space and time; all that is, has been, and will be”. Theories of modality talk of possible worlds as complete and consistent ways how things could have been. Phenomenology, starting from the horizon of co-given objects present in the periphery of every experience, defines the world as the biggest horizon or the “horizon of all horizons”. In philosophy of mind, the world is contrasted with the mind as that which is represented by the mind. Theology conceptualizes the world in relation to God, for example, as God’s creation, as identical to God or as the two being interdependent. In religions, there is a tendency to downgrade the material or sensory world in favor of a spiritual world to be sought through religious practice. A comprehensive representation of the world and our place in it, as is found in religions, is known as a worldview. Cosmogony is the field that studies the origin or creation of the world while eschatology refers to the science or doctrine of the last things or of the end of the world.
| Continent | Population | World’s Population | Density (/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Asia | 2,354,121,684 | 29.41% | 143 |
| Southern Asia | 2,049,313,461 | 25.6% | 298 |
| South Central Asia | 2,018,946,674 | 25.22% | 311 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 1,226,641,550 | 15.32% | 55 |
| South-Eastern Asia | 692,671,319 | 8.65% | 153 |
| Latin America | 625,903,391 | 7.82% | 31 |
| The Middle East | 489,689,549 | 6.12% | 67 |
| Eastern Africa | 486,108,725 | 6.07% | 76 |
| Western Africa | 450,871,578 | 5.63% | 73 |
| South America | 442,860,821 | 5.53% | 25 |
| Northern America | 381,048,005 | 4.76% | 18 |
| Western Asia | 301,085,357 | 3.76% | 62 |
| Eastern Europe | 288,609,165 | 3.61% | 15 |
| Northern Africa | 268,459,961 | 3.35% | 34 |
| Middle Africa | 219,584,526 | 2.74% | 30 |
| Western Europe | 196,087,346 | 2.45% | 177 |
| Central America | 182,236,452 | 2.28% | 73 |
| Southern Europe | 149,312,951 | 1.87% | 113 |
| Northern Europe | 107,243,391 | 1.34% | 61 |
| Central Asia | 79,271,159 | 0.99% | 20 |
| Southern Africa | 69,963,878 | 0.87% | 26 |
| Caribbean | 44,848,311 | 0.56% | 192 |
| Australia and New Zealand | 31,969,421 | 0.4% | 4 |
| Melanesia | 12,853,824 | 0.16% | 24 |
| Polynesia | 736,415 | 0.01% | 84 |
| Micronesia | 549,552 | 0.01% | 172 |
