North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean.

North America covers an area of about 24,490,000 square kilometers (9,450,000 sq mi), about 4.8 percent of the planet's surface or about 16.4% of its land area.

Canada occupies most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Arctic Ocean in the north.

Canada is the world's second largest country by total area, and shares land borders with the United States to the south and northwest. Canada's coastline of 243,000 kilometres is the longest coastline in the world.