Afro-Eurasia

Afro-Eurasia (also Afroeurasia, Eurafrasia, Africa-Eurasia or the Old World) is a landmass comprising the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The terms are compound words of the names of its constituent parts. Its mainland is the largest and most populous contiguous landmass on Earth. Afro-Eurasia encompasses , 57% of the world's land area, and has a population of approximately 6.7 billion people, roughly 86% of the world population. The following terms are used for similar concepts: Ecumene: a term from classical antiquity for the world as was known to ancient Greek scholars, which was limited to Europe and parts of Africa and Asia. Old World: a term from the Age of Discovery which, for European explorers, contrasted their previously known world from the New World of the Americas. World Island: a term coined by H.J. Mackinder in his "The Geographical Pivot of History" (1904) and used in geopolitical contexts. Mackinder defines the World Island as the large contiguous landmass, technically excluding islands such as Great Britain. "Afro-Eurasia" generally includes those islands usually considered parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Although Afro-Eurasia is typically considered to comprise two or three separate continents, it is not a proper supercontinent. Instead, it is the largest present part of the supercontinent cycle. The oldest part of Afro-Eurasia is probably the Kaapvaal Craton, which together with Madagascar and parts of India and western Australia formed part of the first supercontinent Vaalbara or Ur around 3 billion years ago. It has made up parts of every supercontinent since. At the breakup of Pangaea around 200 million years ago, the North American and Eurasian Plates together formed Laurasia while the African Plate remained in Gondwana, from which the Indian Plate split off. Upon impact with the Eurasian Plate, the Indian Plate created southern Asia around 50 million years ago and began the formation of the Himalayas. Around the same time, the Indian Plate also fused with the Australian Plate.