Zuma regrets mistakenly calling Africa "biggest continent"

South African President Jacob Zuma regrets mistakenly calling Africa the "biggest continent" in the world, the Presidency said on Monday.

When addressing a business gala dinner in December 2015 in Sandton, Johannesburg, Zuma said Africa was the biggest continent on earth and that all continents would fit into Africa

"This continent is the biggest continent in the world, not separated even by a river," he said at the time.

On Monday, the Presidency said Africa is in fact the second biggest continent in terms of population size, and the biggest continent in this regard is Asia.

The president "regrets the error," presidential spokesperson Bogani Majola said.

According to the United Nations World Population Prospects 2015, 60 percent of the world population lives in Asia (4.4 billion), 16 percent in Africa (1.2 billion), 10 percent in Europe (737 million), nine percent in Latin America and the Caribbean (634 million), and the remaining 5 percent in North America (358 million) and Oceania (39 million). Enditem