Continent
There is no strict definition of a continent. Some people consider Europe and Asia to be just one continent: Eurasia, while other people do not separate North and South America. Many also consider Zealandia to be a continent, despite the fact that most of its surface is now submerged. The broadest definition was used for the purposes of this exercise.
Wikipedia was the source of the information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent#/media/File:Seven_continents_Australia_not_Oceania.png
The following were considered to be continents:
North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Zealandia
Tectonic Plate
Tectonic plates divide up the world into even smaller groups than continents (with the exception of the Eurasian plate which contains parts of both Asia and Europe). They do not always directly correspond with the continents. Israel is an interesting example of a country that is one the continent of Asia, but is actually located on the African plate. Another interesting fact is that a major part of Japan is actually on the North American plate.
Wikipedia was the source of the information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates#/media/File:Tectonic_plates_boundaries_World_map_Wt_180degE_centered-en.svg
The following were considered to be major tectonic plates:
North American, South American, Caribbean, Arabian, African, Eurasian, Pacific, Australian, Indian
Coast
While two different countries may be located on the same continent, they could be adjacent to completely different oceans. For instance, Somalia and Ghana are on the same continent, yet they border completely different oceans. Furthermore, Central African Republic is landlocked. Adjacency to a particular ocean certainly can affect the character of a place. The major oceans were used along with the major bodies of water between continents.
Wikipedia was the source of the information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_basin#/media/File:Ocean_drainage.png
The following bodies of water were considered:
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Timor Sea
Drainage Basin
In addition to countries bordering different coasts, they also have different watersheds. While Austria is not adjacent to the Mediterranean, most of its water flows into the Danube which flows into the Black Sea, and then into the Mediterranean. Although Peru borders the Pacific Ocean, most of its water actually flows into the Amazon River and then into the Atlantic. Generally these drainage basin are separated by mountain ranges. There are also some areas that do not drain into any major body of water. These are known as endorheic drainage basins.
Wikipedia was the source of the information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_basin#/media/File:Ocean_drainage.png
The following drainage basins were considered:
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Timor Sea, various Endorheic basins