Europe

Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Europe's borders are located in the western half of the Northern Hemisphere, bounded by the Arctic Ocean in the north, to the Mediterranean Sea in the south. In the west, it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. On the east, it borders Asia, from which it is separated by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea, and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. Europe is one of the continents that make up the Eurasian supercontinent, located between parallels 35º 30' and 70º 30' north latitude.

Europe is the second smallest continent in terms of area. It covers 10,530,751 square kilometers or 2% of the world's surface and about 6.8% of the total landmass. It is home to a large number of sovereign states, just over 50, the exact number of which depends on the definition of Europe's border, as well as the exclusion or inclusion of partially recognized states. Of all the European countries, Russia is the largest in area (as well as being the largest internationally recognized sovereign state in the world), while Vatican City is the smallest (as well as being the most internationally recognized sovereign state in the world). recognized smallest in the world). Europe is the fourth most populous continent after Asia, Africa and the Americas, with a population of 740,813,959 (year 2015) or about 10.03% of the world population.

Europe, particularly Ancient Greece, is the cradle of Western culture. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period of the migration, marked the end of the Ancient Ages and the beginning of an era known as the Middle Ages.

The Renaissance with its consequent humanism, art and science, as well as exploration brought the "old continent", and finally the rest of the world, to the Modern Age. From this period the European nations play a leading role in world affairs, from the 16th century onwards especially, after from the beginning of colonization. In the 17th and 18th centuries" , European nations controlled most of Africa, the Americas, and much of Asia, and later Oceania as well.

The Industrial Revolution, which began in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, led to a radical change in the economic, technological, cultural and social spheres in Western Europe, which impacted the rest of the world.

World War I and World War II led to a decline in Europe's dominance in world affairs as the United States and the Soviet Union took precedence.

The Cold War between the two superpowers divided Europe along the Iron Curtain. European integration led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have expanded eastward since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Currently, nations that exercise global hegemonic power such as the United States are the result of European colonization.

Definition

Map of T in O of the year 623, printed in 1472, where Europe appears as one of the three sections of the world, together with Asia and Africa, surrounded by a circular ocean.

The term Europe has various uses, the main ones being geographical and political. Geographically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia; Bounded to the north, west, and south by the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Black Sea, and to the east by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains. The EU considers as such all those located within the traditional geographical limits, including Cyprus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Europe according to a widely accepted definitionThe extension on Asian territory of European StatesEuropean territories for historical and cultural reasons

In Homer's works, Εὐρώπη is only the mythological queen of Crete and not a geographical appellation, however the (so-called) Homeric Hymn to Apollo (250-251) uses the term to refer to the mainland of Greece, as opposed to the Peloponnese and the islands. Hesiod, in the conclusion of his Theogony (verse 964) alludes to "the continents"; but without specifying their names, it is still doubtful that said passage belongs to this author. Later, from the year 500 a. C. its meaning refers to all the land west of the Aegean Sea. In Herodotus Europe is the largest of the continents, stretching north of the Mediterranean from the Pillars of Hercules in the Strait of Gibraltar to beyond the Indus River.

Since Hellenistic times, Europe was considered to be the territory located to the north of the Mediterranean, the Hellespont (Dardanelles), the Propontis (Marmara Sea) and the Bosporus, with the Tanais (Don) river as its northeastern border. Thus, Varro considers that the world can be divided from the Bosporus, the lands located to the north of that river would correspond to Europe. Despite this, the term did not then have any political connotation. In fact, from the IV century, a Roman province called Europa existed as a minor subdivision of the Roman province of Thrace, in the which included Constantinople. Europe, in a literary or merely geographical sense, corresponded to one of the three parts of the world, separated from Africa by Gibraltar, and from Asia by the Don. Flavio Josefo, whose work influenced medieval conceptions, added that it had been given by Noah to his son Jafet.

Until the end of the Middle Ages, these borders of Europe were maintained, but as the world known to Europeans expanded, they became insufficient. It was the Swedish geographer Philip Johan von Strahlenberg, who around 1730 proposed setting the eastern limit of the continent in the Ural Mountains, a proposal welcomed by the Russian monarchy. Until the 16th century the term Europe was not in general use and it was preferred to be referred to as "Christendom" 3. 4;. This expression, since the Renaissance and the Reformation, began to be replaced by the proper name of the continent, with less confessional-cultural connotations and taking into account the Turkish invasion and occupation of a large part of the Balkans.

Currently, Europa can be used both broadly, to designate the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, and in a more restricted way; the member states of the European Union. It is also used to refer to a series of nations that share a common cultural identity which is described as "European". In this sense, it is how the Council of Europe uses it, of whose 49 member countries only 27 belong to the European Union and Turkey belongs, a country that is mainly located geographically in Asia. On the other hand, the inhabitants of some European islands; especially Ireland or the United Kingdom, but also Scandinavia, refer to continental Europe as "the Continent".

Etymology

Europe and the bull by Gustave Moreau (c. 1869).

Traditionally, the origin of the place name Europa is associated with a character from Greek mythology. Indeed, Europe (in ancient Greek, Εὐρώπη, Eurṓpē) was the daughter of Agénor and Telephasa, sister of Cadmus, a Phoenician princess. When he was having fun with her companions on her beach, Zeus watched her and ended up falling in love with her. Zeus was transformed into a white bull, so tame, that Europa approached him, put flowers around her neck and finally dared to ride him; then Zeus got up and crossed the sea, taking her to the island of Crete, where she gave birth to Minos and Sarpedon, with whom she returned to Asia. From the name of this woman would come the name of the continent.

The most widespread analysis of this word considers it to be a composition of the Greek words εὖρος («width») and ὤψ («sight, eye»), but it is undoubtedly a popular etymology. Many linguists think that Europe comes from the Semitic root ʔrb (“hrb”), which means “sunset” (West); irib in Assyrian, ereb in Aramaic, the form *ʔurūbā having been proposed as the original name for the "western lands". Asian or Middle Eastern, the sun effectively sets on Europe, the land to the west. Even though this is the most widely accepted etymology today, some researchers such as M. L. West have argued that "phonologically, the match between the name of Europa and any of the Semitic forms of the word is very poor".

Most languages use words derived from Europe to refer to the continent. In Chinese, for example, we use Ōuzhōu (歐洲), which is an abbreviation of the transliterated noun; Ōuluóbā zhōu (歐羅巴洲). However, in some Turkic languages the term Frangistan ('Land of the Franks') is used colloquially, although the "official" of the continent is Avrupa or Evropa.

The first use of the term «Europeans» (europenses) seems to have occurred in the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754, to refer to the confrontation between the Christian kingdoms and the Muslim expansion.

History

The celestial disk of Nebra, discovered in Germany is the oldest representation known from the celestial vault.

Prehistory

Neanderthals are considered the only indigenous human species in Europe. Indeed, according to paleontological findings, it was present in Europe when Homo sapiens (identified by the Cro-Magnon fossils) arrived, a species to which all of today's humanity belongs. The two human species coexisted for quite some time until the Neanderthal became extinct, probably due to competition with sapiens, although there are still many questions about this event and about the possibility of hybridization between both species..

Classical Antiquity

Antiquity was marked by the influence of the Greco-Roman civilization and the Roman Empire on the rest of Europe. The fall of the Western Roman Empire and the arrival of new ethnic groups with new kingdoms led to the political fragmentation of Europe. During that period, due to the greater productivity of Mediterranean agriculture and the greater efficiency of maritime transport over land, the Mediterranean area supported higher population densities and had the main cities. For this reason, demographic and geographical factors conditioned the greater relative economic development of southern Europe at that time, compared to the colder northern Europe and, in general, with worse agricultural resources.

Middle Ages

Map of Europe of Gerardus Mercator.

The beginning of the Middle Ages is traditionally placed in the year 476 with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This event was followed by successive attempts at unification and conquest, which plunged the continent into numerous conflicts and wars during the Middle Ages, such as the Hundred Years War (which lasted for more than a century). This, together with the influence on the continent of new groups, such as the Mongols who arrived from the steppes, or the rise of Islam, creating a barrier that divided two cultures and the Mediterranean, and with the clashes on this border, shaped this era in the continent.

Modern Age

The Modern Age marks, for Europe, the beginning of processes that much later will give rise to globalization, and it is the time in which armed conflicts became increasingly disastrous, such as the so-called Thirty Years War. During this period, European firearms, due to constant conflicts between European powers, improved remarkably. Although Europe had a much lower population than China or India, and also a lower productivity (around 1500, the Middle East, China and India concentrated 60% of world production), the resources from America and its military technology would be a factor. important from the second half of the XIX century, when various European powers had armed clashes with China and India.

A factor that would have a decisive influence on the expansion of European culture (religion, language, etc.) was the so-called European expansion, which had its first wave in the 19th century XVI in the Americas and in two subsequent waves made much of Asia, Africa and Oceania also politically controlled by European countries.

European Union expansion process.

Contemporary Age

Economic processes and scientific and technological development accelerated to the detriment of other continents in a much more noticeable way during the Contemporary Age, producing tensions due to competitions that unleashed more wars (such as the Napoleonic Wars and the World Wars). Today the processes leading to unification are sought peacefully, such is the case of the European Union, whose origin dates back to the Schuman Declaration of 1950.

Europe is the continent that has had the most political, military and economic influence in the history of the world in the last two centuries. However, before the 19th century, China and India were demographically and economically more important than Europe: around 1500, the Middle East, India and China concentrated about 60% of world production; and shortly before 1800, 80%.

Geography

Topography of Europe.

Europe, the second smallest continent in the world after Oceania, has an area of 10,530,751 km², representing 7% of the landmass.

Strictly speaking in terms of contemporary geographic science, Europe, like Oceania, are no longer categorized as continents and are considered macro-geographical units (MUGs); since in effect, in the case of Europe, this geographical macro-unit is a western prolongation of the Eurasian continent. Europe is characterized, both geographically (with much incidence in the climate and in its human geography), the high average number of maritime and oceanic coasts due to the presence of abundant peninsulas, gulfs, inland seas and islands. This and the influence of the Gulf Stream and the proximity of the hot deserts of Africa and Asia determine that in Europe, despite the latitudes, an exceptionally benign temperate climate prevails for human habitability. On the other hand, the abundance of coasts and waterways has allowed and allows the transit of populations and then their establishment since the end of the Pleistocene (when Homo sapiens replaced Homo neandertalensis).

Biogeographic regions of Europe.

It is also Europe, if traditionally considered as a continent, the flattest continent, with an average height of 230 meters. The maximum expression of these plains is the Great Northern Plain, which stretches 2,000 km from the French Atlantic coasts to the Ural Mountains, the easternmost physical border with Asia. The highest points are Mount Elbrus (Russia) in Eastern Europe (5,642 m), Shkhara (Georgia) (5,204 m) and Mont Blanc (Italy-France) in Western Europe (4,807 m).

To the south, Europe is separated from the African continent by the Mediterranean Sea, a border that is reduced to a few kilometers in the Strait of Gibraltar, to the southeast the limits with Asia are also given by the Mediterranean and its subsidiary seas, the of Marmara and the Black Sea. Although it is observed, the Mediterranean Sea and its basin, more than a limit (according to historical moments) is a link with the other "continents" (the geographic macro-units of Asia and Africa), with the true cultural and ethnic boundaries being the extensive desert regions that are located on the other side of the Mediterranean. Considering Iceland as part of Europe and Greenland as part of America, it can be seen that the distances between Europe and the American continent are also quite small.

Among the gulfs of Europe, the Bay of Biscay (France and Spain), the Bay of Cádiz (Spain and Portugal), the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus (Turkey), the Messina (Italy) and the Oresund (Denmark and Sweden), among others.

Its main peninsulas are Scandinavian (Sweden, Norway), Iberian (Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar), Italian (Italy, San Marino and Vatican City), Balkan (Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Romania); in addition to the peninsulas of Kola (Russia), Jutland (Denmark), Brittany (France) and Crimea (disputed between Russia and Ukraine).

Its main islands are Great Britain, Iceland and Ireland.

Political geography

Europe is politically divided into fifty sovereign states, eight states with limited recognition, six dependent territories and three autonomous regions integrated into the European Union. The continent is home to some of the oldest nation-states in the world.

International and regional organizations

Euler diagram with intergovernmental relations in Europe

All sovereign European states are full members of the United Nations (UN), with 12 European countries as founders among its ranks. At an economic level, the European States are part of the International Monetary Fund (except Andorra, the Vatican, Monaco and Liechtenstein), although some do not comply with article VIII such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania. In the case of the World Trade Organization, they are all members except the Principality of Monaco and San Marino, as well as countries such as Andorra, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vatican City and Serbia that have observer status. The economic potential of Europe means that four European countries (Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom) are among the main economies in the world, these powers usually come together in the so-called G-7, G-12 and G-20. Recently, the European Union joined as a permanent member.

In matters of justice and security, all European countries are members of INTERPOL. In the case of the International Criminal Court, four countries have not signed or ratified the Rome Statute (Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the Vatican). While there are three signatories that have not yet ratified it (Ukraine, Armenia and Monaco). Russia, for its part, signed the Statute, but recently withdrew its signature. In the rest of the countries, the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court is accepted to judge cases of crimes against humanity.

In the case of the Non-Aligned Movement (1961) only two European nations (Belarus and Azerbaijan) are part of this organization in favor of neutrality.

There are other transcontinental organizations such as the OECD in 1961 (American, European and Asian countries) to which 24 European countries joined. As transcontinental organizations between Europe and America we find the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (1975) to promote democracy, human rights, arms control and security. Also the military organization NATO (1949), to which 26 European states belong (two nuclear powers such as the United Kingdom and France). In the same way, NATO has maintained since 1994 a program to strengthen ties with states of the former Soviet Union and other European countries, the Association for Peace. Russia maintains a military alliance opposed to the North Atlantic Organization, and is the Collective Security Treaty Organization of which 6 nations are part (Russia, Armenia and Belarus on the European side plus Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan). At the research level, the European Space Agency (1975) stands out, to which 22 European states belong, which promotes space exploration and the European satellite program.

Most of the European countries, given their political and financial weight, are present in many world and regional organizations (outside Europe) as permanent members or observer members in the case of the Asian Development Bank (1966), with 48 regional countries and 19 non-regional, or the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, at the initiative of the People's Republic of China in 2014, which includes 31 Asian States and some European states such as Spain, Germany or France.

The oldest regional organization in Europe is the Council of Europe (1949), which is an international organization of regional scope aimed at promoting, through the cooperation of the states of Europe, the configuration of a common political and legal space in the continent, based on the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Established by the London Treaty on May 5, 1949, the only one that integrates all the European States, with the exception of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City, excluded because their political regimes are incompatible with the principles that support membership of the Council.

The Council of Europe has lost weight nowadays, since European politics is marked by the existence of an entity to which 27 European countries belong. This is the European Union (created in 1958 as the European Economic Community). The European Union promotes the integration of its members through a series of mechanisms such as the transfer of powers to the European Union, the subordination of States to European laws, European Justice or a single and consensual foreign policy. In addition, the European Member States participate through community institutions such as the Council of the European Union, the European Commission or the European Parliament, among others. The Union works in various regional bodies for both Member States and non-European Union countries:

• Inside Market of the European Union: it is one of the instruments of economic integration of the Union, consisting of the establishment of a common market among member states. In this unique market the goods, services and capitals and people circulate freely and, within them, the citizens of the Union can live, work, study or do business freely.
• European Economic Area (1994): Agreement between the members of the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), except Switzerland. Its creation allowed EFTA countries to participate in the European Union's domestic market without having to join the EU.
• European Union customs union: it is a customs union between all member States of the European Union and four non-member States (Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and Turkey) plus British units in Europe (except Gibraltar). Unlike the free trade zone, the members of the customs union impose a common rate on the foreign goods entering the union.
• Schengen Agreement (1995): Deleting internal border controls for free movement.
• Eurozone (1999): Created by the countries of the Union, currently 19, that accepted the euro as a currency and make decisions through the European Central Bank. In addition, four other countries outside the Union use the euro through a prior agreement (Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and Vatican) and two do so without prior agreement, Kosovo and Montenegro).
• The European Central Bank System: The primary objective assigned to the SEBC is to maintain price stability, without prejudice to which "shall support the overall economic policies of the Community".

Apart from being a main actor within the European continent, the European Union maintains relations with other continental organizations: it holds meetings with Asian countries (ASEM), with CELAC through the CELAC-EU Summit and with African States, of the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) to, through various agreements (the most recent Cotonou Agreement of the year 2000) fight against poverty together with the European Union that works through the European Development Fund. The European Union works through the signing of economic agreements.

The main European economic bloc alternative to the European Union was the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) founded in 1960 as a counterweight to the EEC. However, over time, many of its members left the organization to join the EEC (United Kingdom and Denmark in 1972, Portugal in 1986, Finland, Austria and Sweden in 1991), leaving the block with four members (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland). At the political level we find the State of the Union (1997) a union between Russia and Belarus.

There are other regional organizations such as NB8 (Nordic-Baltic 8), a cooperation organization between the Nordic and Baltic States. These two areas also have their own organizations such as the Nordic Council (1952) and the Baltic Assembly (1990). One of the oldest is the political-economic union of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, known as Benelux, which was founded in 1948.

The British Isles (made up of Ireland and the United Kingdom) are part of the European Union (although the United Kingdom has started the process to leave the Union). However, they are outside the Schengen Area. But both nations have maintained a Common Travel Area since 1923 that allows citizens of both countries to move around the islands with minimal passport control.

In eastern Europe there are also other regional organizations such as the Visegrad Group (1991) to promote cooperation between Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Or the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (1992) with member countries bordering the Black Sea plus Albania, Serbia, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Greece. Also noteworthy is the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) founded in 1992 for Eastern European countries similar to EFTA and the EEC. At its peak it was made up of fourteen states but currently it is made up of six (four from the former Yugoslavia plus Moldova and Albania), other states abandoned it to join the European Union:

• Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia (2004)
• Romania and Bulgaria (2007)
• Croatia (2013)

In 2013, it was an informal group called EuroMed whose scope is to create a southern alliance to represent the uniqueness of its members. The members are: Cyprus, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Malta and Portugal.

Russia has a strong influence in European countries of the former Soviet orbit, from which follows the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (1992), which includes Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and Armenia. Finally, to counter this Russian influence, GUAM was created in 1997 between four countries related to the Commonwealth of Independent States: Georgia (former member), Ukraine (observer state), Azerbaijan, and Moldova.

• 

  UN regional groups

• 

  Regional groups according to The World Factbook

• 

  European Union and candidate countries

• 

  Map with EU and NATO members

• 

  Adhesion Chronology to NATO

Sovereign States

Flag	Name/Official Name	Established	Surface (km2)	Population	Inhabitants per km2	Capital	Language(s) Officer(s)
	Albania Republic of Albania	1912	28 748	3 038 594	105.6	Tirana	sq
	Germany Federal Republic of Germany	1871	357 022	80 722 792	226,1	Berlin	of
	Andorra Co-Principado de Andorra	1278	468	85 660	183	Andorrala Vieja	♪
	Armenia Republic of Armenia	1991	29 749	3 229 900	108.5	Yerevan	hy
	Austria Republic of Austria	1918	83 871	8 711 770	103.8	Vienna	of
	Azerbaijan Republic of Azerbaijan	1991	86 600	9 872 765	114	Baku	az
	Belgium Kingdom of Belgium	1830	30 528	11 409 077	373.7	Brussels	nl/fr/de
	Belarus Republic of Belarus	1991	207 600	9 570 376	46.1	Minsk	ru/be
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1992	51 917	3 861 912	75.4	Sarajevo	bs/hr/sr
	Bulgaria Republic of Bulgaria	1908	110 879	7 144 653	64.4	Sofia	bg
	Cyprus Republic of Cyprus	1960	9251	1 205 575	130.3	Nicosia	el/tk
	Croatia Republic of Croatia	1991	56 594	4 313 707	76.2	Zagreb	hr
	Denmark Kingdom of Denmark	935	43 094	593 785	129.8	Copenhagen	da/fo/kl
	Slovakia Slovak Republic	1993	49 035	5 445 802	111	Bratislava	sk
	Slovenia Republic of Slovenia	1991	20 273	1 978 029	97.5	Ljubljana	sl
	Spain Kingdom of Spain	1516	505 370	47 435 597	94	Madrid	es/ca/gl/eu
	Estonia Republic of Estonia	1991	45 228	1 258 545	27.8	Tallinn	et
	Finland Republic of Finland	1918	338 415	5 948 211	16.2	Helsinki	fi/sv
	France French Republic	843	643 801	66 836 154	103.8	Paris	fr
	Georgia State of Georgia	1991	69 700	4 928 052	70.7	Tiflis	ka
	Greece Hellenic Republic	1832	131 957	10 773 253	81.6	Athens	the
	Hungary	1918	93 028	9 874 784	106.1	Budapest	Hu.
	Ireland Republic of Ireland	1937	70 273	4 952 473	70.4	Dublin	ga/en
	Iceland Republic of Iceland	1944	103 000	335 878	3.2	Reikiavik	is
	Italy Italian Republic	1861	301 340	62 007 540	205,7	Rome	it
	Latvia Republic of Latvia	1991	64 589	1 965 686	30.4	Riga	lv
	Liechtenstein Principality of Liechtenstein	1719	160	37 937	237,1	Vaduz	of
	Lithuania Republic of Lithuania	1991	65 300	2 854 235	43.7	Vilna	lt
	Luxembourg Grand Duchy of Luxembourg	1890	2586	582 291	225,1	City ofLuxembourg	lb/fr/de
	Northern Macedonia Republic of Macedonia	1991	25 713	2 100 025	81.6	Skopie	mk/sq
	Malta Republic of Malta	1974	316	415 196	1313.9	The Valeta	mt/en
	Moldova Republic of Moldova	1991	33 851	3 510 485	103.7	Chisináu	ro
	Monaco Principality of Monaco	1861	2	30 581	15 290.5	City of Monaco	fr
	Montenegro	2006	13 812	644 578	46.6	Podgorica	n/d
	Norway Kingdom of Norway	1905	323 802	5 265 158	16.2	Oslo	No.
	Netherlands Kingdom of the Netherlands	1815	41 543	17 016 967	409,6	Amsterdam	nl
	Poland Republic of Poland	1918	312 685	38 652 326	123.2	Warsaw	pl
	Portugal Portuguese Republic	1139	92 090	10 833 816	117.6	Lisbon	pt
	United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801	243 610	64 430 428	264,4	London	en/cy/gd/ga
	Czech Republic	1993	78 867	10 644 842	134.9	Prague	cs
	Romania	1878	238 391	21 599 736	90.6	Bucharest	ro
	Russia Russian Federation	1547	17 098 242	142 355 415	8.3	Moscow	ru
	San Marino Serenísimo República de San Marino	1243	61	33 285	545.6	City of San Marino	it
	Serbia Republic of Serbia	1878	77 474	7 143 921	92.92	Belgrade	sr
	Sweden Kingdom of Sweden	1523	450 295	9 880 604	21.9	Stockholm	sv
	Switzerland Swiss Confederation	1815	41 277	8 179 294	198,1	Bern	de/fr/it/rm
	Turkey Republic of Turkey	1923	783 562	84 614 362	110	Ankara	tr
	Ukraine	1991	603 550	44 209 733	73.2	Kiev	uk
	European Union	1993	4 324 782	513 949 445	118.8	Brussels	24
	Vatican State of the Vatican City	1929	0.44	1000	2272.7	City of Vatican	the
		Total	10 530 751	743 704 000	70.0

Area and population data consulted The World factbook (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last). for 2016.

States with limited recognition

This table lists European states with de facto independence as nations with limited international recognition (or lack of recognition). None is a member of the United Nations Organization:

Flag	Name/ Official name	Declaration	Surface (km2)	Population	Density of population (per km2)	Capital	Language(s) Officer(s)
	Abkhazia Republic of Abkhazia	2008	8432	216 000	28,24	Sukhmi	ab/ru
	Kosovo Republic of Kosovo	2008	10 887	1 883 018	172,9	Pristina	sq/sr
	Republic of Artsaj	1991	11 458	138 800	12.11	Stepanakert	hy
	Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus	1983	3355	265 100	86	Nicosia	tk
	South Ossetia Republic of South Ossetia	2008	3900	70 000	21	Tsjinval	os/ru/ka
	Transnistria Republic of Moldova	1990	4163	537 000	133	Tiráspol	ru/ro/uk
		Total	42 195	3 031 738	71.8

Area and population data consulted The World factbook (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last). for 2016.

Dependencies

These territories depend on other European nations in various matters. Only the territory of Gibraltar belongs to the European Union, the rest of the territories are classified as overseas countries and territories (or OCTs), the dependencies and overseas territories of the Member States of the European Union that are not part of the Union, rather, it has a status of association with the Member States since the Treaty of Lisbon. In the case of the sovereign bases of Acrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus, they are not part of the EU, although the citizens who live and work in them are subject to EU law, as long as they are EU citizens. In this case it is considered that they are in Cypriot territory, therefore applying the laws of this country.

Flag	Name/ Official name	Status	State	Surface (km2)	Population	Inhabitants per km2	Capital	Language(s) Officer(s)
	Acrotiri and Dhekelia Overseas Territory	1960	United Kingdom	123	15 700	127.6	Episkopi	in
	Gibraltar Overseas Territory	2002	United Kingdom	5.9	29 328	4189.7	Gibraltar	in
	Bailía de Guernsey Crown Unit	1204	United Kingdom	78	66 297	849.9	Saint Peter Port	en/fr
	Jersey dance Crown Unit	1204	United Kingdom	116	98 069	845.4	Saint Helier	en/fr
	Isle of Man Crown Unit	1765	United Kingdom	572	88 195	154.1	Douglas	en/gv
	Svalbard Overseas Territory	2002	Norway	62 045	1872	0.03	Longyearbyen	No.
			Total	62 939.9	299 461	0.5

Area and population data consulted The World Factbook (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last). for 2016.

Autonomous Territories

These territories enjoy great autonomy and some are part of the European Union as a metropolitan territory, such as Åland. For its part, the Azores Islands is an autonomous region that also belongs to the European Union integrated into the Outermost Region of the European Union, so that Union law applies with exceptions in that territory. The Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union, just as the Danes who live on them do not have European citizenship. The islands are not part of the Schengen Area either, although border controls between the two are not required.

Flag	Name/ Official name	Status	State	Surface (km2)	Population	Inhabitants per km2	Capital	Language(s) Officer(s)
	Åland Autonomous province	1921	Finland	13 517	26 008	16.8	Mariehamn	sv
	Azores Autonomous region	1976	Portugal	2333	246 746	104	Ponta Delgada Horta Angra do Heroismo	pt
	Faroe Islands Autonomous region	1948	Denmark	1393	50 456	32.9	Tórshavn	fo/da
			Total	17 243	323 210	18.4

Area and population data consulted The World factbook (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last). for 2016.

Economy

European nations per capita income.

In the XIX century, the first modern integration of the economy of several European states through the Union takes place German customs. During that time, European economic power was consolidated and Europe at the end of the XIX century became the macro-region with the highest per capita income of the world, currently being a continent where most of the high-income countries are located.

Even though the average European income is high, there is a great disparity in the economic wealth of the different European countries, thus, while in the five main economies the GDP per capita exceeds 50,000 USD per person, Moldova barely exceeds 2,000 USD. The IMF estimates that European GDP (PPP) for 2022 was $32.25 trillion dollars, 21.2% of world GDP.

Economic history

Although large empires that were military powers existed in Europe since ancient times and their societies had a higher degree of specialization and economic complexity than other parts of the planet, neither during the Middle Ages nor during the Modern Age was the European economy superior to that of other Asian regions. During the Modern Age, Asia still remained the most economically productive continent. Around 1500, the Middle East, India and China concentrated about 60% of world production, and shortly before 1800 80%. During the 18th century, textiles from India were extensively exported to France and England. And a lot of Chinese industrial products were present, both in colonial America from the 17th century century, and in Europe. It is estimated that 75% of the silver extracted by the Spanish in America ended up in China in exchange for the purchase of products manufactured in China. The European industrial revolution upset this balance, and through military conquest much of Asia and Africa passed to be controlled by European powers, during the second and third waves of European Expansion.

During the XX century, Europe and some of its former colonies in America became the most productive regions with the highest per capita income in the world. Although in the 1920s, the United States would already surpass the most developed European countries in per capita income. Yet Europe remained one of the world's leading economic poles up to the 21st century, with income levels only equaled by the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. However, the new reality of the world economy has been consolidated in the course of the last three decades, marked mainly by the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the dizzying growth of the People's Republic of China and other regions of Asia.

One of the most notorious factors in the European economic dynamics since 1970 was the materialization of the economic unity of a large part of Europe. Thus, the economic dynamics of the continent has been subject to the functioning of the European Union. Currently, twenty European states share the same currency, the euro (€). Another of the peculiarities of the European economy is the fact that several states with a small territorial extension, without major natural resources and without having coasts, have prosperous economies and a high standard of living. Such is the case of Andorra, Luxembourg, Switzerland or Liechtenstein, as well as Monaco, although the latter has coasts on the Mediterranean.

The dynamics of the European economy have been affected in the last fifty years by two major changes in the world economy. The first of these has been globalization. Because of it, much of the industrial activity has moved to the Far East, and because of it, Europe has based an increasing percentage of its economy on high-tech sectors and financial services. This has largely caused the financialization of the productive economy, which, due to a series of poor designs and poor regulation, triggered the Great Recession of 2008, which was especially acute in many regions of Europe and had political effects and the growth of rejection of deepening. of political union in the European Union. Thus, in 2016, the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union was approved, a fact that gave credibility to euroscepticism in other European countries.

Currency

Official flag of the European Union.

Countries	Currency
	Euro (€, EUR)
	Sterling pound (£, GBP)
	Swiss franc (CHF)
	Russian Ruble (RUB)
	Danish krona
	Lek
	Belarusian Ruble (BYR)
	convertible framework (BHK)
	Lev (BGN)
	Hungarian Florin
	Icelandic crown (ISK)
	Tenge (KZT)
	Dinar macedonio (MKD)
	Leu mouldavo (MDL)
	Crown (kr, NOK)
	Złoty (PLN)
	Czech crown (CZK)
	Leu (RON)
	Dinar (RSD)
	Crown (kr, SEK)
	Grivnia (UAH)

Demographics

|

The current European population is, for the most part, phenotypically Caucasian, and is divided into three large groups:

• The germans, which tend to have a clear and pink white skin pigment, blond hair, red or light chestnut and blue, green and honey-avellan eyes. They are mainly in Scandinavia, Germany, British Islands, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, northern France and Italy, etc.
• The Greeks, who mostly have white skin with a light blond (mixed cheeks) on the face, dark hair, which can go from black to light chestnut. They give brown, green, gray or blue eyes. Inhabit Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Romania and Greece.
• The Slavs, which occupy mostly eastern Europe (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and some Balkan countries). But in the middle regions between these three groups, there are many populations that have characteristics of all.

There are also other population groups that do not belong to these three majorities such as Jews, Albanians, Gypsies, Turks, Lapps, etc.

There were several ethnic groups that, over the centuries, invaded the European continent, among them we highlight the Iberians, Celts, Germans, Vikings (Germanic), Latins or Romans (Italic), Etruscans (Italic), Hellenic, Slavic, etc. Later considered autochthonous of that continent, to which is added migration from the Asian continent: Phoenicians, Arabs, Jews and Gypsies among others.

There are other types of immigrants today, including Far Eastern Asians and those from Africa, Central America, and South America.

Population characteristics

Proportion of the population aged 65 or over (% total population) to 2008 and 2018. Source: Eurostat

Regarding the demographic situation, it is worth highlighting the fact that in the European continent most of its inhabitants correspond to an adult population between 30 and 50 years of age, with progressive aging and a marked decrease in the population youth. This situation is already worrying in several European countries, such as Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, the Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Greece and the United Kingdom, where there is an inverted population pyramid with a low population youth and especially children. This phenomenon also occurs in Eastern Europe, where, in the 1990s, the fall of communism caused a collapse in the already low birthrate within the European communist countries, together with a sharp increase in mortality. In recent years, the drop in birth rates in the former communist bloc has eased, which has allowed a recovery of birth rates closer to the current population stabilization (1.5 children per woman). In countries such as Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Iceland, the aging process has also been installed in society, which causes the population of these countries to decrease annually and not even immigration can cover this problem. Together with Japan (Asia), the latter lead in countries with the oldest demographics in the world. However, the situation with respect to the difference between birth and mortality has already been balanced lately.

Tampere is one of the most attractive cities in Finland and the Nordic countries.

Sami family in 1900.

Another characteristic feature of European demography is the high rate of immigration. In this regard, Spain stands out in recent years: from having a foreign population of less than 100,000 inhabitants in 1999, it has grown to several million, now over 10% of the population, and has become the leading European recipient of immigration, surpassing even the countries that were traditionally the recipients of immigration, such as Germany, France or the United Kingdom. In the case of Spain, it went from 39 million inhabitants in 1999, and with a pronounced drop in the population from the 42 million that had occurred in the years prior to 1999, to 45 million in 2006, without including illegal immigration; This fact served the Spanish government to increase the weight within the European Parliament, by receiving more seats for its population.

The problems associated with the aging of the population can be summarized in two parts, lower economic growth due to imbalances in the social system and a feature of less innovation within aging societies, and maintenance of the pension system, whose balance of payments is seriously damaged when the number of pensioners exceeds the number of workers. For these two reasons, because it is considered a complement to international aid systems, and because of the fait accompli policy, some European governments have supported immigration in times of economic prosperity or to alleviate the aforementioned problems.

Population by sex

In most of the countries of the continent, women outnumber men, except Andorra, Albania, Iceland and the British colony of Gibraltar. In these countries, the male population is the majority, although there are certain variations between Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Males under the age of 65 are the majority, mainly in countries such as Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries, and others. In addition, in these countries, the percentage number of men is growing and over time could equal or exceed women. In countries like Spain, Italy and Portugal, the population of both sexes is almost balanced, especially in the youth stage, followed by adulthood and the elderly. In most Eastern European countries, such as the former Soviet Union and the rest of the Balkans, women under 65 and over 64 are in the majority, and men are in the minority by several tenths of a percentage. This is due to the wars unleashed in the Balkans, as men are forced into compulsory military service, which has caused them to decline considerably. Its growth will then only depend on the number of births.

Gender diversity and homosexuality

The LGBT community is more influential in Europe than in any other region of the world. According to a Eurobarometer study, in most Western European countries between 70 and 98% of citizens from different countries accept homosexuality and equal marriage, among which are the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Portugal, Austria and Malta. On the opposite side, in Eastern European countries less than 55% for each country have the same opinion, being Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia and Bulgaria. Various surveys have estimated that in several European countries the rate of homosexuals and lesbians are a visible segment despite being a minority; for example, they make up 22% of the Dutch, 14% of the French and 8.5% of the British. Similarly, in Europe are the first countries where same-sex marriage was made legal, currently existing as such in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Portugal, France, Austria, Malta, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom. In other western and some eastern countries there is only a civil union.

Languages

Languages of Europe.

Only 3% of all the world's languages are indigenous to Europe, making the continent one of the least linguistically diverse regions in the world. Even so, Europe is a region with some linguistic diversity, as there is a large number of regional languages, which belong to different phylogenetic groups. Among the European languages are:

• From the indo-European group:
  • Baltic languages: Latvian and Lithuanian.
  • Celtic languages: Breton, Corn, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Irish and Mane.
  • Slavic languages: Belarusian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Slovak, Slovenian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Sorabo and Ukrainian.
  • Germanic languages: German, Danish, Russian, Flemish, Frisian, English, Icelandic, Luxembourgish, Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish.
  • Romance languages (Latin origins): Aragonese, Asturleonian or bable, Asturian, Catalan, Corsoon, Dalmatian, Spanish, French, Galician, Galloitálico, Italian, Ladino, Latin, Leonés, Mirandés, Napolitano, Occitan, Portuguese, Retromance, Romanian, Sardoll, Sicilian, and Vaccitan.
  • Other Indo-European languages: Albanian, Armenian, Greek and Roma.
• From the Turkic group: Azeri, Kazakh and Turkish.
• From the Ugrophine group: Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian and lap (sami).
• Other linguistic groups:
  • Euskera
  • Georgian
  • Maltese
• Planned languages: Esperanto (in all countries of the continent), interslavo (in the Slavic countries), gone, interlingua and volapük by some people.

According to data from Ethnologue, the five most widely spoken mother tongues in Europe are Russian, German, French, English and Italian. However, by the total number of speakers (mother tongue plus second language), the five most widely spoken languages in Europe are English, French, Russian, German and Spanish. Likewise, the five most widely spoken European languages in the world (mother tongue plus second language) are English, Spanish, French, Russian and Portuguese.

In addition, the migratory processes that became important from the second half of the XX century, caused them to settle in Europe significant minorities of people whose languages are of allochthonous origin. Among the allochthonous languages, the languages of Africa (particularly from the Semitic, Berber and Niger-Congo groups) and the languages of Asia (particularly the Indo-Iranian and Sinitic, which are also the most numerous in Asia itself) stand out. By country, it can be seen that European countries with an outstanding colonial history tend to receive immigrants from their former colonies, which is why a certain number of minority languages spoken in the former colonies are also spoken.

Religion

Religions of Europe.

Religious ensembles:

• Protestant Northern Europe (United Kingdom, Scandinavia, northern Germany, northern Switzerland, Estonia and Latvia).
• Eastern Orthodox Europe (Greece, Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Georgia, Romania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Armenia).
• Europe of the South, of the West and of the Catholic Centre (Catholic City, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Czech Republic, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Luxembourg, Rest of Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Lithuania, Belarus, South Germany, Poland, Austria, Croatia).

Catholics are the majority in 23 countries,^{[citation required]} Protestants in 13, ^{[citation required]} sup> Orthodox in 11^{[citation needed]}, Sunni Muslims in three (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkey) plus the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Muslims Shiites in Azerbaijan.

There are religious minorities within these large groups:

• The Jews are present in Europe since the time of the Roman Empire, have been persecuted since the Middle Ages and suffered a total extermination policy during the Second World War.
• Islam is present in the Balkans, formerly subjected to the Ottoman Empire (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia), in Turkey (both in its 97 % Asian and in its 3 % European continent), in Russia (Tatarstan, Republic of Baskortostan, Republic of the North Caucasus), Azerbaijan and, as a result of immigration, in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium,
• Religions of extreme east: sintoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucionism. The only mostly Buddhist region in Europe is the Republic of Kalmukia, in the south-west of European Russia.
• There are flourishing communities of Bahá'í faith in all countries.
• Atheism is minority (but growing): according to the work of J. Baudérot, Religion and secularism in Europe of the 121994, page 259: a quarter of the EU population would be "non-religious" and 5% of Europeans would be atheists. A survey conducted to 21 countries on 21 000 people and published in December 2004 announced that 25% of East Europeans declare atheists against 12 percent in Central and Eastern European countries. In the case of the ex-communist countries of Eastern Europe, atheism is maintained or reduced from the 1990s to now, if not, in Central Europe and mainly Nordic atheism has risen in the same period. According to some religious surveys conducted by the Wall Street Journal, Euro barometer, etc., atheism and agnosticism are distributed this way: 1 % in Turkey, 6 % in Romania, 6 % in Ireland,^{[chuckles]required]} 8 % in Greece, 9 % in Switzerland, 10% in Bulgaria, 11 % in Poland, 14 % in Scotland, 14 % in Italy, 17 % in Ireland,^{[chuckles]required]} 20% in Ukraine, 22 % in Norway, 23 % in Austria, 24.9 % in Spain, 26 % in Germany, 27.8 % in Belgium, 29 % in England, 32 % in Finland, 34 % in France, 36 % in Russia, 41 % in the Netherlands, 44 % in Denmark, 46 % in Sweden; and finally in Czechia and Estonia represent more than half being 51 % in the first and 55 % in the second, both

Culture

Talking about European culture is difficult because many cultures have followed one another in Europe (and often have assimilated non-European contributions) for thousands of years. A definition of the culture of Europe must necessarily take into account the geographical limits of the continent.

• 

  Nobel Prize

• 

  Eurovision Song Festival (ABBA)

• 

  European Film Academy

• 

  UEFA Champions League

• 

  European Space Agency

Architecture

The Basilica of Saint Peter is an example of European architecture.

Since ancient times, many of the main architectural trends have developed throughout Europe, even beyond its borders. In the first millennium BC, the Greeks founded colonies throughout the Mediterranean, followed by the Romans; they exported their architecture, their sculpture, and their literature to the countries they occupied. Original artistic movements developed on the periphery of these territories, in contact with the Celtic and Iberian civilizations... But the place of this culture is more important in the Mediterranean world (the Mare Nostrum) than in Europe itself (Greco-Roman art is particularly well represented in North Africa and the Middle East). In the north, the architects are influenced by the Celtic culture, which had a notable mastery of metals and copper.

However, the Roman civilization surpassed the Mediterranean coast after the Gallic Wars, reaching the Rhine and the limits of Scotland. The invasions at the end of the Roman Empire disturbed the situation: Greco-Roman art became extinct with the decline of the big cities, while Germanic-inspired art spread, rougher and more rustic, related to Celtic art. However, since the Byzantine Empire remained in the East, its architectural canons, and the use of mosaics developed in Italy; this country remained open to Byzantine influences until the capture of Constantinople by Islamic Turks from Asia in 1453, although the invading Ottoman Turks themselves developed "their own Islamic art" from Byzantine art with works such as the Blue Mosque by the convert Sinan, who was largely based on the medieval Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia.

Sports

Football

Europe is the cradle of modern football. In the mid 19th century the rules were created in England, and some years later it spread throughout the continent thanks to students, engineers, sailors, soldiers and businessmen. European football organizations include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, European Cup Winners' Cup, European Super Cup and the Intertoto Cup.