Europe
 | This article lists the same citations more than once. The reason given is: DuplicateReferences detected: (September 2024)
|
| Time zones | UTC−1 to UTC+5 |
|---|---|
| Largest cities | Largest urban areas: |
| UN M49 code | 150 – Europe001 – World |
| "Europe" as defined by the International Monetary Fund | |
Europe is a
Europe covers about 10.18 million km2 (3.93 million sq mi), or 2% of Earth's surface (6.8% of land area), making it the second-smallest continent (using the seven-continent model). Politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states, of which Russia is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a total population of about 745 million (about 10% of the world population) in 2021; the third-largest after Asia and Africa.[2][3] The European climate is affected by warm Atlantic currents, such as the Gulf Stream, which produce a temperate climate, tempering winters and summers, on much of the continent. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable producing more continental climates.
The Age of Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars shaped the continent culturally, politically, and economically from the end of the 17th century until the first half of the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe and eventually the wider world. Both world wars began and were fought to a great extent in Europe, contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the Soviet Union and the United States took prominence and competed over dominance in Europe and globally.[15] The resulting Cold War divided Europe along the Iron Curtain, with NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East. This divide ended with the Revolutions of 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which allowed European integration to advance significantly.
European integration is being advanced institutionally since 1948 with the founding of the
Name
The place name Evros was first used by the ancient Greeks to refer to their northernmost province, which bears the same name today. The principal river there – Evros (today's Maritsa) – flows through the fertile valleys of Thrace,[18] which itself was also called Europe, before the term meant the continent.[19]
In classical
There have been attempts to connect Eurṓpē to a Semitic term for west, this being either Akkadian erebu meaning 'to go down, set' (said of the sun) or Phoenician 'ereb 'evening, west',[25] which is at the origin of Arabic maghreb and Hebrew ma'arav. Martin Litchfield West stated that "phonologically, the match between Europa's name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor",[26] while Beekes considers a connection to Semitic languages improbable.[24]
Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent. Chinese, for example, uses the word Ōuzhōu (歐洲/欧洲), which is an abbreviation of the transliterated name Ōuluóbā zhōu (歐羅巴洲) (zhōu means "continent"); a similar Chinese-derived term Ōshū (欧州) is also sometimes used in Japanese such as in the Japanese name of the European Union, Ōshū Rengō (欧州連合), despite the katakana Yōroppa (ヨーロッパ) being more commonly used. In some Turkic languages, the originally Persian name Frangistan ("land of the Franks") is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa.[27]
Definition
Contemporary definition
Clickable map of Europe, showing one of the most commonly used ; green: countries not geographically in Europe, but closely associated with the continent
Atlantic
Ocean
The prevalent definition of Europe as a geographical term has been in use since the mid-19th century. Europe is taken to be bounded by large bodies of water to the north, west and south; Europe's limits to the east and north-east are usually taken to be the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, and the Caspian Sea; to the south-east, the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea, and the waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.[28]
Islands are generally grouped with the nearest continental landmass, hence Iceland is considered to be part of Europe, while the nearby island of Greenland is usually assigned to North America, although politically belonging to Denmark. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions based on sociopolitical and cultural differences. Cyprus is closest to Anatolia (or Asia Minor), but is considered part of Europe politically[29] and it is a member state of the EU. Malta was considered an island of North-western Africa for centuries, but now it is considered to be part of Europe as well.[30] "Europe", as used specifically in British English, may also refer to Continental Europe exclusively.[31]
The term "continent" usually implies the
The current division of Eurasia into two continents now reflects
History of the concept
Early history
The first recorded usage of Eurṓpē as a geographic term is in the
The convention received by the
who took the Tanais (the modern Don River) as the boundary.The Roman Empire did not attach a strong identity to the concept of continental divisions. However, following the fall of the
A cultural definition of Europe as the lands of
Modern definitions
The question of defining a precise eastern boundary of Europe arises in the Early Modern period, as the eastern extension of
Around 1715,
Four years later, in 1725,
The mapmakers continued to differ on the boundary between the lower Don and Samara well into the 19th century. The 1745 atlas published by the Russian Academy of Sciences has the boundary follow the Don beyond Kalach as far as Serafimovich before cutting north towards Arkhangelsk, while other 18th- to 19th-century mapmakers such as John Cary followed Strahlenberg's prescription. To the south, the Kuma–Manych Depression was identified c. 1773 by a German naturalist, Peter Simon Pallas, as a valley that once connected the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea,[46][47] and subsequently was proposed as a natural boundary between continents.
By the mid-19th century, there were three main conventions, one following the Don, the
In
Some view the separation of Eurasia into Asia and Europe as a residue of Eurocentrism: "In physical, cultural and historical diversity, China and India are comparable to the entire European landmass, not to a single European country. [...]."[55]
History
Prehistory
During the 2.5 million years of the
The
The modern native populations of Europe largely descend from three distinct lineages:
Classical antiquity
Ancient Greece was the founding culture of Western civilisation. Western
Greece was followed by
Expanding from their base in central Italy beginning in the third century BCE, the Romans gradually expanded to eventually rule the entire Mediterranean basin and Western Europe by the turn of the millennium. The
Early Middle Ages
During the
Isolated monastic communities were the only places to safeguard and compile written knowledge accumulated previously; apart from this, very few written records survive. Much literature, philosophy, mathematics, and other thinking from the classical period disappeared from Western Europe, though they were preserved in the east, in the Byzantine Empire.[91]
While the Roman empire in the west continued to decline, Roman traditions and the Roman state remained strong in the predominantly Greek-speaking
From the 7th century onwards, as the Byzantines and neighbouring
During the Dark Ages, the
High and Late Middle Ages
The period between the year 1000 and 1250 is known as the High Middle Ages, followed by the Late Middle Ages until c. 1500.
During the High Middle Ages the population of Europe experienced significant growth, culminating in the
The Middle Ages on the mainland were dominated by the two upper echelons of the social structure: the nobility and the clergy.
The
In the east, a resurgent Byzantine Empire recaptured Crete and Cyprus from the Muslims, and reconquered the Balkans. Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe from the 9th to the 12th centuries, with a population of approximately 400,000.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic
The
The plague had a devastating effect on Europe's social structure; it induced people to live for the moment as illustrated by
Early modern period
The Renaissance was a period of cultural change originating in
Political intrigue within the Church in the mid-14th century caused the
The Church's power was further weakened by the
The 17th century in Central and parts of Eastern Europe was a period of general
From the 15th to 18th centuries, when the disintegrating khanates of the
The Renaissance and the
18th and 19th centuries
The Seven Years' War brought to an end the "Old System" of alliances in Europe. Consequently, when the American Revolutionary War turned into a global war between 1778 and 1783, Britain found itself opposed by a strong coalition of European powers, and lacking any substantial ally.[164]
The Age of Enlightenment was a powerful intellectual movement during the 18th century promoting scientific and reason-based thoughts.
In parallel, the
The
20th century to the present
Two world wars and an economic depression dominated the first half of the 20th century. The First World War was fought between 1914 and 1918. It started when
Russia was plunged into the
.jpg)
The
In 1933, Hitler became the leader of Germany and began to work towards his goal of building Greater Germany. Germany re-expanded and took back the Saarland and Rhineland in 1935 and 1936. In 1938, Austria became a part of Germany following the Anschluss. Following the Munich Agreement signed by Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, later in 1938 Germany annexed the Sudetenland, which was a part of Czechoslovakia inhabited by ethnic Germans. In early 1939, the remainder of Czechoslovakia was split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, controlled by Germany and the Slovak Republic. At the time, the United Kingdom and France preferred a policy of appeasement.
With tensions mounting between Germany and
In May 1940, Germany attacked France through the Low Countries. France capitulated in June 1940. By August, Germany had begun a bombing offensive against the United Kingdom but failed to convince the Britons to give up.[209] In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.[210] On 7 December 1941 Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor drew the United States into the conflict as allies of the British Empire, and other allied forces.[211][212]
_(B%26W).jpg)
After the staggering Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, the German offensive in the Soviet Union turned into a continual fallback. The Battle of Kursk, which involved the largest tank battle in history, was the last major German offensive on the Eastern Front. In June 1944, British and American forces invaded France in the D-Day landings, opening a new front against Germany. Berlin finally fell in 1945, ending the Second World War in Europe. The war was the largest and most destructive in human history, with 60 million dead across the world.[213] More than 40 million people in Europe had died as a result of the Second World War,[214] including between 11 and 17 million people who perished during the Holocaust.[215] The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people (mostly civilians) during the war, about half of all Second World War casualties.[216] By the end of the Second World War, Europe had more than 40 million refugees.[217][218][219] Several post-war expulsions in Central and Eastern Europe displaced a total of about 20 million people.[220]
The First World War, and especially the Second World War, diminished the eminence of Western Europe in world affairs. After the Second World War the map of Europe was redrawn at the
The two new
In the 1980s the
Geography
Europe makes up the western fifth of the Eurasian landmass.[28] It has a higher ratio of coast to landmass than any other continent or subcontinent.[240] Its maritime borders consist of the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas to the south.[241] Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions are more mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high
This description is simplified. Subregions such as the Iberian Peninsula and the Italian Peninsula contain their own complex features, as does mainland Central Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys and basins that complicate the general trend. Sub-regions like Iceland, Britain and Ireland are special cases. The former is a land unto itself in the northern ocean that is counted as part of Europe, while the latter are upland areas that were once joined to the mainland until rising sea levels cut them off.
Climate
Europe lies mainly in the
Therefore, the average temperature throughout the year of Aveiro is 16 °C (61 °F), while it is only 13 °C (55 °F) in New York City which is almost on the same latitude, bordering the same ocean. Berlin, Germany; Calgary, Canada; and Irkutsk, in far south-eastern Russia, lie on around the same latitude; January temperatures in Berlin average around 8 °C (14 °F) higher than those in Calgary and they are almost 22 °C (40 °F) higher than average temperatures in Irkutsk.[242]
The large water masses of the
In general, Europe is not just colder towards the north compared to the south, but it also gets colder from the west towards the east. The climate is more oceanic in the west and less so in the east. This can be illustrated by the following table of average temperatures at locations roughly following the 64th, 60th, 55th, 50th, 45th and 40th
| Location | Latitude | Longitude | Coldest month |
Hottest month |
Annual average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjavík | 64 N | 22 W | 0.1 | 11.2 | 4.7 |
| Umeå | 64 N | 20 E | −6.2 | 16.0 | 3.9 |
| Oulu | 65 N | 25.5 E | −9.6 | 16.5 | 2.7 |
| Arkhangelsk | 64.5 N | 40.5 E | −12.7 | 16.3 | 1.3 |
| Lerwick | 60 N | 1 W | 3.5 | 12.4 | 7.4 |
| Stockholm | 59.5 N | 19 E | −1.7 | 18.4 | 7.4 |
| Helsinki | 60 N | 25 E | −4.7 | 17.8 | 5.9 |
| Saint Petersburg | 60 N | 30 E | −5.8 | 18.8 | 5.8 |
| Edinburgh | 55.5 N | 3 W | 4.2 | 15.3 | 9.3 |
| Copenhagen | 55.5 N | 12 E | 1.4 | 18.1 | 9.1 |
| Klaipėda | 55.5 N | 21 E | −1.3 | 17.9 | 8.0 |
| Moscow | 55.5 N | 30 E | −6.5 | 19.2 | 5.8 |
| Isles of Scilly | 50 N | 6 W | 7.9 | 16.9 | 11.8 |
| Brussels | 50.5 N | 4 E | 3.3 | 18.4 | 10.5 |
| Kraków | 50 N | 20 E | −2.0 | 19.2 | 8.7 |
| Kyiv | 50.5 N | 30 E | −3.5 | 20.5 | 8.4 |
| Bordeaux | 45 N | 0 | 6.6 | 21.4 | 13.8 |
| Venice | 45.5 N | 12 E | 3.3 | 23.0 | 13.0 |
| Belgrade | 45 N | 20 E | 1.4 | 23.0 | 12.5 |
| Astrakhan | 46 N | 48 E | −3.7 | 25.6 | 10.5 |
| Coimbra | 40 N | 8 W | 9.9 | 21.9 | 16.0 |
| Valencia | 39.5 N | 0 | 11.9 | 26.1 | 18.3 |
| Naples | 40.5 N | 14 E | 8.7 | 24.9 | 15.9 |
| Istanbul | 41 N | 29 E | 5.5 | 23.4 | 13.9 |
[245] It is notable how the average temperatures for the coldest month, as well as the annual average temperatures, drop from the west to the east. For instance, Edinburgh is warmer than Belgrade during the coldest month of the year, although Belgrade is around 10° of latitude farther south.
Climate change
Geology
The geological history of Europe traces back to the formation of the
The geology of Europe is hugely varied and complex and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from the Scottish Highlands to the rolling plains of Hungary.[252] Europe's most significant feature is the dichotomy between highland and mountainous Southern Europe and a vast, partially underwater, northern plain ranging from Ireland in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and Alps/Carpathians. The northern plains are delimited in the west by the Scandinavian Mountains and the mountainous parts of the British Isles. Major shallow water bodies submerging parts of the northern plains are the Celtic Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea complex and Barents Sea.
The northern plain contains the old geological continent of
Flora
Having lived side by side with agricultural peoples for millennia, Europe's animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of humans. With the exception of Fennoscandia and northern Russia, few areas of untouched wilderness are currently found in Europe, except for various national parks.
The main natural vegetation cover in Europe is mixed forest. The conditions for growth are very favourable. In the north, the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift warm the continent. Southern Europe has a warm but mild climate. There are frequent summer droughts in this region. Mountain ridges also affect the conditions. Some of these, such as the Alps and the Pyrenees, are oriented east–west and allow the wind to carry large masses of water from the ocean in the interior. Others are oriented south–north (Scandinavian Mountains, Dinarides, Carpathians, Apennines) and because the rain falls primarily on the side of mountains that is oriented towards the sea, forests grow well on this side, while on the other side, the conditions are much less favourable. Few corners of mainland Europe have not been grazed by livestock at some point in time, and the cutting down of the preagricultural forest habitat caused disruption to the original plant and animal ecosystems.
.png)
Possibly 80 to 90 percent of Europe was once covered by forest.
In temperate Europe, mixed forest with both broadleaf and coniferous trees dominate. The most important species in central and western Europe are beech and oak. In the north, the taiga is a mixed spruce–pine–birch forest; further north within Russia and extreme northern Scandinavia, the taiga gives way to tundra as the Arctic is approached. In the Mediterranean, many olive trees have been planted, which are very well adapted to its arid climate; Mediterranean Cypress is also widely planted in southern Europe. The semi-arid Mediterranean region hosts much scrub forest. A narrow east–west tongue of Eurasian grassland (the steppe) extends westwards from Ukraine and southern Russia and ends in Hungary and traverses into taiga to the north.
Fauna
Glaciation during the
Other carnivores include the European wildcat, red fox and arctic fox, the golden jackal, different species of martens, the European hedgehog, different species of reptiles (like snakes such as vipers and grass snakes) and amphibians, as well as different birds (owls, hawks and other birds of prey).
Important European herbivores are snails, larvae, fish, different birds and mammals, like rodents, deer and roe deer, boars and living in the mountains, marmots, steinbocks, chamois among others. A number of insects, such as the small tortoiseshell butterfly, add to the biodiversity.[257]
Sea creatures are also an important part of European flora and fauna. The sea flora is mainly
Biodiversity is protected in Europe through the Council of Europe's
Politics
The political map of Europe is substantially derived from the re-organisation of Europe following the
27 European states are members of the politico-economic European Union, 26 of the border-free Schengen Area and 20 of the monetary union Eurozone. Among the smaller European organisations are the Nordic Council, the Benelux, the Baltic Assembly, and the Visegrád Group.
The least
List of states and territories
This list includes all internationally recognised sovereign countries falling even partially under any common geographical or political definitions of Europe.
| * | = Member state of the EU[260] |
| Arms | Flag | Name | Area (km2) |
Population |
Population density (per km2) |
Capital | Name(s) in official language(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Albania | 28,748 | 2,876,591 | 98.5 | Tirana | Shqipëria |
|
|
Andorra | 468 | 77,281 | 179.8 | Andorra la Vella | Andorra |
|
|
Armenia[j] | 29,743 | 2,924,816 | 101.5 | Yerevan | Հայաստան (Hayastan) |
|
|
Austria* | 83,858 | 8,823,054 | 104 | Vienna | Österreich |
|
|
Azerbaijan[k] | 86,600 | 9,911,646 | 113 | Baku | Azərbaycan |
|
|
Belarus | 207,560 | 9,504,700 | 45.8 | Minsk | Беларусь (Belaruś) |
|
|
Belgium* | 30,528 | 11,358,357 | 372.06 | Brussels | België/Belgique/Belgien |
|
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 51,129 | 3,531,159 | 68.97 | Sarajevo | Bosna i Hercegovina/Боснa и Херцеговина |
|
|
Bulgaria* | 110,910 | 7,101,859 | 64.9 | Sofia | България (Bǎlgariya) |
|
|
Croatia* | 56,594 | 3,871,833 | 68.4 | Zagreb | Hrvatska |
|
|
Cyprus*[d] | 9,251 | 1,170,125 | 123.4 | Nicosia | Κύπρος (Kýpros)/Kıbrıs |
|
|
Czech Republic* | 78,866 | 10,610,947 | 134 | Prague | Česko |
|
|
Denmark* | 43,094 | 5,748,796 | 133.9 | Copenhagen | Danmark |
|
|
Estonia* | 45,226 | 1,328,439 | 30.5 | Tallinn | Eesti |
|
|
Finland* | 338,455 | 5,509,717 | 16 | Helsinki | Suomi/Finland |
|
|
France*[g] | 547,030 | 67,348,000 | 116 | Paris | France |
|
|
Georgia[l] | 69,700 | 3,718,200 | 53.5 | Tbilisi | საქართველო (Sakartvelo) |
|
|
Germany* | 357,168 | 82,800,000 | 232 | Berlin | Deutschland |
|
|
Greece* | 131,957 | 10,297,760 | 82 | Athens | Ελλάδα (Elláda) |
|
|
Hungary* | 93,030 | 9,797,561 | 105.3 | Budapest | Magyarország |
|
|
Iceland | 103,000 | 350,710 | 3.2 | Reykjavík | Ísland |
|
|
Ireland* | 70,280 | 4,761,865 | 67.7 | Dublin | Éire/Ireland |
|
|
Italy* | 301,338 | 58,968,501 | 195.7 | Rome | Italia |
|
|
Kazakhstan[i] | 148,000 | 20,075,271 | 7 | Astana | Қазақстан (Qazaqstan) |
|
|
Latvia* | 64,589 | 1,862,700 | 29 | Riga | Latvija |
|
|
Liechtenstein | 160 | 38,111 | 227 | Vaduz | Liechtenstein |
|
|
Lithuania* | 65,300 | 2,800,667 | 45.8 | Vilnius | Lietuva |
|
|
Luxembourg* | 2,586 | 602,005 | 233.7 | Luxembourg City | Lëtzebuerg/Luxemburg/Luxembourg |
|
|
Malta* | 316 | 445,426 | 1,410 | Valletta | Malta |
|
|
Moldova[a] | 33,846 | 3,434,547 | 101.5 | Chișinău | Moldova |
|
|
Monaco | 2.020 | 38,400 | 18,713 | Monaco | Monaco |
|
|
Montenegro | 13,812 | 642,550 | 45.0 | Podgorica | Crna Gora/Црна Гора |
|
|
Netherlands*[h] | 41,543 | 17,271,990 | 414.9 | Amsterdam | Nederland |
|
|
North Macedonia | 25,713 | 2,103,721 | 80.1 | Skopje | Северна Македонија (Severna Makedonija) |
|
|
Norway | 385,203 | 5,295,619 | 15.8 | Oslo | Norge/Noreg/Norga |
|
|
Poland* | 312,685 | 38,422,346 | 123.5 | Warsaw | Polska |
|
|
Portugal*[e] | 92,212 | 10,379,537 | 115 | Lisbon | Portugal |
|
|
Romania* | 238,397 | 18,999,642 | 84.4 | Bucharest | România |
|
|
Russia[b] | 3,969,100 | 144,526,636 | 8.4 | Moscow | Россия (Rossiya) |
|
|
San Marino | 61.2 | 33,285 | 520 | San Marino | San Marino |
|
|
Serbia[f] | 88,361 | 7,040,272 | 91.1 | Belgrade | Srbija/Србија |
|
|
Slovakia* | 49,035 | 5,435,343 | 111.0 | Bratislava | Slovensko |
|
|
Slovenia* | 20,273 | 2,066,880 | 101.8 | Ljubljana | Slovenija |
|
|
Spain* | 505,990 | 48,797,875 | 97 | Madrid | España |
|
|
Sweden* | 450,295 | 10,151,588 | 22.5 | Stockholm | Sverige |
|
|
Switzerland | 41,285 | 8,401,120 | 202 | Bern | Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera/Svizra |
|
Turkey[m] | 23,764 | 84,680,273 | 106.7 | Ankara | Türkiye | |
|
|
Ukraine[s] | 603,628 | 42,418,235 | 73.8 | Kyiv | Україна (Ukraina) |
|
|
United Kingdom | 244,820 | 66,040,229 | 270.7 | London | United Kingdom |
|
|
Vatican City | 0.44 | 1,000 | 2,272 | Vatican City | Città del Vaticano/Civitas Vaticana |
| Total | 50 | 10,180,000[n] | 743,000,000[n] | 73 | |||
Within the above-mentioned states are several de facto independent countries with limited to no international recognition. None of them are members of the UN:
| Symbol | Flag | Name | Area (km2) |
Population |
Population density (per km2) |
Capital
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Abkhazia[p] | 8,660 | 243,206 | 28 | Sukhumi |
|
|
Kosovo[o] | 10,908 | 1,920,079 | 159 | Pristina |
|
|
Northern Cyprus[d] | 3,355 | 313,626 | 93 | Nicosia (northern part) |
|
|
South Ossetia[p] | 3,900 | 53,532 | 13.7 | Tskhinvali |
|
|
Transnistria[a] | 4,163 | 475,665 | 114 | Tiraspol |
Several dependencies and similar territories with broad autonomy are also found within or close to Europe. This includes
| * | = Part of the EU |
| Symbol | Flag | Name | Sovereign state |
Area (km2) |
Population
|
Population density (per km2) |
Capital
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Akrotiri and Dhekelia | UK | 255 | 7,700 | 30.2 | Episkopi Cantonment | |
|
|
Åland* | Finland | 1,580 | 29,489 | 18.36 | Mariehamn |
|
|
Bailiwick of Guernsey[c] | UK | 78 | 65,849 | 844.0 | St. Peter Port
|
|
|
Bailiwick of Jersey[c] | UK | 118.2 | 100,080 | 819 | Saint Helier
|
|
|
Faroe Islands | Denmark | 1,399 | 50,778 | 35.2 | Tórshavn |
|
|
Gibraltar | UK | 6.7 | 32,194 | 4,328 | Gibraltar |
|
|
Greenland | Denmark[r] | 2,166,086 | 55,877 | 0.028 | Nuuk |
|
|
Isle of Man[c] | UK | 572 | 83,314 | 148 | Douglas |
|
|
Svalbard | Norway | 61,022 | 2,667 |
Economy
_per_capita.svg)
|
As a continent, the economy of Europe is currently the largest on Earth and it is the richest region as measured by assets under management with over $32.7 trillion compared to North America's $27.1 trillion in 2008.
The model of the Blue Banana was designed as an economic geographic representation of the respective economic power of the regions, which was further developed into the Golden Banana or Blue Star. The trade between East and West, as well as towards Asia, which had been disrupted for a long time by the two world wars, new borders and the Cold War, increased sharply after 1989. In addition, there is new impetus from the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative across the Suez Canal towards Africa and Asia.[263]
The European Union, a political entity composed of 27 European states, comprises the largest single economic area in the world. Nineteen EU countries share the euro as a common currency. Five European countries rank in the top ten of the world's largest national economies in GDP (PPP). This includes (ranks according to the CIA): Germany (6), Russia (7), the United Kingdom (10), France (11) and Italy (13).[264]
Some European countries are much richer than others. The richest in terms of nominal GDP is Monaco with its US$185,829 per capita (2018) and the poorest is Ukraine with its US$3,659 per capita (2019).[265]
As a whole, Europe's GDP per capita is US$21,767 according to a 2016 International Monetary Fund assessment.[266]
| Rank | Country | GDP (nominal, Peak Year)
millions of USD |
Peak Year |
|---|---|---|---|
 European Union[267] |
19,226,235 | 2008 | |
| 1 | Germany |
4,591,100 | 2024 |
| 2 | United Kingdom |
3,495,261 | 2024 |
| 3 | France |
3,130,014 | 2024 |
| 4 | Italy[268] |
2,408,655 | 2008 |
| 5 | Russia[269] |
2,292,470 | 2013 |
| 6 | Spain |
1,647,114 | 2024 |
| 7 | Netherlands |
1,142,513 | 2024 |
| 8 | Turkey |
1,113,561 | 2024 |
| 9 | Switzerland |
938,458 | 2024 |
| 10 | Poland |
844,623 | 2024 |
| Rank | Country | GDP (PPP, Peak Year) millions of USD |
Peak Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union[270] |
27,125,247 | 2023 | |
| 1 | Russia[271] |
6,452,309 | 2023 |
| 2 | Germany[271] |
5,857,856 | 2023 |
| 3 | France[271] |
4,169,071 | 2023 |
| 4 | United Kingdom |
4,029,438 | 2024 |
| 5 | Turkey |
3,831,533 | 2024 |
| 6 | Italy[271] |
3,452,506 | 2023 |
| 7 | Spain[271] |
2,553,108 | 2023 |
| 8 | Poland[271] |
1,814,629 | 2023 |
| 9 | Netherlands[271] |
1,398,445 | 2023 |
| 10 | Romania[271] |
912,852 | 2023 |
Economic history
- Industrial growth (1760–1945)
Capitalism has been dominant in the Western world since the end of feudalism.[272] From Britain, it gradually spread throughout Europe.[273] The Industrial Revolution started in Europe, specifically the United Kingdom in the late 18th century,[274] and the 19th century saw Western Europe industrialise. Economies were disrupted by the First World War, but by the beginning of the Second World War, they had recovered and were having to compete with the growing economic strength of the United States. The Second World War, again, damaged much of Europe's industries.
- Cold War (1945–1991)
After the Second World War the economy of the UK was in a state of ruin,
The states which retained a
- Reunification (1991–present)
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With the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1991, the post-socialist states underwent shock therapy measures to liberalise their economies and implement free market reforms.
After East and West Germany were reunited in 1990, the economy of West Germany struggled as it had to support and largely rebuild the infrastructure of East Germany, while the latter experienced sudden mass unemployment and plummeting of industrial production.
By the millennium change, the EU dominated the economy of Europe, comprising the five largest European economies of the time: Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain. In 1999, 12 of the 15 members of the EU joined the Eurozone, replacing their national currencies by the euro.
Figures released by
Demographics
The population of Europe was about 742 million in 2023 according to UN estimates.[2][3] This is slightly more than one ninth of the world's population.[v] The population density of Europe (the number of people per area) is the second highest of any continent, behind Asia. The population of Europe is currently slowly decreasing, by about 0.2% per year,[289] because there are fewer births than deaths. This natural decrease in population is reduced by the fact that more people migrate to Europe from other continents than vice versa.
Southern Europe and Western Europe are the regions with the highest average number of elderly people in the world. In 2021, the percentage of people over 65 years old was 21% in Western Europe and Southern Europe, compared to 19% in all of Europe and 10% in the world.[290] Projections suggest that by 2050 Europe will reach 30%.[291] This is caused by the fact that the population has been having children below replacement level since the 1970s. The United Nations predicts that Europe will decline in population between 2022 and 2050 by −7 per cent, without changing immigration movements.[292]
According to a population projection of the UN Population Division, Europe's population may fall to between 680 and 720 million people by 2050, which would be 7% of the world population at that time.
Ethnic groups
Pan and Pfeil (2004) count 87 distinct "peoples of Europe", of which 33 form the majority population in at least one sovereign state, while the remaining 54 constitute
Migration
Europe is home to the highest number of migrants of all global regions at nearly 87 million people in 2020, according to the
Early modern
Today,
Languages
Europe has about 225 indigenous languages,.
A distinct non-Indo-European family of
Multilingualism and the protection of regional and minority languages are recognised political goals in Europe today. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe.
Religion
Religion in Europe according to the Global Religious Landscape survey by the Pew Forum, 2016[8]
The largest religion in Europe is
The
Other religions practiced in Europe include
A large and increasing number of people in Europe are irreligious, atheist and agnostic. They are estimated to make up about 18.3% of Europe's population currently.[8]
Major cities and urban areas
The three largest urban areas of Europe are Moscow, London and Paris. All have over 10 million residents,[320] and as such have been described as megacities.[321] While Istanbul has the highest total city population, it lies partly in Asia. 64.9% of the residents live on the European side and 35.1% on the Asian side. The next largest cities in order of population are Madrid, Saint Petersburg, Milan, Barcelona, Berlin, and Rome each having over three million residents.[320]
When considering the commuter belts or metropolitan areas within Europe (for which comparable data is available), Moscow covers the largest population, followed in order by Istanbul, London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Ruhr Area, Saint Petersburg, Rhein-Süd, Barcelona and Berlin.[322]
Culture
"Europe" as a cultural concept is substantially derived from the shared heritage of
This shared cultural heritage is combined by overlapping indigenous national cultures and folklores, roughly divided into
Different cultural events are organised in Europe, with the aim of bringing different cultures closer together and raising awareness of their importance, such as the European Capital of Culture, the European Region of Gastronomy, the European Youth Capital and the European Capital of Sport.
Sport
Sport in Europe tends to be highly organized with many sports having professional leagues.
The origins of many of the world's most popular sports today lie in the codification of many traditional games, especially in the United Kingdom. However, a paradoxical feature of European sport is the extent to which local, regional and national variations continue to exist, and even in some instances to predominate.[324]Social dimension
In Europe many people are unable to access basic social conditions, which makes it harder for them to thrive and flourish. Access to basic necessities can be compromised, for example 10% of Europeans spend at least 40% of household income on housing. 75 million Europeans feel
See also
- Early modern Europe
- Eurodistrict
- European Games
- European Union as a potential superpower
- Euroregion
- Financial and social rankings of sovereign states in Europe
- Flags of Europe
- Healthcare in Europe
- List of sovereign states in Europe by GDP (nominal)
- List of European television stations
- List of names of European cities in different languages
- List of villages in Europe
- Lists of cities in Europe
- Modernity
- OSCE countries statistics
- Pan-European identity
Notes
- ^ a b Transnistria, internationally recognised as being a legal part of the Republic of Moldova, although de facto control is exercised by its internationally unrecognised government which declared independence from Moldova in 1990
- ^ Russia is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. The vast majority of its population (80%) lives within its European part.[326] However, only the population figure includes the entire state.
- ^ a b c Guernsey, the Isle of Man, and Jersey are Crown Dependencies of the United Kingdom. Other Channel Islands legislated by the Bailiwick of Guernsey include Alderney and Sark.
- ^ a b Cyprus can be considered part of Europe or West Asia; it has strong historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe. The population and area figures refer to the entire state, including the de facto independent part Northern Cyprus which is not recognised as a sovereign nation by the vast majority of sovereign nations, nor the UN.
- ^
- ^
- ^ Figures for France include only metropolitan France: some politically integral parts of France are geographically located outside Europe.
- ^ Netherlands population for November 2014. Population and area details include European portion only: Netherlands and three entities outside Europe (Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, in the Caribbean) constitute the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Amsterdam is the official capital, while The Hague is the administrative seat.
- Ural River. However, only the population figure refers to the entire country.
