Essential Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on
Europe.
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Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power by Niall Ferguson
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Europe
Satellite Image of Europe
The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. See talk:Europe (and MediaWiki talk:Europe)
Europe is a continent whose boundaries are generally regarded as being: the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Ural Mountains and Ural River in the east, the Caspian Sea, Caucasus mountains and Black Sea in the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Together with Asia, Europe forms the supercontinent Eurasia: Europe is the western fifth of the Eurasian landmass.
In terms of area, Europe is the world's second smallest continent, with an area of 10,400,000 km˛ (4,000,000 square miles), making it slightly larger than Oceania.
In terms of population it is the third largest continent after Asia and Africa. The population of Europe in 2001 was estimated to be 666,498,000: roughly one seventh of the world's population.
Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide")
1 Etymology
1.1 Mythology
2 History
3 Geography and Extent
4 Independent Countries
4.1 Notes
5 Dependant Nations
6 Regions in Europe
7 See also
8 External links
Etymology
According to Homer the name Europe (Greek: Εύρώπη) was originally given to central Greece. Later it stood for mainland Greece and by 500 BC its meaning was extended to all the lands of the north.
The term Europe is often said to derive from Greek words meaning broad (eurys) and face (ops). Many, however, see a Semitic origin, pointing to the Semitic word ereb which means "sunset". From a Middle Eastern viewpoint, the sun sets over Europe: the lands to the west.
Mythology
Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted by a bull-shaped Zeus.
History
Main article: History of Europe
Europe has a long history of great cultural and economic achievement, starting as far back as the Bronze Age. The origin of Western culture is generally attributed to the ancient Greeks, and the Roman Empire spanned the entire continent for many centuries. Following the decline of the Roman Empire, Europe entered a long period of stasis, refered to by enlightenment thinkers as the Dark Ages and by most modern historians, the Middle Ages. During this time isolated monastic communities in Ireland and elsewhere carefully safeguarded and compiled knowledge accumulated previously. The Dark Ages came to an end with the Renaissance and the New Monarchs, marking the start of a period of discovery, exploration, and increase in scientific knowledge. From the 15th century European nations, particularly Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain, built large colonial empires, with vast holdings in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. The Industrial Revolution started in Europe in the 18th century, leading to much greater general prosperity and a corresponding increase in population. After World War II, and until the end of the Cold War, Europe was divided into two major political and economic blocks: Communist nations in Eastern Europe and capitalistic countries in Western Europe. Around 1990 the Eastern block broke up.
Geography and Extent
Political map in 2004
Geographically Europe is a part of the larger landmass known as Eurasia. The continent begins at the Ural Mountains in Russia, which defines Europe's eastern boundary with Asia. The boundary with Asia continues along the Ural River, and the Caucasus Mountains to the south.
In practice the borders of Europe are often drawn with greater regard to political, economic, and other cultural considerations. This has led to there being several different "Europes" that are not always identical in size, including or excluding countries according to the definition of "Europe" used.
The idea of a European "continent" is not universally held. Many non-European geographical texts refer to a Eurasian Continent, or to a European "sub-continent", given that "Europe" is not surrounded by sea and is, in any case, much more a cultural than a geographically definable area. In the past concepts such as "Christendom" were deemed more important.
Increasingly, the word "Europe" is being used as a synonym for the European Union (EU) and its member states. 25 European states currently belong to the EU. A number of other European states are negotiating for membership and several more are expected to begin negotiations in the future. Almost all European states are members of the Council of Europe, the exceptions being Belarus, the Holy See, and Monaco.
Independent Countries
Europe comprises the following independent countries (in alphabetical order):
Notes
Russia extends across Asia all the way to the Pacific Ocean; however, only that portion of Russia lying west of the Ural Mountains is considered to be part of continental Europe.
Dependant Nations
The nations listed below are recognised as being culturally and geographically defined. All have a degree of autonomy. In brackets is the state which administers the nation.
Regions in Europe see Regions of Europe
A colour-coded map showing the regions of Europe
Western Europe (Red)
British Isles
United Kingdom, Ireland
French Region
France, Monaco
Benelux
Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg
Central Europe (Blue)
Alpine Countries
Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia
Visegrad Group
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary
Eastern Europe, see Northern Eurasia (Brown)
Baltic States
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
European CIS States
Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia
Caucasus
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia
Northern Europe, see Scandinavia (Purple)
Nordic Countries
Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark
Southern Europe (Green)
Iberian Peninsula
Spain, Portugal, Andorra
Italian peninsula
Italy, Vatican City, San Marino
Balkan Peninsula
Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia & Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria
Asia Minor
Turkey
Mediterranean States
Cyprus, Malta
See also
External links
Continents of the World
Asia | Africa | North America | South America | Antarctica | Europe | Australia
(The Pacific Islands, also called Oceania, are not part of any continent)
Europe
Albania | Andorra | Austria | Belarus | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Croatia | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Ireland | Italy | Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Macedonia | Malta | Moldova | Monaco | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Russia | San Marino | Serbia and Montenegro | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey | Ukraine | United Kingdom | Vatican City
Dependencies
Faroe Islands | Gibraltar | Guernsey | Isle of Man | Jersey
{{msg:Regions of Europe}}
The above article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
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