Europe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the continent. For the politico-economic union, see European Union. For other
uses, see Europe (disambiguation).

Europe

Area

10,180,000 km2(3,930,000 sq mi)[n] (6th)

Population

742,452,000[n] (2013; 3rd)

Pop. density

72.9/km2 (188/sq mi) (2nd)

Demonym

European

Countries

~50 countries (and ~5 with limited recognition)

Dependencies

4 dependencies

Languages

~225 languages[1]

Time zones

UTC1 to UTC+5

Largest cities

Largest urban areas[3]

Istanbul (transcontinental)[2]
Moscow

Paris
London
Madrid
Barcelona
St. Petersburg
Rome
Berlin

Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by
the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the
south. To the east and southeast, Europe is generally considered as separated from Asia by
the watershed divides of theUral and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River,
the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways of the Turkish Straits.[4] Yet the non-oceanic borders
of Europea concept dating back to classical antiquityare arbitrary; the
primarily physiographic term "continent" as applied to Europe also incorporatescultural and
political elements whose discontinuities are not always reflected by the continent's current
boundaries.
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square
kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of
Europe's approximately 50 countries, Russia is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the
continent and comprising 15% of its population, while Vatican City is the smallest both in terms of
area and population. Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with
a population of 739743 million or about 11% of the world's population.[5] Europe has a climate
heavily affected by warm Atlantic currents that temper winters and summers on much of the
continent, even at latitudes along which the climate in Asia and North America is severe. Further
from the Atlantic, seasonal differences are mildly greater than close to the coast.
Europe, in particular ancient Greece, is the birthplace of Western civilization.[6][7][8] The fall of
the Western Roman Empire, during the migration period, marked the end of ancient history and the
beginning of an era known as the "Middle Ages". The Renaissance humanism, exploration, art,
andscience led the "old continent", and eventually the rest of the world, to themodern era. From this
period onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th
centuries, European nations controlled at various times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and
the majority of Asia.
The Industrial Revolution, which began in the United Kingdom 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 were largely focused upon Europe, contributing to a decline in Western
European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the United States and Soviet
Union took prominence.[9] During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron
Curtain between NATOin the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of
1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall.
European integration led to the formation of the European Union, a political entity that lies between
a confederation and afederation.[10] The EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding
eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The currency of most countries of the European
Union, the Euro, is the most commonly used among Europeans and the EU's Schengen
Area abolishes border and immigration controls among most of its member states.
Contents

1Definition

2Etymology

3History
o

3.1Prehistory

3.2Classical antiquity

3.3Early Middle Ages

3.4High and Late Middle Ages

3.5Early modern period

3.618th and 19th centuries

3.720th century to the present

4Geography
o

4.1Climate

4.2Geology

4.3Flora

4.4Fauna

5Politics
o

5.1Integration
6Economy

6.1Economic history
7Demographics

7.1Languages

7.2Religion

8Culture

9See also

10Notes

11References

12Sources

13External links

Definition
Further information: List of transcontinental countries and Boundaries between continents
Clickable map of Europe, showing one of the most commonly used continental boundaries[11]
Key: blue: states which straddle the border between Europe and Asia; green: states not geographically in Europe, but
closely associated with the continent

Alb.
Andorra
Austria
Azer.
Belarus

Belg.
BiH
Bulgaria
Channel
Is.(UK)
Croatia
Cz. Rep.
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Gib. (UK)
Germany
Georgia
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Mann
(UK)
S. Mar.
Kazakhstan
Kos.
Latvia
Liech.
Lithuania
Lux.
Mac.
Malta
Moldova
Mon.
Mont.
Nether.
Norway
Svalbard (Nor)
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slo.
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United
Kingdom
Far. (Dk)
Vat.
Armenia
Cyprus
Greenland (Dk)
Adriatic
Sea
Arctic Ocean
Baltic
Sea

Aegean
Sea
Barents Sea
Bay of
Biscay
Black
Sea
Caspian
Sea
Celtic
Sea
Greenland Sea
Baffin Bay
Gulf of
Cdiz
Ligurian
Sea
Mediterranean Sea
North
Atlantic
Ocean
North
Sea
Norwegian
Sea
Strait of Gibraltar

Reconstruction of Herodotus' world map (450 BC)

The use of the term "Europe" has developed gradually throughout history.[12][13] In antiquity, the Greek
historian Herodotus mentioned that the world had been divided by unknown persons into three parts,
Europe, Asia, and Libya (Africa), with the Nileand the River Phasis forming their boundariesthough
he also states that some considered the River Don, rather than the Phasis, as the boundary between
Europe and Asia.[14] Europe's eastern frontier was defined in the 1st century by geographerStrabo at
the River Don.[15] The Book of Jubilees described the continents as the lands given by Noah to his
three sons; Europe was defined as stretching from thePillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar,
separating it from North Africa, to the Don, separating it from Asia.[16]