Europe
is the western part of the continent of
Eurasia
, often thought of as its own
continent
. It is separated from Asia by the
Ural Mountains
in
Russia
and the
Bosporus
strait
in
Turkey
.
Europe is bordered by water on three sides. On the west is the
Atlantic Ocean
. To the north is the
Arctic Ocean
. The
Mediterranean Sea
separates
Southeastern Europe
from the continent of
Africa
. On the eastern border of Europe are the
Ural River
and
Ural Mountains
.
There are at least 44 or 48 countries in Europe (the European identities of 5 countries:
Cyprus
,
Georgia
,
Kazakhstan
,
Russia
and
Turkey
are disputed). Most of these countries are members of the
European Union
.
Europe covers about 10,180,000
square kilometre
(3,930,000
square miles
). This is 2% of the Earth's surface (6.8% of its land area).
As of 2017, about 510 million people lived in Europe.
[1]
Europe contains the world's second most-active volcano, which is
Mount Etna
that is currently the most-active volcano in the continent.
Europe is a major
tourist
attraction. People come from all over the world to see its many
World Heritage Sites
and other attractions.
Europe is named after a princess in
Greek mythology
called "Europa." The
myth
says that
Zeus
kidnapped
Europa and took her to
Crete
, where she became the mother of King
Minos
(from whom Europe’s first civilization gets its name, the
Minoans
).
The name "Europa" was later used to describe
Greece
. Then, as the rest of modern-day Europe started to have cities and
empires
, the entire area West of the
Ural Mountains
came to be called "Europa".
The history of Europe is long and has many turns. Many great countries originated from Europe.
Greek mythology
and the beginning of
western civilization
came from European nations.
Some of the major periods in European history have been:
- Ancient Greece
(
Minoan
,
Mycenaean
,
Archaic
,
Classical
,
Hellenistic
): c.2000 BC to 146 BC
- Ancient Rome
(
Roman kingdom
,
Roman Republic
and
Roman Empire
): 753BC-476
- Middle Ages
(
Early
,
High
,
Late
): 476 to 1492
- Early Modern Era
(
Renaissance
,
Reformation
,
Age of Discovery
,
Enlightenment
): 1492-1789
- 19th Century
,
20th Century
and 21st Century (
French Revolution
,
Napoleonic Wars
,
Industrial Revolution
,
Colonialism
,
World War 1
,
October Revolution
,
World War 2
,
Cold War
): 1789-present.
Andreas M. Kaplan describes modern Europe as a continent where many different
cultures
live closely together, "embracing maximum cultural diversity at minimal geographical distances".
[2]
There are several major regions of Europe:
Within these regions, there are up to 48
independent European countries
(with the identities of 5 transcontinental countries being disputed). The largest is the
Russian Federation
, which covers 39% of Europe.
The European city with the largest
population
is
Istanbul
. The country with the largest population is the Russian Federation. About 15% of Europeans live in Russia.
Two European countries, the
United Kingdom
and the
Republic of Ireland
, are on
islands
called the
British Isles
.
Most of Europe lies in
temperate climate zones
.
However, there are many different
climates
throughout Europe. For example, during the winter, it may be snowing and -30 degrees
Celsius
for 4?5 months in
Finland
. Yet it may be much warmer, with no snow at all except on high mountains, in
Spain
.
The European Union is a
confederation
of 27 European countries. These countries agree to follow common laws so that their citizens can move and trade in EU countries almost the same as they do in their own. Twenty of these countries also share the same type of
money
: the
euro
.
Flag
|
Name/Official name
|
Area (km2 or sq mi)
|
Population
|
Density (pop/km2)
|
Capital
|
Official language(s)
|
|
Albania
Republic of Albania
|
28,748 (11,100)
|
3038594
|
105,6
|
Tirana
|
sq
|
|
Andorra
Coprincipality of Andorra
|
468 (181)
|
85660
|
183
|
Andorra la Vella
|
ca
/
es
|
|
Armenia
Republic of Armenia
|
29,749 (11,486)
|
3229900
|
108,5
|
Yerevan
|
hy
|
|
Austria
Republic of Austria
|
83,871 (32,383)
|
8711770
|
103,8
|
Vienna
|
de
|
|
Azerbaijan
Republic of Azerbaijan
|
86,600 (33,400)
|
9872765
|
114
|
Baku
|
az
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Europe
.
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Countries
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Dependencies
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Other Countries
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1.
Transcontinental country
/territory that is part of both Europe and Asia. 2. Territory or with territory geographically part of North America. 3. Partially recognized. 4. Not all dependent territories are listed. 5. Territory has some form of self-rule. 6. Territory or with territory geographically part of Africa.
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Current members
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Candidates
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Potential candidates
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Former members
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International
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National
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Geographic
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Other
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