Europe





Europe is a continent whose boundaries are 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 as the southern boundary. With Asia, Europe forms the
supercontinent Eurasia: Europe is the western fifth of the Eurasian
landmass. In tems of size, Europe is the world's second smallest continent,
being slightly larger than Oceania. In terms of population it is the second
biggest continent after Asia.

Etymology

The name Europe possibly stems from a female character in Greek Mythology
named Europa who was abducted by a bull-shaped Zeus. There is some trouble
with this, though--the myth has nothing to do with Europe. A more prosaic
explanation holds that it is derived from the word ereb from a Semitic
language, meaning "sunset." From the point of view from the Middle East, the
sun would appear to set beyond the lands to the west. In this regard it may
be significant that Eurus is also a Latin term for the East Wind. This may
even provide the (albeit noncausal) connection with Europa, as she was
originally from Phoenicia and so, from the Greeks' point of view, was a
woman of the East.

History

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, generally known as the Dark
Ages, which 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.

Extent

Often other borders of Europe are drawn, based on political, economical,
cultural or practical considerations. This has led to there being several
different "Europes" that are not always identical in size, including or
excluding countries dependent on the definition of "Europe" used.

Increasingly, the word "Europe" is primarily being used as a synonym for the
members of the European Union. Fifteen European states are currently members
of the European Union, with 10 more due to join by mid-2004, a few more
negotiating for membership and several more expected to commence
negotiations at some stage in the future. Almost all European states are
members of the Council of Europe; the sole exceptions are Belarus and the
Vatican City.

Countries

Currently, geographic Europe comprises the following 45 countries (in
alphabetical order):

    * Albania                   * Luxembourg
    * Andorra                   * FYR of Macedonia (Republic of Macedonia)
    * Austria                   * Malta
    * Belarus                   * Moldova
    * Belgium                   * Monaco
    * Bosnia and Herzegovina    * Netherlands (4)
    * Bulgaria                  * Norway
    * Croatia                   * Poland
    * Czech Republic            * Portugal (5)
    * Cyprus (1)                * Romania
    * Denmark (2)               * Russia (6)
    * Estonia                   * San Marino
    * Finland                   * Serbia and Montenegro
    * France (3)                * Slovakia
    * Germany                   * Slovenia
    * Greece                    * Spain (7)
    * Hungary                   * Sweden
    * Iceland                   * Switzerland
    * Ireland                   * Turkey (8)
    * Italy                     * Ukraine
    * Latvia                    * United Kingdom (9)
    * Liechtenstein             * Vatican City
    * Lithuania

Notes

  1. Cyprus is not shown in the above map. It is an independent island which
     is currently de facto divided between the primarily ethnically-Greek
     Republic Of Cyprus in the southern 2/3rds of the island, and an
     internationally-unrecognised Turkish statelette in the northern 1/3rd,
     the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus". The island of Cyprus is
     located to the east of southern Greece.
  2. Denmark has two dependent territories: the Faeroe Islands in Europe,
     and the self-governing island of Greenland, which is considered part of
     North America. .
  3. France distinguishes overseas departments (such as French Guiana),
     overseas territories (such as French Polynesia) and territorial
     collectivities (such as Mayotte); they are all located outside of
     Europe.
  4. The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of The Netherlands itself and
     overseas territories in the Caribbean.
  5. Portugal also includes the Azores and Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean.
  6. Russia extends far across Asia, but only the area westward of the Ural
     Mountains is considered to be within continental Europe.
  7. Spain also includes the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla in the north
     of Africa.
  8. Turkey is for the most part on continental Asia, only the area west of
     the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara is in Europe.
  9. The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and
     dependent territories, of which the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man
     and Gibraltar lie within Europe.

Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, three CIS republics in the Transcaucasus,
are geographically part of continental Asia, but are frequently associated
with Europe. Whether or not Armenia and Georgia are considered to be
European countries usually depends on whether one defines Europe as being
primarily an ethnic / linguistic entity, or primarily a political /
geographic entity, and what one considers those definitions to be.

Names of parts of Europe

   * Balkans
   * Baltic States
   * Benelux
   * British Isles
   * The Caucasus
   * Central Europe
   * Eastern Europe
   * Iberian peninsula
   * Nordic countries
   * Scandinavia
   * Visegrad group