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Countries of Europe


Mont Saint-Michel, island, monastry and town in the Normandy, France
The monastic island of Mont-Saint-Michel. The Gothic-style Benedictine abbey in the Normandy was built between the 11th and 16th centuries. Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay is since 1979 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Image: Mathias Neveling

 

European Regions

Conventionally there are four main geographical regions or subregions in Europe.

Northern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Southern Europe

 

Some Facts about Europe



Map of Countries in Europe with EU member states, non-EU member states and EFTA member states.
Map of Countries in Europe


Europe is the second-smallest continent, and it could be described as a large peninsula or as a subcontinent. Europe is the western portion of the Eurasian landmass and is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. Several larger islands belong to Europe, such as Iceland or the British Isles with the UK and Ireland.


Area
With an area of 10.2 million km² (3,938,000 sq mi), Europe is 20% larger than the contiguous United States. The European Union has an area (without the UK) of over 4.23 million km² (1.6 million sq mi).



How many countries are there in Europe?
Europe is shared by 50 countries. By the conventional definition, there are 44 sovereign states or nations in Europe. Not included are several countries namely Turkey, which occupies only a small part of East Thrace on the European Balkan Peninsula.
Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, is geographically part of Asia Minor (Middle East).
The Faroe Islands, an island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean are a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Greenland, which geographically belongs to North America, is as well an autonomous Danish territory.
Kosovo is a partially recognized state in the Balkans.
A small piece of Western Kazakhstan is also considered to be part of Europe.


Population
An estimated 747 million people live in Europe. The most populous country in Europe is the European part of Russia with a population of 110 million people, followed by Germany with 83 million citizens, and Metropolitan France with 67 million inhabitants (in 2020).
(Source: UN World Population Prospects)


 
Country
Pop.
(1000)
Maps
Capital

  Northern Europe

Northern lights (Aurora borealis) over the Lyngen fjord in Norway
Northern lights, also known as Aurora borealis, over the Lyngen fjord in Troms county of Norway.
Image: Simo Räsänen
 
 
Northern Europe refers to the portion of Europe to the north of Western Europe, the English Channel, and the Baltic Sea; it also includes the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Note: EU countries are marked with an asterisk (*); EFTA member states are marked with a plus sign (+)

According to the United Nations Population Division, approximately 106 million people live in Northern Europe (in 2020).
See also: Map of Northern Europe.
 
* Denmark 5,813 Denmark Map Copenhagen
* Estonia 1,323 Estonia Map Tallinn
   Faroe Islands (DK) 49 Faroe Is. Map Tórshavn
* Finland 5,551 Finland Map Helsinki
   Greenland (DK) 56 Greenland Map Nuuk (Godthab)
+ Iceland 341 Iceland Map Reykjavik
* Ireland 4,977 Ireland Map Dublin (City)
* Latvia 1,886 Latvia Map Riga
* Lithuania 2,722 Lithuania Map Vilnius
   Northern Ireland (UK) 1,885 Ireland Map Belfast
+ Norway 5,421 Norway Map Oslo
   Scotland (UK) 5,424 UK Map Edinburgh
Glasgow
* Sweden 10,160 Sweden Map Stockholm
   United Kingdom 68,178 UK Map London
Birmingham, Manchester
   Wales (UK) 3,125 UK Map Cardiff
 

  Western Europe

Peak of the Matterhorn mountain in Swtzerland
The near-symmetrical pyramidal peak of the Matterhorn (height: 4,478 m). The famous mountain in Switzerland is situated in the Pennine Alps between the Swiss town of Zermatt and the Italian alpine resort of Breuil-Cervinia.
Image: Gürkan Myczko
 
 
Western Europe is the western part of Europe; it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the English Channel and the North Sea to the north, and by the Alps in the south.

Note: EU countries are marked with an asterisk (*); EFTA member states are marked with a plus sign (+)

According to the United Nations Population Division, approximately 196 million people live in Central Europe (in 2020).
 
* Austria 9,018 Austria Map Vienna (Wien)
* Belgium 11,613 Belgium Map Brussels
* France 65,375 France Map Paris
* Germany 83,657 Germany Map Berlin
+ Liechtenstein 38   Vaduz
* Luxembourg 633 Luxembourg Map Luxembourg
* Netherlands 17,157 Netherlands Map The Hague, Amsterdam
+ Switzerland 8,704 Switzerland Map Bern - Zürich
 

  Eastern Europe

Wilanów Palace in Warsaw
The entry of the Baroque Wilanów Palace in Warsaw. The palace is one of Poland's most significant monuments; it was built for King John III Sobieski in the late 17th century.
Image: kk nationsonline.org
 
 
Conventionally Eastern Europe is the geographical region east of Germany and west of the Ural Mountains. The United Nations geoscheme lists ten countries including the former Eastern bloc countries of Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia (formerly Czechoslovakia), Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, the former Soviet republics of Belarus and Ukraine, as well as European Russia.

Note: EU countries are marked with an asterisk (*)

According to the United Nations Population Division, approximately 293 million people live in Eastern Europe (in 2021), including the population of the western part of the Russian Federation.
 
   Belarus 9,431 Belarus Map Minsk
* Bulgaria 6,890 Bulgaria Map Sofia
* Czechia 10,713 Czechia Map Prague
* Hungary 9,623 Hungary Map Budapest
   Moldova 4,030 Moldova Map Chisinau
* Poland 37,758 Poland Map Warsaw
* Romania 19,125 Romania Map Bucharest
   Russian Federation 145,718 European Russia Map Moscow
* Slovakia 5,454 Slovakia Map Bratislava
   Ukraine 43,416 Ukraine Map
Crimea Map
Kiev
 

  Southern Europe

View of Lisbon from Parque Eduardo VII, with the Tagus river in the background
View of Lisbon from Parque Eduardo VII, with the Tagus river in the background. Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal, the westernmost country of mainland Europe.
Image: kk nationsonline.org
 
 
Southern Europe or Mediterranean Europe refers to the mainly subtropical southern portion of the continent. The region is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the south. There are 13 sovereign countries in Southern Europe; seven of those states are members of the European Union.

In 2021 an estimated 152 million people live in Southern Europe.

Note: EU countries are marked with an asterisk (*)
 
   Albania 2,868 Albania Map Tirana
   Andorra 77   Andorra la Vella
   Bosnia and Herzegovina 3,265 Bosnia and Herzegovina Map Sarajevo
* Croatia (Hrvatska) 4,079 Croatia Map Zagreb
* Cyprus 1,216 Cyprus Map Nicosia (Lefkosia)
   Gibraltar (UK) 34   Gibraltar
* Greece 10,369 Greece Map Athens
* Italy 60,394 Italy Map Rome - Milan
Kosovo Flag
   Kosovo 1,809 Kosovo Map Pristina
   North Macedonia 2,083 Macedonia Map Skopje
* Malta 433 Valletta
   Monaco 40   Monaco
   Montenegro 629 Montenegro Map Podgorica
* Portugal 10,168 Portugal Map Lisbon
   San Marino 34   San Marino
   Serbia 8,694 Serbia Map Belgrade
* Slovenia 2,079 Slovenia Map Ljubljana
* Spain 46,726 Spain Map Madrid
   Turkey (East Thrace) 11,704 Turkey Map Ankara - Istanbul
   Vatican City State 1 Holy See Map Vatican City
 

Population source: population.un.org/wpp/



More about Europe


View of the Mont Blanc massif  situated in France and Italy
View of the Mont Blanc massif. The Mont Blanc at 4,808.7 m (15,777 ft), is the highest mountain in Western Europe.
Image: Angelomalvasia
 
Highest Point
With a height of 5,642 m, Mount Elbrus is Europe's highest mountain. The dormant volcano lies in the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia.

Mont Blanc at 4,808 m is the highest mountain in Western Europe and the highest peak of the Alps.


Largest Lakes
Lake Lagoda northeast of St Petersburg in Russia is the largest lake entirely in Europe with a surface area of 17,700 km². Lake Onega located northeast of Lake Lagoda in European Russia has a surface area of 9,700 km². Other major lakes are Lake Vänern in Sweden (largest lake in Western Europe) and Lake Saimaa in Finland.
Lake Balaton in Hungary is the largest lake in Central Europe with a surface area of 592 km².


Longest River
Europe's longest river is the Volga with a length of 3,530 km (2,190 mi); the river's catchment area is almost entirely inside Russia. The river flows into the Caspian Sea.

The second-longest river in Europe is the Danube with a length of 2,850 km (1,770 mi), the longest river in the European Union region flows through ten countries and empties into the Black Sea.


Major Geographical Regions of Europe
Major geographical regions in Europe are Scandinavia and the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the British Isles, the Great European Plain, the Central European Uplands, the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Italian Peninsula and the Apennine Mountains, the Iberian Peninsula, the Pyrenees, the Balkans and the Balkan Peninsula, the Black Sea and the Caucasus.


Languages of Europe
Major languages of Europe are English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Nordic Languages, and East European languages. (see also: Languages of Europe)


keywords: countries of Europe, population of Europe, destination Europe, travel Europe, capitals Europe, Central Europe, North Europe, Southern Europe, East Europe

 

More about Europe

Capitals
Capital Cities of Europe

Maps
Map of Europe
Political map of Member States of the European Union and EFTA, with major cities and capitals.

Map of Central and Eastern Europe
Political map of Central and Eastern Europe.

Map of the Baltic States
Political Map of the Baltic Countries.

Map of the Baltic Sea Area
Map of countries around the Baltic Sea.

Map of the Black Sea
Political Map of the Black Sea.

Map of European Russia
Political Map of the European Russia.

Map of the Mediterranean Region
Map of countries around the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

Map of the Balkan Peninsula
Map of the countries on the Balkan Peninsula.

Map of Iberian Peninsula
Topographic Map of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).

Map of Scandinavia
Map of countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Languages
profile Languages of Europe
English, French, German.

Flags
Flags of Europe
 

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