CONTINENT REVIEW: EUROPE

Europe is the World's second-smallest continent - 10,180,000 km² covering approximately 6.7% of the Earth's land and 2% of the Earth's surface . It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Ural mountains in Russia mark the eastern extreme.

Geography

The southern regions are higher and include the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Carpathian mountain ranges.
The longest river in Europe is the Volga (2,850 km) in Russia.
The highest mountain is Elbrus (5,642 m) in Russia.

Climate and weather

Europe can be broadly divided into three regions as shown on the map left.
Europe can also be divided according to European Union member states and non-member states as shown on the map right.
Europe lies entirely in the Northern hemisphere and has four distinct seasons
- Spring - March, April, May
- Summer - June, July, August
- Autumn - September, October, November

- Winter - December, January, February

Demography

Europe is the third most populated continent with a total population of around 729,000,000 (2006) about 11% of the World's population. Southern England, western Germany, the Netherlands and northern Italy are the most populated areas while Iceland, northern Scandinavia and northern Russia are the least populated.
The countries with the highest populations (to the nearest million) are:

Russia - 106 million
Germany - 83 million
United Kingdom - 60 million
France - 60 million
Italy - 60 million

Europe has the largest economy of the world with Germany and the United Kingdom being the most economically developed countries. The countries of central and eastern Europe are the least economically developed and are poorer in relation to the western countries.

Country List

There are 47 countries in Europe including Turkey and Russia which lie in both Europe and Asia.

Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City.


READ OTHER CONTINENTS: AFRICA, NORTH AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA, AUSTRALASIA, ANTARCTICA