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<big>'''Europe'''</big> |
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[[دوتنه:LocationEurope.png|200px|World map showing the location of Europe]] |
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{| style="background: transparent; text-align: left; table-layout: auto; border-collapse: collapse; padding: 0; font-size: 100%;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" |
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! style="1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | سیمه |
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| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 10,180,000 km² (3,930,000 [[square mile|sq mi]]){{Cref|o}} |
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! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Population |
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| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 731,000,000{{Cref|o}} |
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! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Density |
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| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 70/km² (181/sq mi) |
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! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Countries |
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| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | ca. 50 |
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! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Demonym |
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| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | [[European]] |
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! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Language families |
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| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]<br />[[Finno-Ugric languages|Finno-Ugric]]<br />[[Turkic languages|Turkic]]<br />[[Basque language|Basque]]<br />[[Semitic languages|Semitic]]<br />[[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian]]<br />[[Northeast Caucasian languages|Northeast Caucasian]]<br />[[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]] |
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! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Largest Cities |
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| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | [[Istanbul]], [[Moscow]], [[London]], [[Paris]], [[Madrid]], [[Barcelona]], [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Milan]], [[Berlin]], [[Rome]], [[Athens]] |
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! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Time Zones |
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| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | [[UTC]] ([[Iceland]]) to [[UTC+5]] ([[Russia]]) |
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'''Europe''' is one of the traditional seven [[political]] [[continent]]s, and a [[peninsula]]r [[sub-continent]] of the [[geographic]] continent [[Eurasia]]. Europe is bounded to the north by the [[Arctic Ocean]], to the west by the [[Atlantic Ocean]], to the south by the [[Mediterranean Sea]], and to the southeast by the [[Caucasus Mountains]], the [[Black Sea]] and the [[waterway]]s connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. To the east, Europe is generally divided from [[Asia]] by the [[water divide]] of the [[Ural Mountains]], the [[Ural (river)|Ural River]], and by the [[Caspian Sea]].<ref name="Encarta">{{cite web|last=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007|title="Europe"|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570768/Europe.html|accessdate=2007-12-27}}</ref> |
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Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of the planet's total land area. It hosts a large number of sovereign states (ca. 50), whose precise number depends on the underlying definition of Europe's border, as well as on the inclusion or exclusion of semi-recognized states. Europe contains parts of [[Russia]], the world's largest country by area and Europe's largest by area and population, as well as the [[Vatican City|Vatican]], the smallest country on both counts. Europe is the third most populous continent after [[Asia]] and [[Africa]] with a population of 731,000,000 or about 11% of the [[World population|world's population]]. According to UN population projection (medium variant), Europe's share will fall to 7% in 2050, numbering 653 million.<ref name="UNPP 2006"/> However, Europe's borders and population are in dispute, as the term ''continent'' can refer to a [[human geography|cultural and political]] distinction or a [[physical geography|physiographic]] one. |
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Europe is the birthplace of [[Western culture]]. European nations played a predominant role in global affairs from the [[16th century]] onwards, especially after the beginning of [[Colonialism|colonization]]. By the [[17th century|17th]] and [[18th century|18th]] centuries European nations controlled most of [[Colonisation of Africa|Africa]], [[Colonization of the Americas|the Americas]], and large portions of Asia. [[World War I]] and [[World War II]] led to a decline in European dominance in world affairs as the [[United States]] and [[Soviet Union]] took prominence. The [[Cold War]] between those two [[superpower]]s divided Europe along the [[Iron Curtain]]. [[European integration]] led to the formation of the [[Council of Europe]] and the [[European Union]] in [[Western Europe]], both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. |
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== پېژند == |
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<div align="left">{{Europe and Sea}}</div> |
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The term "Europe" has multiple uses. Its principal ones are [[geography|geographical]] and [[politics|political]]. |
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* Geographically, Europe is the westernmost [[peninsula]] of the [[continent]] of [[Eurasia]]; its limits are well defined by [[sea]] to the North, South and West. The [[Ural mountains]] are usually taken as the eastern limit of Europe, along with the [[Ural (river)|Ural River]], and the [[Caspian Sea]]. Europe can be considered bounded to the southeast by the [[Caucasus Mountains]], the [[Black Sea]] and the waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Europe's eastern and southeastern extent are [[#Geography and extent|discussed below]].<ref name="Encarta">{{cite web|last=Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007|title="Europe"|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570768/Europe.html|accessdate=2007-12-27}}</ref> |
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* Politically, Europe comprises those countries in the [[European Union]], but may at times be used formally or more casually to refer to both the EU together with other non-EU countries e.g. the [[Council of Europe]] has 47 member countries and includes the 27 countries which are part of the EU.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/T/e/Com/about_coe/|title=About the Council of Europe|publisher=Council of Europe|accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref> |
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* In addition, people in countries such as [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Scandinavia]] and the [[North Atlantic]] and [[Mediterranean]] islands, may routinely refer to [[Continental Europe|"continental" or "mainland" Europe]] simply as Europe or "the Continent".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=europe|title=Europe - Noun|publisher=Princeton University|accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref> |
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== آرپوهه == |
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{{wiktionary|Europe}} |
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In ancient [[Greek mythology]], [[Europa (mythology)|Europa]] was a [[Phoenicia]]n princess whom [[Zeus]] abducted after assuming the form of a dazzling white bull. He took her to the island of [[Crete]] where she gave birth to [[Minos]], [[Rhadamanthus]] and [[Sarpedon]]. For [[Homer]], Europe ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{polytonic|Εὐρώπη}}, ''{{Unicode|Eurṓpē}}''; see also [[List of traditional Greek place names]]) was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later ''Europa'' stood for [[Geography of Greece|mainland Greece]], and by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to lands to the north. |
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Etymologically, the dominant theory suggests the name ''Europe'' is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek roots]] meaning broad (''eur-'') and eye (''op-'', ''opt-''), hence ''{{Unicode|Eurṓpē}}'', "wide-gazing" (compare with [[Athena#Cult and attributes|''glauk'''ōp'''is'' (grey-eyed) Athena]] or [[Hera|''bo'''ōp'''is'' (ox-eyed) Hera]]). ''Broad'' has been an [[epithet]] of [[Earth]] itself in the reconstructed [[Proto-Indo-European religion]]. A minority, however, suggest that it is really based on a [[Semitic]] word such as the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''erebu'' meaning "to go down, set",<ref name="Etymonline: European">{{cite web| url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=European| title=Etymonline: European| accessdate=2006-09-10}}</ref> [[cognate]] to Phoenician '' 'ereb'' "evening; west" and Arabic [[Maghreb]], Hebrew ''ma'ariv''. See also ''[[Erebus]]'', [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] ''*h<sub>1</sub>reg<sup>w</sup>os'', "darkness". |
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Most major world languages use words derived from "Europa" to refer to the continent. Chinese, for example, uses the word ''{{Unicode|Ōuzhōu}}'' (歐洲), which is an abbreviation of the transliterated name ''{{Unicode|Ōuluóbā zhōu}}'' (歐羅巴洲); however, the [[Turkish people]] used the term ''Frengistan'' (land of the [[Franks]]) in referring to much of Europe.<ref name="davison">{{cite journal |author=Davidson, Roderic H. |title=Where is the Middle East? |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=38 |pages=p. 665–675 |year=1960}}</ref> |
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== تاريخ == |
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{{main|History of Europe}} |
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=== مخ تاريخي پېر === |
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{{main|Prehistory}} |
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[[دوتنه:Stonehenge back wide.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Stonehenge]] |
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''[[Homo georgicus]]'', which lived roughly 1.8 million years ago in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], is the earliest [[hominid]] to have been discovered in Europe.<ref>{{cite journal | author = A. Vekua, D. Lordkipanidze, G. P. Rightmire, J. Agusti, R. Ferring, G. Maisuradze, et al. | year = 2002 | title = A new skull of early ''Homo'' from Dmanisi, Georgia | journal = Science | volume = 297 | pages = 85–9 | doi = 10.1126/science.1072953 | pmid = 12098694}}</ref> Other hominid remains, dating back roughly 1 million years, have been discovered in [[Atapuerca]], [[Spain]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6256356.stm The million year old tooth from [[Atapuerca]] , [[Spain]], found in June 2007]</ref> [[Neanderthal man]] (named for the [[Neander Valley]] in [[Germany]]) first migrated to Europe 150,000 years ago and disappeared from the fossil record about 30,000 years ago. The Neanderthals were supplanted by modern humans ([[Cro-Magnons]]), who appeared around 40,000 years ago.<ref name="natgeo 21">National Geographic, 21.</ref> |
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During the latter part of this era, a period of [[megalith]] construction took place, with many megalithic monuments such as [[Stonehenge]] being constructed throughout Europe.<ref>[[Richard J. C. Atkinson|Atkinson]], R J C, ''Stonehenge'' (Penguin Books, 1956)</ref> |
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In terms of human society, Prehistoric Europe was inhabited first by nomadic bands, subsequently followed by tribal cultures. Early [[city-state]]s and [[state]]s spread broadly from the [[Fertile Crescent]] outward around 5000 BC. This led to the various [[Persian empire]]s and the city-states of [[Ancient Greece]] around 700 BC. |
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=== کلاسيک انټيک پېر === |
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{{main|Classical Antiquity}} |
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{{seealso|Ancient Greece|Ancient Rome}} |
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[[دوتنه:Temple of Apollo (2c).jpg|thumb|left|The Greek Temple of Apollo, [[Paestum]], [[Italy]]]] |
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[[Ancient Greece]] had a profound impact on Western civilization. Western [[democracy|democratic]] and [[individualism|individualistic]] [[culture]] are often attributed to Ancient Greece.<ref name="natgeo 76">National Geographic, 76.</ref> The Greeks invented the [[polis]], or city-state, which played a fundamental role in their concept of identity.<ref name="natgeo 82">National Geographic, 82.</ref> These Greek political ideals were rediscovered in the late 18th century by European philosophers and idealists. Greece also generated many cultural contributions: in [[philosophy]], [[humanism]] and [[rationalism]] under [[Aristotle]], [[Socrates]], and [[Plato]]; in [[historiography|history]] with [[Herodotus]] and [[Thucydides]]; in dramatic and narrative verse, starting with the epic poems of [[Homer]];<ref name="natgeo 76"/> and in [[science]] with [[Pythagoras]], [[Euclid]], and [[Archimedes]].<ref>{{Harvard reference| first=Thomas Little | last=Heath| authorlink= T. L. Heath| title=A History of Greek Mathematics, Volume I| publisher=Dover publications| year=1981| isbn=0486240738}}</ref><ref>{{Harvard reference| first=Thomas Little| last=Heath| authorlink= T. L. Heath| title=A History of Greek Mathematics, Volume II| publisher=Dover publications| year=1981| isbn=0486240746}}</ref><ref>Pedersen, Olaf. ''Early Physics and Astronomy: A Historical Introduction''. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. </ref> |
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[[دوتنه:Roman Empire map.svg|thumb|right|The [[Roman Empire]] at its greatest extent]] |
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Another major influence on Europe came from the [[Roman Empire]] which left its mark on [[Roman law|law]], [[Latin|language]], [[Roman engineering|engineering]], [[Roman architecture|architecture]], and [[centralized government|government]].<ref name="natgeo 77">National Geographic, 76-77.</ref> During the ''[[pax romana]]'', the Roman Empire expanded to encompass the entire [[Mediterranean Basin]] and much of Europe.<ref name = "mieawl">{{citation|last=McEvedy|first=Colin|title=The Penguin Atlas of Medieval History|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1961}}</ref> [[Stoicism]] influenced emperors such as [[Hadrian]], [[Antoninus Pius]], and [[Marcus Aurelius]], who all spent time on the Empire's northern border fighting [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]], [[Picts|Pictish]] and [[Scottish people|Scottish]] tribes.<ref name="natgeo 123">National Geographic, 123.</ref><ref> Foster, Sally M., ''Picts, Gaels, and Scots: Early Historic Scotland.'' Batsford, London, 2004. ISBN 0-7134-8874-3</ref> [[Christianity]] was eventually [[Constantine I and Christianity|legitimized]] by [[Constantine I]] after three centuries of [[Persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire|imperial persecution]]. |
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=== تور پېر === |
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{{main|Late Antiquity|Early Middle Ages}} |
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{{seealso|Dark Ages|Age of Migrations}} |
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[[دوتنه:Rolandfealty.jpg|thumb|right|[[Roland]] pledges [[fealty]] to [[Charlemagne]], [[Holy Roman Emperor]].]] |
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During the [[decline of the Roman Empire]], Europe entered a long period of change arising from what historians call the "[[Age of Migrations]]". There were numerous invasions and migrations amongst the [[Ostrogoths]], [[Visigoths]], [[Goths]], [[Vandals]], [[Huns]], [[Franks]], [[Angles]], [[Saxons]], and, later still, the [[Vikings]] and [[Normans]].<ref name = "mieawl"/> Renaissance thinkers such as [[Petrarch]] would later refer to this as the "[[Dark Ages]]".<ref>, ''Journal of the History of Ideas'', Vol. 4, No. 1. (Jan., 1943), pp. 69-74. </ref> Isolated monastic communities were the only places to safeguard and compile written knowledge accumulated previously; apart from this very few written records survive and much literature, philosophy, mathematics, and other thinking from the classical period disappeared from Europe.<ref>[[Norman Cantor|Norman F. Cantor]], ''The Medieval World 300 to 1300''.</ref> |
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During the Dark Ages, the [[Western Roman Empire]] fell under the control of Celtic, Slavic and Germanic tribes. The Celtic tribes established their kingdoms in [[Gaul]], the predecessor to the Frankish kingdoms that eventually became [[France]].<ref name="natgeo 140">National Geographic, 140</ref> The Germanic and Slav tribes established their domains over Central and Eastern Europe respectively.<ref name="natgeo 143">National Geographic, 143-145.</ref> Eventually the [[Franks|Frankish tribes]] were united under [[Clovis I]].<ref name="natgeo 162">National Geographic, 162.</ref> [[Charlemagne]], a Frankish king of the [[Carolingian]] dynasty who had conquered most of Western Europe, was anointed "Holy Roman Emperor" by the Pope in 800. This led to the founding of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], which eventually became centred in the German principalities of central Europe.<ref name="natgeo 166">National Geographic, 166.</ref> |
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{{لويې وچې}} |
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The [[Eastern Roman Empire]] became known in the west as the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Based in [[Constantinople]], they viewed themselves as the natural successors to the Roman Empire.<ref name="natgeo 210">National Geographic, 210.</ref> Emperor [[Justinian I]] presided over Constantinople's first golden age: he established a [[Code of Justinian|legal code]], funded the construction of the [[Hagia Sophia]] and brought the Christian church under state control.<ref name="natgeo 135">National Geographic, 135.</ref> Fatally weakened by the sack of Constantinople during the [[Fourth Crusade]], the Byzantines fell in 1453 when they were conquered by the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="natgeo 211">National Geographic, 211.</ref> |
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=== منځنی پېر === |
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{{main|High Middle Ages|Late Middle Ages|Middle Ages}} |
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{{See also|Medieval demography}} |
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[[دوتنه:Richard3.jpg|thumbnail|left| [[Richard I]] and [[Philip II of France|Philip II]], during the [[Third Crusade]]]] |
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The Middle Ages were dominated by the two upper echelons of the social structure: the nobility and the clergy. Feudalism developed in [[France]] in the [[Early Middle Ages]] and soon spread throughout Europe.<ref name="natgeo 158">National Geographic, 158.</ref> The struggle between the nobility and the monarchy in England led to the writing of the [[Magna Carta]] and the establishment of a [[parliament]].<ref name="natgeo 186">National Geographic, 186.</ref> The primary source of culture in this period came from the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Through monasteries and cathedral schools, the Church was responsible for education in much of Europe.<ref name="natgeo 158"/> |
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The [[Papacy]] reached the height of its power during the High Middle Ages. The [[East-West Schism]] in 1054 split the former Roman Empire religiously, with the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] in the [[Byzantine Empire]] and the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in the former Western Roman Empire. In 1095 [[Pope Urban II]] called for a [[Crusades|crusade]] against [[Muslims]] occupying [[Jerusalem]] and the [[Holy Land]].<ref name="natgeo 192">National Geographic, 192.</ref> In Europe itself, the Church organized the [[Inquisition]] against heretics. In [[Spain]], the [[Reconquista]] concluded with the fall of [[Granada]] in 1492, ending over seven centuries of Muslim rule in the [[Iberian Peninsula]].<ref name="natgeo 199">National Geographic, 199.</ref> |
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In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] tribes, such as the [[Kipchaks]] and the [[Pechenegs]], caused a massive migration of [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north.<ref name="Klyuch1">{{cite book|last=Klyuchevsky|first=Vasily|title=The course of the Russian history|location=v.1|url=http://www.kulichki.com/inkwell/text/special/history/kluch/kluch16.htm|isbn=5-244-00072-1}}</ref> Like many other parts of [[Eurasia]], these territories were [[Mongol invasion of Rus|overrun by the Mongols]].<ref>{{citeweb|url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/citd/RussianHeritage/4.PEAS/4.L/12.III.5.html |title=The Destruction of Kiev|publisher=University of Toronto|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> The invaders, later known as [[Tatars]], formed the state of the [[Golden Horde]], which ruled the southern and central expanses of [[Russia]] for over three centuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accd.edu/sac/history/keller/Mongols/states3.html|title=Khanate of the Golden Horde (Kipchak)|publisher=Alamo Community Colleges|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> |
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Europe was devastated in the mid-14th century by the [[Black Death]], one of the most deadly [[pandemic]]s in human history which killed an estimated 50 million people in Europe alone - a third of the European population at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnms.no/index.php?kat_id=16&art_id=87|title=Black Death and hard facts}}</ref> This had a devastating effect on Europe's social structure; it induced people to live for the moment as illustrated by [[Giovanni Boccaccio]] in ''[[The Decameron]]'' (1353). It was a serious blow to the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and led to increased [[persecution of Jews]], foreigners, [[beggars]] and [[leper]]s.<ref name="natgeo 223">National Geographic, 223.</ref> |
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=== پخوانی نوی پېر === |
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[[دوتنه:Raffael 058.jpg|thumb|250px|[[School of Athens|The School of Athens]] by [[Raphael]]: Contemporaries such as [[Michelangelo]] and [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (centre) are portrayed as classical scholars.]] |
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{{main|Early modern period}} |
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{{seealso|Renaissance|Protestant Reformation|Age of Discovery}} |
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The [[Renaissance]] was a period of cultural change originating in Italy in the fourteenth century. The rise of a [[Renaissance humanism|new humanism]] was accompanied by the recovery of forgotten [[Renaissance#Assimilation of Greek and Arabic knowledge|classical and Arabic knowledge]] from monastic libraries and the Islamic world.<ref name="natgeo 159">National Geographic, 159.</ref><ref>[[Roberto Weiss|Weiss, Roberto]] (1969) ''The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity'', ISBN 1-59740-150-1</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Jacob Burckhardt]]|origyear=1878|url=http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/hy309/docs/burckhardt/burckhardt.html|title=The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy|edition=translation by S.G.C Middlemore|year=1990|Isbn=0-14-044534-X}}</ref> The Renaissance spread across Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries: it saw the flowering of art, philosophy, music, and the sciences, under the joint patronage of royalty, the nobility, the Roman Catholic Church, and an emerging merchant class.<ref name="natgeo 254">National Geographic, 254.</ref><ref>Jensen, De Lamar (1992), ''Renaissance Europe'', ISBN 0-395-88947-2</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Levey|first=Michael|title=Early Renaissance|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1967}}</ref> Patrons in Italy, including the [[Medici]] family of [[Florence|Florentine]] bankers and the [[Pope]]s in [[Rome]], funded prolific [[quattrocento]] and [[cinquecento]] artists such as [[Raphael]], [[Michelangelo]], and [[Leonardo da Vinci]].<ref name="natgeo 292">National Geographic, 292.</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Levey|first=Michael|title=High Renaissance|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1971}}</ref> |
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Political intrigue within the Church in the mid-14th century caused the [[Western Schism|Great Schism]]. During this forty-year period, two popes—one in [[Avignon]] and one in [[Rome]]—claimed rulership over the Church. Although the schism was eventually healed in 1417, the papacy's spiritual authority had suffered greatly.<ref name="natgeo 193">National Geographic, 193.</ref> The Church's power was further weakened by the [[Protestant Reformation]] of [[Martin Luther]], a result of the lack of reform within the Church. The Reformation also damaged the Holy Roman Empire's power, as German princes became divided between Protestant and Roman Catholic faiths.<ref name="natgeo 256">National Geographic, 256-257.</ref> This eventually led to the [[Thirty Years War]] (1618-1648), which crippled the Holy Roman Empire and devastated much of Germany. In the aftermath of the [[Peace of Westphalia]], [[France]] rose to predominance within Europe.<ref name="natgeo 269">National Geographic, 269.</ref> |
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[[دوتنه:Vienna Battle 1683.jpg|thumb|left|[[Battle of Vienna]] on September 12, 1683, broke the advance of the [[Ottoman Empire]] into Europe.<ref>[http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/17cen/habsbott16831699.html Habsburg-Ottoman War, 1683-1699]</ref>]] |
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The Renaissance and the [[New Monarchs]] marked the start of an [[Age of Discovery]], a period of exploration, invention, and scientific development. In the 15th century, [[Portugal]] and [[Spain]], two of the greatest naval powers of the time, took the lead in exploring the world.<ref>{{citation|last=John Morris Roberts|title=Penguin History of Europe|year=1997|publisher=Penguin Books|id=ISBN 0-14-026561-9}}</ref><ref name="natgeo 296">National Geographic, 296.</ref> [[Christopher Columbus]] reached the [[New World]] in 1492, and soon after the Spanish and Portuguese began establishing colonial empires in the Americas.<ref name="natgeo 338">National Geographic, 338.</ref> [[France]], the [[Netherlands]] and [[England]] soon followed in building large colonial empires with vast holdings in [[Africa]], [[the Americas]], and [[Asia]]. |
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=== ۱۸مه او ۱۹مه پېړۍ === |
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{{main|Modern history}} |
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{{seealso|Industrial Revolution|French Revolution|Age of Enlightenment}} |
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The [[Age of Enlightenment]] was a powerful intellectual movement of the eighteenth century in which scientific and reason-based thought predominated.<ref>{{citation|last=Goldie|first=Mark|last2= Wokler|first2=Robert |title=The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|id=ISBN 0-521-37422-7}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Cassirer|first=Ernst |title=The Philosophy of the Enlightenment|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1979|id=ISBN 0-691-01963-0}}</ref><ref name="natgeo 255">National Geographic, 255.</ref> Discontent with the aristocracy and clergy's monopoly on political power in France resulted in the [[French Revolution]] and the establishment of the [[French First Republic|First Republic]]: the monarchy and many of the nobility perished during the initial [[reign of terror]].<ref>{{citation|last=Schama|first=Simon|publisher=Knopf|title=Citizens: a chronicle of the French revolution|year=1989|id=ISBN 0-394-55948-7}}</ref> [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon Bonaparte]] rose to power in the aftermath of the French Revolution and established the [[First French Empire]] that, during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], grew to encompass large parts of Europe before collapsing in 1815 with the [[Battle of Waterloo]].<ref name="natgeo 360">National Geographic, 360.</ref><ref>{{citation|last=McEvedy|first=Colin|title=The Penguin Atlas of Modern History|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1972|id=ISBN 0-14-051153-9}}</ref> |
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[[دوتنه:Carte Europe 1843.jpg|thumbnail|right|Map of Europe in 1843 showing the numerous states established by the [[Congress of Vienna]]]] |
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[[Napoleonic Empire|Napoleonic rule]] resulted in the further dissemination of the ideals of the French Revolution, including that of [[nation-state]], as well as the widespread adoption of the French model for [[centralized government|administration]], [[Napoleonic code|law]] and [[Education in France|education]].<ref>{{citation|last=Lyons|first=Martyn|publisher= St. Martin's Press|year= 1994 |
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| unused_data = |Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution|ISBN 0-312-12123-7}} </ref><ref>{{citation|last=Grab|first=Alexander|title=Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe (European History in Perspective) |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan|year=2003|id=ISBN 0-33-68275-0}}</ref><ref name="natgeo 350">National Geographic, 350.</ref> The [[Congress of Vienna]] was convened after Napoleon's downfall. It established a new balance of power in Europe centred on the five "[[great power]]s": the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Prussia]], [[Austrian Empire|Habsburg Austria]] and [[Russia]].<ref name="natgeo 367">National Geographic, 367.</ref> This balance would remain in place until the [[Revolutions of 1848]], during which liberal uprisings affected all of Europe except for Russia and Great Britain. The revolutions were eventually put down by more conservative elements and few reforms resulted.<ref name="natgeo 371">National Geographic, 371-373.</ref> In 1867 the [[Austro-Hungarian empire]] was [[Ausgleich|formed]]; and 1871 saw the unifications of both [[Italian unification|Italy]] and [[Unification of Germany|Germany]] as [[nation-states]] from smaller principalities.<ref>{{citation|last=Davies|first=Norman|title=Europe: A History|publisher=Oxford University Press| year=1996|id=ISBN 0-19-820171-0}} |
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</ref> |
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The [[Industrial Revolution]] started in [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] in the last part of the 18th century and spread throughout Europe. The invention and implementation of new technology resulted in rapid urban growth, mass employment and the rise of a new working class.<ref>{{citation|first=George Macaulay|last=Trevelyan|title=A shortened history of Engand|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1988|id=ISBN 0-14-010241-8}}</ref> Reforms in social and economic spheres followed, including the [[Factory Acts|first laws]] on [[child labor|child labour]], the legalization of [[Trade Union]]s<ref>{{citation|last= Beatrice|first= Webb | title=History of Trade Unionism | publisher= AMS Press | year=1976 | id=ISBN 0-404-06885-5}}</ref> and the [[abolition of slavery]]. In [[United Kingdom|Britain]] the [[Public Health Act of 1875]] was passed, which significantly improved living conditions in many British cities.<ref>{{citation|first=George Macaulay|last=Trevelyan|title=English Social History|publisher=Longmans, Green|year=1942}}</ref> |
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=== ۲۰مه پېړۍ نه تر اوسمهال === |
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{{main|Modern History|History of Europe}} |
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{{seealso|World War I|Great Depression|World War II|Cold War|History of the European Union}} |
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[[دوتنه:WWI end.jpg|thumb|right|250px|European military alliances during WWI: [[Central Powers]] purplish-red, [[Allies of World War I|Entente powers]] grey and neutral countries yellow]] |
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Two World Wars and an economic depression dominated the first half of the 20th century. [[World War I]] was fought between 1914 and 1918. It started when [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]] was assassinated by [[Gavrilo Princip]].<ref name="natgeo 407">National Geographic, 407.</ref> Most European nations were drawn into the war, which was fought between the [[Entente Powers]] (consisting of [[French Third Republic|France]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and the [[United Kingdom]] (and by default its [[British Empire|Empire]]), joined later by [[Italy]] and the [[United States]]) and the [[Central Powers]] (led by [[Austria-Hungary]], [[German Empire|Germany]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]]). The War left around 40 million civilians and military dead.<ref name="natgeo 440">National Geographic, 440.</ref> Over 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914 – 1918.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jimmyatkinson.com/papers/versaillestreaty.html|title=The Treaty of Versailles and its Consequences|accessdate=2008-06-10|publisher=James Atkinson}}</ref> Partly as a result of its defeat Russia was plunged into the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]], which threw down the [[Russian Empire|Tsarist monarchy]] and replaced it with the [[communist]] [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="natgeo 480">National Geographic, 480.</ref> [[Austria-Hungary]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]] collapsed and broke up into separate nations, and many other nations had their borders redrawn. The [[Treaty of Versailles]], which officially ended [[World War I]] in 1919, was harsh towards [[Germany]], upon whom it placed full responsibility for the war and imposed heavy sanctions.<ref name="natgeo 443">National Geographic, 443.</ref> |
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Economic instability, caused in part by debts incurred in the First World War and 'loans' to Germany played havoc in Europe in the late 1920s and 1930s. This and the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] brought about the worldwide [[Great Depression]]. Helped by the economic crisis [[Fascism|Fascist movements]] developed throughout Europe placing [[Adolf Hitler]] of [[Nazi Germany]], [[Francisco Franco]] of [[Spain]] and [[Benito Mussolini]] of [[Italy]] in power.<ref> {{citation|last=Hobsbawm|first=Eric|publisher=Vintage|year=1995|id=ISBN 978--0-73005-7 |
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| unused_data = |The Age of Extremes: A history of the world, 1914-1991}}</ref><ref name="natgeo 438">National Geographic, 438.</ref> |
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[[دوتنه:Yalta summit 1945 with Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin.jpg|thumb|left|The "[[Allies of World War II|Big Three]]" at the [[Yalta Conference]] in 1945; seated (from the left): [[Winston Churchill]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[Joseph Stalin]]]] |
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Driven by his ideals of war and power, Hitler started expanding Germany steadily after coming to authority in 1933. The [[Saarland]] was incorporated in 1935 and [[Austria]] with the so-called [[Anschluss]] in 1938. Later in 1938 the [[Sudetenland]] was annexed in a move that was highly contested by the other powers, but ultimately permitted in hopes of [[appeasement|appeasing]] Hitler. In early 1939, the remainder of [[Czechoslovakia]] was split into the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]], incorporated in Nazi Germany, and the [[Slovak Republic (1939–1945)|Slovac satellite state]]. The German [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invasion of Poland]] on 1 September 1939, prompted France and the United Kingdom to declare war to Germany on 3 September.<ref name="natgeo 465">National Geographic, 465.</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Taylor|first=A.J.P.|title= The Origins of the Second World War|date=1996|publisher=Simon & Schuster| id=ISBN 0-684-82947-9}}</ref> The [[Soviet invasion of Poland]] and the Baltic countries started on 17 September. |
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After occupying the [[Low Countries]], [[Denmark]] and [[Norway]] [[blitzkrieg|quickly]], Germany forced French capitulation in June 1940. However, the subsequent [[Battle of Britain|bombing offensive on Britain]] determined the first failure to Germany's bellicose operations.<ref name="natgeo 510">National Geographic, 510.</ref> In 1941 Germany turned on their former Soviet allies with an ultimately unsuccessful [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="natgeo 532">National Geographic, 532.</ref> On [[7 December]], [[1941]] [[Empire of Japan|Japan's]] surprise [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] drew the United States into the conflict as allies of the [[British Empire]] and other [[Allies of World War II|allied]] forces.<ref name="natgeo 511">National Geographic, 511.</ref><ref name="natgeo 519">National Geographic, 519.</ref> After the staggering [[battle of Stalingrad]] in 1943, the German offensive on Soviet territory turned into a continual fallback. In 1944 British and American forces invaded France in the [[Normandy Landings|D-Day]] landings opening a second front on Germany. [[Berlin]] finally fell in 1945, ending World War II in Europe. The war was the largest and most destructive in human history, with 60 million dead across the world,<ref name="natgeo 439">National Geographic, 439.</ref> including between 9 and 11 million people who perished during [[the Holocaust]].<ref name="natgeo 520">National Geographic, 520.</ref> |
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[[دوتنه:European flag in the wind.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[flag of Europe]] used by the [[Council of Europe]] and [[European Union]]]] |
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World War I and especially World War II diminished the eminence of Western Europe in world affairs. After World War II the map of Europe was redrawn at the [[Yalta Conference]] and divided into two blocs, the Western countries and the [[communist]] Eastern bloc, separated by what was later called by [[Winston Churchill]] an "[[iron curtain]]". The United States and Western Europe |
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established the [[NATO]] alliance and later the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe established the [[Warsaw Pact]].<ref name="natgeo 530">National Geographic, 530.</ref> The two new [[superpower]]s, the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]], became locked in a fifty-year long [[Cold War]], centred on [[nuclear proliferation]]. At the same time [[decolonization]], which had already started after World War I, gradually resulted in the independence of most of the European colonies in [[Asia]] and [[Africa]].<ref name="natgeo 534">National Geographic, 534.</ref> |
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In the 1980s the [[glasnost|reforms]] of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and the [[solidarity]] movement in Poland accelerated the collapse of the Eastern bloc and the end of the Cold War. Germany was reunited, after the symbolic [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989, and the maps of Eastern Europe were redrawn once more.<ref> {{citation|last=Hobsbawm|first=Eric|publisher=Vintage|year=1995| id=ISBN 978--0-73005-7 |
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| unused_data = |The Age of Extremes: A history of the world, 1914-1991}}</ref> |
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[[European integration]] also grew in the post-World War II years. The [[Treaty of Rome]] in 1957 established the [[European Economic Community]] between six Western European states with the goal of a unified economic policy and common market.<ref name="natgeo 536">National Geographic, 536.</ref> In 1967 the EEC, [[European Coal and Steel Community]] and [[Euratom]] formed the [[European Community]], which in 1993 became the [[European Union]]. The EU established a [[European Parliament|parliament]], [[European Court of Justice|court]] and [[European Central Bank|central bank]] and introduced the [[euro]] as a unified currency.<ref name="natgeo 537">National Geographic, 537.</ref> Beginning in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War, Eastern European countries began joining, expanding the EU to its current size of 27 European nations, and once more making Europe a major economical and political centre of power.<ref name="natgeo 535">National Geographic, 535.</ref> |
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== Geography and extent == |
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{{main|Geography of Europe}} |
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[[دوتنه:Kaukasus.jpg|thumb|left|Satellite image of Caucasus Mountains, Black Sea (l.) and Caspian Sea (r.)]] |
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; float: right; margin-right:60px" |
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!colspan=2 |Definitions of Europe |
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|- |
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|[[Image:Location of Europe.png|250px|thumb|Traditional definition of Europe]] |
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||[[Image:Newspaper Georgian Times New Europe definition.PNG|250px|Georgian Times new definition of Europe]] |
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|- |
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|Traditional Definition<br /> of Europe|| New Definition of Europe<br /> Proposed by the Georgian Times<ref>http://www.geotimes.ge/index.php?m=home&newsid=2912</ref> This is not a common definition, and why was Canada not added to "Europe" |
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|}--> |
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[[Physical geography|Physiographically]], Europe is the northwestern constituent of the larger landmass known as [[Eurasia]], or [[Afro-Eurasia]]: [[Asia]] occupies the eastern bulk of this continuous landmass and all share a common [[continental shelf]]. Europe's eastern frontier is now commonly delineated by the [[Ural Mountains]] in [[Russia]].<ref name="Encarta"/> The first century AD geographer [[Strabo]], took the [[Tanais River]] to be the boundary,<ref>Strabo ''Geography 11.1''</ref> as did early [[Judea|Judaic]] sources. The southeast boundary with Asia is not universally defined. Most commonly the [[Ural River|Ural]] or, alternatively, the [[Emba River]] serve as possible boundaries. The boundary continues to the [[Caspian Sea]], the crest of the [[Caucasus Mountains]] or, alternatively, the [[Kura River]] in the [[Caucasus]], and on to the [[Black Sea]]; the [[Bosporus]], the [[Sea of Marmara]], and the [[Dardanelles]] conclude the Asian boundary. The [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the south separates Europe from [[Africa]]. The western boundary is the [[Atlantic Ocean]]; [[Iceland]], though nearer to [[Greenland]] ([[North America]]) than mainland Europe, is generally included in Europe. There is ongoing debate on where the [[geographical centre of Europe]] is. ''For a detailed description of the boundary between Asia and Europe see [[transcontinental nation]].'' |
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Because of sociopolitical and cultural differences, there are various descriptions of Europe's boundary; in some sources, some territories are not included in Europe, while other sources include them. For instance, geographers from [[Post-Soviet states|Russia and other post-Soviet states]] generally include the Urals in Europe while including Caucasia in Asia. Similarly, numerous geographers consider [[Azerbaijan]]'s and [[Armenia]]'s southern border with [[Iran]] and [[Turkey]]'s southern and eastern border with [[Syria]], [[Iraq]] and Iran as the boundary between Asia and Europe because of political and cultural reasons. In the same way, despite being close to Asia and Africa, the Mediterranean islands of [[Cyprus]] and [[Malta]] are generally considered part of Europe. |
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=== Physical geography === |
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[[دوتنه:Europe topography map en.png|thumb|right|Relief map of Europe]] |
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Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions, however, are more mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high [[Alps]], [[Pyrenees]] and [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathians]], through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. This extended lowland is known as the [[Great European Plain]], and at its heart lies the [[North German Plain]]. An arc of uplands also exists along the north-western seaboard, which begins in the western parts of the islands of [[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Ireland]], and then continues along the mountainous, [[fjord]]-cut, spine of [[Norway]]. |
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This description is simplified. Sub-regions such as the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and the [[Italian Peninsula]] contain their own complex features, as does mainland Central Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys and basins that complicate the general trend. Sub-regions like [[Iceland]], Britain and Ireland are special cases. The former is a land unto itself in the northern ocean which is counted as part of Europe, while the latter are upland areas that were once joined to the mainland until rising sea levels cut them off. |
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== Climate == |
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[[دوتنه:Vegetation Europe.png|thumb|180px|[[Biome]]s of Europe: |
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<br /> |
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{{legend0|#9fd6c9|[[tundra]]}} |
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{{legend0|#a7bddb|[[alpine tundra]]}} |
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{{legend0|#006d64|[[taiga]]}} |
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{{legend0|#3c9798|[[montane forest]]}} <br /> |
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{{legend0|#a4e05d|[[temperate broadleaf forest]]}} |
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{{legend0|#907699|[[mediterranean forest]]}} |
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{{legend0|#f7ec6f|[[temperate steppe]]}} |
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{{legend0|#9b8447|[[dry steppe]]}} |
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]] |
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[[دوتنه:Gulf Stream water temperature.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Gulf Stream]] is orange and yellow in this thermal image of the [[Atlantic]].]] |
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Europe lies mainly in the [[temperate]] climate zones, being subjected to [[prevailing westerlies]]. |
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The climate is milder in comparison to other areas of the same latitude around the globe due to the [[Gulf Stream]].<ref name=climate>{{citeweb|title=European Climate|work=World Book|accessdate=2008-06-16|publisher=World Book, Inc}}</ref> The Gulf Stream is nicknamed "Europe's central heating", because it makes Europe's climate warmer and wetter than it would otherwise be. The Gulf Stream not only carries warm water to Europe's coast but also warms up the prevailing westerly winds that blow across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean. |
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Therefore the average temperature throughout the year of Naples is 16 °C (60.8 °F), while it is only 12 °C (53.6 °F) in New York City which is almost on the same latitude. Berlin, Germany; Calgary, Canada; and Irkutsk, in the Asian part of Russia, lie on around the same latitude; January temperatures in Berlin average around 8 °C (15 °F) higher than those in Calgary, and they are almost 22 °C (40 °F) higher than average temperatures in Irkutsk.<ref name=climate/> |
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== Geology == |
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{{main|Geology of Europe}} |
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The Geology of Europe is hugely varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from the [[Scottish Highlands]] to the rolling [[plain]]s of [[Hungary]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/jpg/eurogy.jpg|title=Geology map of Europe|date=1967|publisher=University of Southampton|accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref> |
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Europe's most significant feature is the dichotomy between highland and mountainous [[Southern Europe]] and a vast, partially underwater, northern plain ranging from [[England]] in the west to [[Ural Mountains]] in the east. These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of the [[Pyrenees]] and [[Alps]]/[[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathians]]. The northern plains are delimited in the west by the [[Scandinavian Mountains]] and the mountainous parts of the [[British Isles]]. Major shallow water bodies submerging parts of the northern plains are the [[Celtic Sea]], the [[North Sea]], the [[Baltic Sea]] complex and [[Barents Sea]]. |
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The northern plain contains the old geological continent of [[Baltica]], and so may be regarded geologically as the "main continent", while peripheral highlands and mountainous regions in the south and west constitute fragments from various other geological continents. Most of the older geology of [[Western Europe]] existed as part of the ancient [[microcontinent]] [[Avalonia]]. |
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=== Geological history === |
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The geological history of Europe traces back to the formation of the [[Baltic Shield]] (Fennoscandia) and the [[Sarmatian craton]], both around 2250 million years ago, followed by the [[Volgo-Uralia]] shield, the three together leading to the [[East European craton]] (≈ [[Baltica]]) which became a part of the [[supercontinent]] [[Columbia (supercontinent)|Columbia]]. Around 1100 million years ago, Baltica and Arctica (as part of the [[Laurentia]] block) became joined to [[Rodinia]], later resplitting around 550 million years ago to reform as Baltica. Around 440 million years ago [[Euramerica]] was formed from Baltica and Laurentia; a further joining with [[Gondwana]] then leading to the formation of [[Pangea]]. Around 190 million years ago, Gondwana and [[Laurasia]] split apart due to the widening of the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Finally, and very soon afterwards, Laurasia itself split up again, into Laurentia ([[North America]]) and the Eurasian continent. The land connection between the two persisted for a considerable time, via [[Greenland]], leading to interchange of animal species. From around 50 million years ago, rising and falling sea levels have determined the actual shape of Europe, and its connections with continents such as [[Asia]]. Europe's present shape dates to the late [[Tertiary period]] about five million years ago.<ref name="encyclopedia britannica">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9106055|title=Europe|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|year=2007|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> |
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== Biodiversity == |
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{{seealso|Fauna of Europe}} |
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[[دوتنه:Europe biogeography countries.svg|right|thumb|300px|Biogeographic regions of Europe]] |
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[[دوتنه:Floristic regions in Europe (english).png|thumb|right|300px|Floristic regions in Europe according to Wolfgang Frey and Rainer Lösch]] |
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Having lived side-by-side with agricultural peoples for millennia, Europe's animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of man. With the exception of [[Fennoscandia]] and northern [[Russia]], few areas of untouched wilderness are currently found in Europe, except for various [[national park]]s. |
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The main natural vegetation cover in Europe is mixed [[forest]]. The conditions for growth are very favourable. In the north, the [[Gulf Stream]] and [[North Atlantic Current|North Atlantic Drift]] warm the continent. Southern Europe could be described as having a warm, but mild climate. There are frequent summer droughts in this region. Mountain ridges also affect the conditions. Some of these ([[Alps]], [[Pyrenees]]) are oriented east-west and allow the wind to carry large masses of water from the ocean in the interior. Others are oriented south-north ([[Scandinavian Mountains]], [[Dinaric Alps|Dinarides]], [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathians]], [[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]]) and because the rain falls primarily on the side of mountains that is oriented towards sea, forests grow well on this side, while on the other side, the conditions are much less favourable. Few corners of mainland Europe have not been grazed by [[livestock]] at some point in time, and the cutting down of the pre-agricultural forest habitat caused disruption to the original plant and animal ecosystems. |
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Probably eighty to ninety per cent of Europe was once covered by forest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saveamericasforests.org/europages/history&geography.htm|title=History and geography|publisher=Save America's Forest Funds|accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref> It stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the [[Arctic Ocean]]. Though over half of Europe's original forests disappeared through the centuries of [[deforestation]], Europe still has over one quarter of its land area as forest, such as the [[taiga]] of Scandinavia and Russia, mixed [[rainforest]]s of the Caucasus and the [[Cork oak]] forests in the western Mediterranean. During recent times, deforestation has been slowed and many trees have been planted. However, in many cases monoculture [[plantation]]s of [[Pinophyta|conifers]] have replaced the original mixed natural forest, because these grow quicker. The plantations now cover vast areas of land, but offer poorer habitats for many European forest dwelling species which require a mixture of tree species and diverse forest structure. The amount of natural forest in Western Europe is just 2–3% or less, in European Russia 5–10%. The country with the smallest percentage of forested area (excluding the [[micronations]]) is [[Iceland]] (1%), while the most forested country is [[Finland]] (77%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcpfe.net/system/files/u1/publications/pdf/state_of_europes_forests_2007.pdf|title=State of Europe's Forests 2007: The MCPFE report on sustainable forest management in Europe|publisher=EFI Euroforest Portal|pages=p. 182|accessdate=2008-06-09|format=pdf}}</ref> |
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In temperate Europe, mixed forest with both [[flowering plant|broadleaf]] and [[pinophyta|coniferous]] trees dominate. The most important species in central and western Europe are [[beech]] and [[oak]]. In the north, the [[taiga]] is a mixed [[spruce]]-[[pine]]-[[birch]] forest; further north within [[Russia]] and extreme northern [[Scandinavia]], the [[taiga]] gives way to [[tundra]] as the Arctic is approached. In the Mediterranean, many [[olive]] trees have been planted, which are very well adapted to its arid climate; [[Cupressus sempervirens|Mediterranean Cypress]] is also widely planted in southern Europe. The semi-arid Mediterranean region hosts much scrub forest. A narrow east-west tongue of Eurasian [[grassland]] (the [[steppe]]) extends eastwards from [[Ukraine]] and southern [[Russia]] and ends in [[Hungary]] and traverses into [[taiga]] to the north. |
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Glaciation during the most recent [[ice age]] and the presence of man affected the distribution of [[Fauna of Europe|European fauna]]. As for the animals, in many parts of Europe most large animals and top [[predator]] species have been hunted to extinction. The [[woolly mammoth]] was extinct before the end of the [[Neolithic]] period. Today [[wolf|wolves]] ([[carnivore]]s) and [[bears]] ([[omnivore]]s) are endangered. Once they were found in most parts of Europe. However, deforestation and hunting caused these animals to withdraw further and further. By the [[Middle Ages]] the bears' habitats were limited to more or less inaccessible mountains with sufficient forest cover. Today, the [[European brown bear|brown bear]] lives primarily in the [[Balkan|Balkan peninsula]], [[Scandinavia]], and [[Russia]]; a small number also persist in other countries across Europe (Austria, Pyrenees etc.), but in these areas brown bear populations are fragmented and marginalised because of the destruction of their habitat. In addition, [[polar bear]]s may be found on [[Svalbard]], a [[Norway|Norwegian]] archipelago far north of Scandinavia. The [[Eurasian wolf|wolf]], the second largest predator in Europe after the brown bear, can be found primarily in [[Eastern Europe]] and in the Balkans, with a handful of packs in pockets of [[Western Europe]] ([[Scandinavia]], [[Spain]], etc.). |
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Other important European carnivores are [[Eurasian lynx]], European [[wild cat]], [[fox]]es (especially the [[red fox]]), [[jackal]] and different species of [[marten]]s, [[hedgehog]]s, different species of [[List of European reptiles|reptiles]] (like [[snakes]] as ([[Viperinae|vipers]] and [[grass snake]]s) and [[List of European amphibians|amphibians]], different [[List of European birds|birds]] ([[owl]]s, [[hawk]]s and other [[birds of prey]]). |
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Important European [[herbivore]]s are [[snail]]s, [[larva]]e, [[fish]], different birds, and [[List of European mammals|mammals]], like [[rodent]]s, [[deer]] and [[roe deer]], [[boar]]s, and living in the mountains, [[marmot]]s, [[Alpine Ibex|steinbocks]], [[chamois]] among others. |
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Sea creatures are also an important part of European flora and fauna. The sea flora is mainly [[phytoplankton]]. Important animals that live in European seas are [[zooplankton]], [[mollusc]]s, [[echinoderm]]s, different [[crustacean]]s, [[squid]]s and [[octopuses]], fish, [[dolphin]]s, and [[whales]]. |
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Biodiversity is protected in Europe through the [[Council of Europe]]'s [[Bern Convention]]), which has also been signed by the [[European Community]] as well as non-European states. |
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== Demographics == |
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{{main|Demographics of Europe|European ethnic groups|Immigration to Europe|Aging of Europe}} |
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[[دوتنه:Europe's population growth - CIA 2008.jpg|thumb|260px|left|Population growth and decline of European countries]] |
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Since the [[Renaissance]], Europe has had a major influence in culture, economics and social movements in the world. European demographics are important not only historically, but also in understanding current international relations and population issues. |
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Some current and past issues in European demographics have included [[Emigration|religious emigration]], [[race relations]], [[Immigration#Why do people immigrate?|economic immigration]], a declining [[birth rate]] and an [[aging population]]. In some countries, such as [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and [[Poland]], access to [[abortion]] is currently limited; in the past, such restrictions and also restrictions on artificial birth control were commonplace throughout Europe. Furthermore, three European countries ([[The Netherlands]], [[Belgium]] and [[Switzerland]]) have allowed a limited form of [[voluntary euthanasia]] for some terminally ill people. |
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In 2005 the population of Europe was estimated to be 731 million according to the [[United Nations]], which is slightly more than one-ninth of the [[world]]'s population. A century ago Europe had nearly a quarter of the [[world population|world's population]]. The population of Europe has grown in the past century, but in other areas of the world (in particular [[Africa]] and [[Asia]]) the population has grown far more quickly.<ref name="UNPP 2006">{{cite web|url=http://esa.un.org/unpp|title=World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision Population Database|publisher=UN - Department of Economic and Social Affairs|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> According to UN population projection (medium variant), Europe's share will fall to 7% in 2050, numbering 653 million.<ref name="UNPP 2006"/> Within this context, significant disparities exist between religions in relation to [[overpopulation|fertility rates]]. The average number of [[List of countries and territories by fertility rate|children per female]] of child bearing age is 1.52.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/23784|title=White Europeans: An endangered species?|publisher=Yale Daily News|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> According to some sources,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/fellows/taspinar20030301.htm|title=Brookings Institute Report}} See also: {{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4385768.stm|title=Muslims in Europe: Country guide|publisher=BBC news}}</ref> this rate is higher among [[Islam in Europe|Muslims]]. |
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In 2005 the [[EU]] had an overall net gain from [[immigration]] of 1.8 million people, despite having one of the highest [[population density|population densities]] in the world. This accounted for almost 85% of Europe's total [[population growth]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=402|title=Europe: Population and Migration in 2005|publisher=Migration Information Source|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> A tough new EU immigration law detaining [[illegal immigrant]]s for up to 18 months before deportation has triggered outrage across [[Latin America]], with Venezuelan President [[Hugo Chavez]] threatening to cut off [[Oil consumption|oil exports]] to Europe.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25275157/ Chavez: Europe risks oil over immigrant law]</ref> |
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== Political geography == |
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{{Refimprovesect|date=June 2008}} |
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{{main|Politics of Europe}} |
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[[دوتنه:Map of Europe (political).png|thumb|right|250px| [[Europe]] according to a widely accepted definition: geographic Europe in green, and cultural Europe in dark blue (Asian parts of European states in light blue).]] |
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[[دوتنه:Europe countries map en.png|thumb|right|250px|Modern [[political map]]]] |
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[[دوتنه:Europe_subregion_map_UN_geoschme.svg|right|thumb|250px|Regional grouping according to the UN]] |
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[[دوتنه:Europe_subregion_map_world_factbook.svg|right|thumb|250px|Regional grouping according to The World Factbook]] |
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[[دوتنه:EU27-candidate_countries_map.svg|thumb|right|250px|Europe in the context of the [[EU]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries|publisher=[[European Commission]]|title=Countries|accessdate=2008-06-13}}</ref>]] |
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[[دوتنه:WEU Map.svg|thumb|right|250px|[[WEU]] • <span style="color:#e82020;">Members</span> • <span style="color:#40a800;">Associate members</span> • <span style="color:#5874a8;">Observers</span> • <span style="color:#a080a8;">Associate partners</span>]] |
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[[دوتنه:Map-Coeurope.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Council of Europe]] nations]] |
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According to different definitions, the territories may be subject to [[Geopolitical divisions of Europe|various categorisations]]. The table below shows the [[UN geoscheme|scheme for geographic subregions]] used by the [[United Nations]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#europe|title=United Nations Statistics Division - Countries of Europe|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> alongside the regional grouping published in the [[CIA factbook]]. The socio-geographical data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated. |
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The 27 [[European Union member state]]s are highly integrated economically and politically, the [[European Union]] itself forms part of the political geography of Europe. |
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{{seealso|Demographics of Europe|List of European countries by population}} |
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{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="references-small" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse" |
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|- bgcolor="#ECECEC" |
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! Name of [[subregion|region]]{{Cref|a}} and<br />territory, with [[flag]] |
|||
! [[List of countries by area|Area]]<br />(km²) |
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! [[List of countries by population|Population]]<br />(1 July, 2002 est.) |
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! [[List of countries by population density|Population density]]<br />(per km²) |
|||
! [[Capital]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Åland}} [[Åland]] ([[Finland]]) |
|||
| align="right" | 1,552 |
|||
| align="right" | 26,008 |
|||
| align="right" | 16.8 |
|||
| [[Mariehamn]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Albania}} [[Albania]] |
|||
| align="right" | 28,748 |
|||
| align="right" | 3,600,523 |
|||
| align="right" | 125.2 |
|||
| [[Tirana]] |
|||
|-| |
|||
| {{flagicon|Andorra}} [[Andorra]] |
|||
| align="right" | 468 |
|||
| align="right" | 68,403 |
|||
| align="right" | 146.2 |
|||
| [[Andorra la Vella]] |
|||
|-| |
|||
|{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Austria]] |
|||
| align="right" | 83,858 |
|||
| align="right" | 8,169,929 |
|||
| align="right" | 97.4 |
|||
| [[Vienna]] |
|||
|-| |
|||
|{{flagicon|Armenia}} [[Armenia]]{{Cref|k}} |
|||
| align="right" | 29,800 |
|||
| align="right" | 3,229,900 |
|||
| align="right" | 101 |
|||
| [[Yerevan]] |
|||
|- |
|||
|{{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} [[Azerbaijan]]{{Cref|l}} |
|||
| align="right" | 86,600 |
|||
| align="right" | 8,621,000 |
|||
| align="right" | 97 |
|||
| [[Baku]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Belarus}} [[Belarus]] |
|||
| align="right" | 207,600 |
|||
| align="right" | 10,335,382 |
|||
| align="right" | 49.8 |
|||
| [[Minsk]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Belgium]] |
|||
| align="right" | 30,510 |
|||
| align="right" | 10,274,595 |
|||
| align="right" | 336.8 |
|||
| [[Brussels]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] |
|||
| align="right" | 51,129 |
|||
| align="right" | 4,448,500 |
|||
| align="right" | 77.5 |
|||
| [[Sarajevo]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Bulgaria]] |
|||
| align="right" | 110,910 |
|||
| align="right" | 7,621,337 |
|||
| align="right" | 68.7 |
|||
| [[Sofia]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|CRO}} [[Croatia]] |
|||
| align="right" | 56,542 |
|||
| align="right" | 4,437,460 |
|||
| align="right" | 77.7 |
|||
| [[Zagreb]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Cyprus}} [[Cyprus]]{{Cref|e}} |
|||
| align="right" | 9,251 |
|||
| align="right" | 788,457 |
|||
| align="right" | 85 |
|||
| [[Nicosia]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Czech Republic}} [[Czech Republic]] |
|||
| align="right" | 78,866 |
|||
| align="right" | 10,256,760 |
|||
| align="right" | 130.1 |
|||
| [[Prague]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]] |
|||
| align="right" | 43,094 |
|||
| align="right" | 5,368,854 |
|||
| align="right" | 124.6 |
|||
| [[Copenhagen]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Estonia}} [[Estonia]] |
|||
| align="right" | 45,226 |
|||
| align="right" | 1,415,681 |
|||
| align="right" | 31.3 |
|||
| [[Tallinn]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Faroe Islands}} [[Faroe Islands]] ([[Denmark]]) |
|||
| align="right" | 1,399 |
|||
| align="right" | 46,011 |
|||
| align="right" | 32.9 |
|||
| [[Tórshavn]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Finland]] |
|||
| align="right" | 336,593 |
|||
| align="right" | 5,157,537 |
|||
| align="right" | 15.3 |
|||
| [[Helsinki]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|France}} [[France]]{{Cref|h}} |
|||
| align="right" | 547,030 |
|||
| align="right" | 59,765,983 |
|||
| align="right" | 109.3 |
|||
| [[Paris]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Georgia}} [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]{{Cref|m}} |
|||
| align="right" | 69,700 |
|||
| align="right" | 4,661,473 |
|||
| align="right" | 64 |
|||
| [[Tbilisi]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]] |
|||
| align="right" | 357,021 |
|||
| align="right" | 83,251,851 |
|||
| align="right" | 233.2 |
|||
| [[Berlin]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Gibraltar}} [[Gibraltar]] ([[United Kingdom|UK]]) |
|||
| align="right" | 5.9 |
|||
| align="right" | 27,714 |
|||
| align="right" | 4,697.3 |
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| [[Gibraltar]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Greece}} [[Greece]] |
|||
| align="right" | 131,940 |
|||
| align="right" | 10,645,343 |
|||
| align="right" | 80.7 |
|||
| [[Athens]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Guernsey}} [[Guernsey]]{{Cref|d}} |
|||
| align="right" | 78 |
|||
| align="right" | 64,587 |
|||
| align="right" | 828.0 |
|||
| [[St. Peter Port]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Hungary}} [[Hungary]] |
|||
| align="right" | 93,030 |
|||
| align="right" | 10,075,034 |
|||
| align="right" | 108.3 |
|||
| [[Budapest]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Iceland]] |
|||
| align="right" | 103,000 |
|||
| align="right" | 307,261 |
|||
| align="right" | 2.7 |
|||
| [[Reykjavík]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] |
|||
| align="right" | 70,280 |
|||
| align="right" | 4,234,925 |
|||
| align="right" | 60.3 |
|||
| [[Dublin]] |
|||
|-|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Isle of Man}} [[Isle of Man]]{{Cref|d}} |
|||
| align="right" | 572 |
|||
| align="right" | 73,873 |
|||
| align="right" | 129.1 |
|||
| [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]] |
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|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Italy]] |
|||
| align="right" | 301,230 |
|||
| align="right" | 58,751,711 |
|||
| align="right" | 191.6 |
|||
| [[Rome]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Jersey}} [[Jersey]]{{Cref|d}} |
|||
| align="right" | 116 |
|||
| align="right" | 89,775 |
|||
| align="right" | 773.9 |
|||
| [[Saint Helier]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} [[Kazakhstan]]{{Cref|j}} |
|||
| align="right" | 2,724,900 |
|||
| align="right" | 15,217,711 |
|||
| align="right" | 5.6 |
|||
| [[Astana]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Kosovo}} [[Kosovo]]{{Cref|p}} |
|||
| align="right" | 10,887 |
|||
| align="right" | 2,126,708 |
|||
| align="right" | 220 |
|||
| [[Pristina]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Latvia}} [[Latvia]] |
|||
| align="right" | 64,589 |
|||
| align="right" | 2,366,515 |
|||
| align="right" | 36.6 |
|||
| [[Riga]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Liechtenstein}} [[Liechtenstein]] |
|||
| align="right" | 160 |
|||
| align="right" | 32,842 |
|||
| align="right" | 205.3 |
|||
| [[Vaduz]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Lithuania}} [[Lithuania]] |
|||
| align="right" | 65,200 |
|||
| align="right" | 3,601,138 |
|||
| align="right" | 55.2 |
|||
| [[Vilnius]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Luxembourg}} [[Luxembourg]] |
|||
| align="right" | 2,586 |
|||
| align="right" | 448,569 |
|||
| align="right" | 173.5 |
|||
| [[Luxembourg (city)|Luxembourg]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Republic of Macedonia}} [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]] |
|||
| align="right" | 25,333 |
|||
| align="right" | 2,054,800 |
|||
| align="right" | 81.1 |
|||
| [[Skopje]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Malta}} [[Malta]] |
|||
| align="right" | 316 |
|||
| align="right" | 397,499 |
|||
| align="right" | 1,257.9 |
|||
| [[Valletta]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Moldova}} [[Moldova]]{{Cref|b}} |
|||
| align="right" | 33,843 |
|||
| align="right" | 4,434,547 |
|||
| align="right" | 131.0 |
|||
| [[Chişinău]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Monaco}} [[Monaco]] |
|||
| align="right" | 1.95 |
|||
| align="right" | 31,987 |
|||
| align="right" | 16,403.6 |
|||
| [[Monaco]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Montenegro}} [[Montenegro]] |
|||
| align="right" | 13,812 |
|||
| align="right" | 616,258 |
|||
| align="right" | 44.6 |
|||
| [[Podgorica]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]]{{Cref|i}} |
|||
| align="right" | 41,526 |
|||
| align="right" | 16,318,199 |
|||
| align="right" | 393.0 |
|||
| [[Amsterdam]] |
|||
|- |
|||
|{{flagicon|Norway}} [[Norway]] |
|||
| align="right" | 324,220 |
|||
| align="right" | 4,525,116 |
|||
| align="right" | 14.0 |
|||
| [[Oslo]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Poland}} [[Poland]] |
|||
| align="right" | 312,685 |
|||
| align="right" | 38,625,478 |
|||
| align="right" | 123.5 |
|||
| [[Warsaw]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Portugal}} [[Portugal]]{{Cref|f}} |
|||
| align="right" | 91,568 |
|||
| align="right" | 10,409,995 |
|||
| align="right" | 110.1 |
|||
| [[Lisbon]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Romania]] |
|||
| align="right" | 238,391 |
|||
| align="right" | 21,698,181 |
|||
| align="right" | 91.0 |
|||
| [[Bucharest]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Russia]]{{Cref|c}} |
|||
| align="right" | 17,075,400 |
|||
| align="right" | 142,200,000 |
|||
| align="right" | 26.8 |
|||
| [[Moscow]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|San Marino}} [[San Marino]] |
|||
| align="right" | 61 |
|||
| align="right" | 27,730 |
|||
| align="right" | 454.6 |
|||
| [[San Marino, San Marino|San Marino]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Serbia}} [[Serbia]] (including Kosovo){{Cref|g}} |
|||
| align="right" | 88,361 |
|||
| align="right" | 9,663,742 |
|||
| align="right" | 109.4 |
|||
| [[Belgrade]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Slovakia}} [[Slovakia]] |
|||
| align="right" | 48,845 |
|||
| align="right" | 5,422,366 |
|||
| align="right" | 111.0 |
|||
| [[Bratislava]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Slovenia}} [[Slovenia]] |
|||
| align="right" | 20,273 |
|||
| align="right" | 1,932,917 |
|||
| align="right" | 95.3 |
|||
| [[Ljubljana]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Spain]] |
|||
| align="right" | 504,851 |
|||
| align="right" | 45,061,274 |
|||
| align="right" | 89.3 |
|||
| [[Madrid]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Norway}} [[Svalbard and Jan Mayen|Svalbard and Jan<br />Mayen Islands]] ([[Norway]]) |
|||
| align="right" | 62,049 |
|||
| align="right" | 2,868 |
|||
| align="right" | 0.046 |
|||
| [[Longyearbyen]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Sweden]] |
|||
| align="right" | 449,964 |
|||
| align="right" | 9,090,113 |
|||
| align="right" | 19.7 |
|||
| [[Stockholm]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Switzerland]] |
|||
| align="right" | 41,290 |
|||
| align="right" | 7,507,000 |
|||
| align="right" | 176.8 |
|||
| [[Bern]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Turkey]]{{Cref|n}} |
|||
| align="right" | 783,562 |
|||
| align="right" | 70,586,256 |
|||
| align="right" | 93 |
|||
| [[Ankara]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[Ukraine]] |
|||
| align="right" | 603,700 |
|||
| align="right" | 48,396,470 |
|||
| align="right" | 80.2 |
|||
| [[Kiev]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]] |
|||
| align="right" | 244,820 |
|||
| align="right" | 61,100,835 |
|||
| align="right" | 244.2 |
|||
| [[London]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| {{flagicon|Vatican City}} [[Vatican City]] |
|||
| align="right" | 0.44 |
|||
| align="right" | 900 |
|||
| align="right" | 2,045.5 |
|||
| [[Vatican City]] |
|||
|- |
|||
|- style=" font-weight:bold; " |
|||
| Total |
|||
| align="right" | 10,180,000{{Cref|o}} |
|||
| align="right" | 731,000,000{{Cref|o}} |
|||
| align="right" | 70 |
|||
|} |
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== Economy == |
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[[دوتنه:Europe gdp map-1-.png|thumb|European nations by [[GDP]] (nominal) per capita in 2006]] |
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[[دوتنه:Europe gdp real growth rate - 2007.PNG|thumb|GDP real growth rate in 2007]] |
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{{main|Economy of Europe}} |
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As a continent, the economy of Europe is currently the largest on Earth. As with other continents, Europe has a large variation of wealth among its countries. The richer states tend to be in the [[Western Europe|West]], some of the [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] economies are still emerging from the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Yugoslavia]]. The [[European Union]], an intergovernmental body composed of 27 European states, comprises the [[List of countries by GDP|largest single economic area]] in the world. Currently, 15 EU [[Eurozone|countries]] share the [[euro]] as a common currency. |
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Five European countries rank in the top ten of the worlds largest [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|national economies in GDP (PPP)]]. This includes (ranks according to the [[The CIA World Factbook|CIA]]): Germany (5), the UK (6), Russia (7), France (8), and Italy (10).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html|title=[[The CIA World Factbook]] - GDP (PPP)|date=2008-07-15|retrieved=2008-07-19|publisher=[[CIA]]}}</ref> |
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=== Pre–1945: Industrial growth === |
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The [[Industrial Revolution]] started in Europe, specifically the [[United Kingdom]] in the late 18th century,<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture17a.html|title=The Origins of the Industrial Revolution in England|publisher=The History Guide|author=Steven Kreis|date=[[October 11]] [[2006]]|accessdate=2007-01-01}}</ref> and the 19th century saw Western Europe industrialise. Economies were disrupted by [[World War I]] but by the beginning of [[World War II]] they had recovered and were having to compete with the growing economic strength of the [[United States]]. [[World War II]], again, damaged much of Europe's industries. |
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=== 1945–1990: The Cold War === |
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After World War II the economy of the UK was in a state of ruin,<ref>Dornbusch, Rudiger; Nölling, Wilhelm P.; Layard, Richard G. ''Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today'', pg. 117</ref> and continued to suffer relative economic decline in the following decades.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rethinking International Organization: Deregulation and Global Governance|last=Emadi-Coffin|first=Barbara|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0415195403|pages=p.64}}</ref> [[Italy]] was also in a poor economic condition but regained a high level of growth by the 1950s. [[West Germany]] [[Wirtschaftswunder|recovered quickly]] and had doubled production from pre-war levels by the 1950s.<ref>Dornbusch, Rudiger; Nölling, Wilhelm P.; Layard, Richard G. ''Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today'', pg. 29</ref> [[France]] also staged a remarkable comeback enjoying rapid growth and modernisation.<ref>Harrop, Martin. ''Power and Policy in Liberal Democracies'', pg. 23</ref> The majority of [[Eastern Europe]]an states came under the control of the [[USSR]] and thus were members of the [[Council for Mutual Economic Assistance]] (COMECON).<ref name=loc-cs>"Germany (East)", Library of Congress Country Study, [http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/germany_east/gx_appnb.html Appendix B: The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance]</ref> |
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The states which retained a [[free-market]] system were given a large amount of aid by the [[United States]] under the [[Marshall Plan]].<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/marshallplan|title=Marshall Plan|publisher=US Department of State|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> The western states moved to link their economies together, providing the basis for the [[EU]] and increasing cross border trade. This helped them to enjoy rapidly improving economies, while those states in COMECON were struggling in a large part due to the cost of the [[Cold War]]. Until 1990, the [[European Community]] was expanded from 6 founding members to 12. The emphasis placed on resurrecting the West German economy led to it overtaking the [[UK]] as Europe's largest economy. |
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[[دوتنه:RF NG pipestoEU.gif|thumb|upright|160px|[[Russia]] is Europe's key [[Petroleum|oil]] and [[Natural gas|gas]] supplier.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,562248,00.html The City Built on Oil: EU-Russia Summit Visits Siberia's Boomtown], Spiegel</ref>]] |
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=== 1991–2003: The rise of the EU === |
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With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1991 the Eastern states had to adapt to a free market system. There were varying degrees of success with [[Central Europe]]an countries such as [[Poland]], [[Hungary]], and [[Slovenia]] adapting reasonably quickly, while eastern states like [[Ukraine]] and [[Russia]] taking far longer. Western Europe helped Eastern Europe by forming economic ties with them. After [[East Germany|East]] and [[West Germany]] were reunited in 1990, the economy of West Germany struggled as it had to support and largely rebuild the infrastructure of East Germany. [[Yugoslavia]] lagged farthest behind as it was ravaged by war and in 2003 there were still many [[EU]] and [[NATO]] peacekeeping troops in [[Kosovo]], [[Macedonia]], and [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]], with only [[Slovenia]] making any real progress. |
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By the millennium change, the [[EU]] dominated the economy of Europe comprising the five largest European economies of the time namely [[Germany]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Italy]], and [[Spain]]. In 1999 12 of the 15 members of the EU joined the [[Eurozone]] replacing their former national currencies by the common [[euro]]. The three who chose to remain outside the Eurozone were: the [[United Kingdom]], [[Denmark]], and [[Sweden]]. |
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== Language == |
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[[دوتنه:Rectified Languages of Europe map.png|thumb|250px|right|Simplified linguistic map of Europe]] |
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{{main|Languages of Europe}} |
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European languages mostly fall within three [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] language groups: the [[Romance languages]], derived from the [[Latin language]] of the [[Roman Empire]]; the [[Germanic languages]], whose ancestor language came from southern [[Scandinavia]]; and the [[Slavic languages]].<ref name="encyclopedia britannica"/> While having much of its vocabulary descended from Romance languages, the [[English language]] is a Germanic language. |
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Romance languages are spoken primarily in south-western Europe as well as in [[Romania]] and [[Moldova]]. Germanic languages are spoken in north-western Europe and some parts of [[Central Europe]]. Slavic languages are spoken in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe.<ref name="encyclopedia britannica"/> |
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Many other languages outside the three main groups exist in Europe. Other Indo-European languages include the [[Baltic languages|Baltic]] group (i.e., [[Latvian language|Latvian]] and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]), the [[Celtic language|Celtic]] group (i.e., [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Scots Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]], [[Manx language|Manx]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]], and [[Breton language|Breton]]<ref name="encyclopedia britannica"/>), [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Albanian language|Albanian]], and [[Armenian language|Armenian]]. A distinct group of [[Uralic languages]] are [[Estonian language|Estonian]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]], and [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], spoken in the respective countries as well as in parts of Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Slovakia. Other Non-Indo-European languages are [[Basque language|Basque]], [[Georgian language|Georgian]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], and languages of minority nations in Russia. |
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Multilingualism and the protection of regional and minority languages are recognized political goals in Europe today. The [[Council of Europe]] [[Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities]] and the [[Council of Europe]]'s [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe. |
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== Religion == |
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[[history of religions|Historically]], [[religion]] in Europe has been a major influence on [[Western art history|European art]], [[culture of Europe|culture]], [[Western philosophy|philosophy]] and [[European Union law|law]]. The majority religion in Europe is [[Christianity]] and then [[Islam]] concentrated mainly in the south west ([[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Albania]], [[Kosovo]] and [[Turkey]]). Other religions including [[Judaism]], [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] are minority religions. Europe is a relatively secular continent and has the largest number and proportion of [[irreligion|irreligious]], [[agnosticism|agnostic]] and [[atheism|atheistic]] people in the [[Western religion|Western world]], with a particularly high number of self-described non-religious people in the [[Czech Republic]], [[Estonia]], [[Sweden]] and [[France]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dogan|first=Mattei|date=1998|title=The Decline of Traditional Values in Western Europe|journal=International Journal of Comparative Sociology|publisher=Sage|volume=39|pages=pp. 77–90|doi=10.1177/002071529803900106}}</ref> |
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== Culture == |
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{{main|Culture of Europe}} |
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The culture of Europe can be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of West and East; [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]]; cultural mixes exist across the continent. There are cultural [[innovation]]s and movements, sometimes at odds with each other, such as Christian proselytism or [[Humanism]]. Thus the question of "common culture" or "common values" is complex. |
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== See also == |
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{{Columns-start|num=3}} |
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* [[Communications in Europe]] |
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* [[Continental Europe]] |
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* [[Superpower#European Union controversy|Europe as a potential superpower]] |
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* [[List of European countries in order of geographical area|List of European countries by geographical area]] |
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* [[List of European languages by country]] |
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;Politics |
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* [[Council of Europe]] |
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* [[Date of independence of European countries]] |
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* [[Eurodistrict]] |
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* [[European Union]] |
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* [[Euroregion]] |
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* [[Euroscepticism]] |
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* [[Flags of Europe]] |
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* [[International Organisations in Europe]] |
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* [[Names of European cities in different languages|Alternative names of European cities]] |
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* [[OSCE]] |
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* [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe statistics|OSCE countries statistics]] |
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{{Column}} |
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;Demographics |
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* [[Area and population of European countries]] |
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* [[Demography of Europe]] |
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* [[European American]] |
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* [[European ethnic groups]] |
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* [[European Union Statistics]] |
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* [[List of European countries by population]] |
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* [[Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits|Largest cities of the EU]] |
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* [[Largest European metropolitan areas]] |
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* [[Largest urban areas of the European Union|Largest urban areas of the EU]] |
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;Economics |
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* [[Economy of the European Union]] |
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* [[Financial and social rankings of European countries]] |
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* [[List of European countries by GDP (nominal)]] |
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* [[The European miracle]] |
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{{Column}} |
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{{portalpar|Europe|Flag of Europe.svg}} |
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{{sisterlinks|Europe}} |
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{{Columns-end}} |
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== Notes == |
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{{Cnote|a|Continental regions as per [[:Image:United Nations geographical subregions.png|UN categorisations/map]]. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below may be in [[Transcontinental nation|one or both of]] Europe and [[Asia]], or [[Africa]].}} |
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{{Cnote|b|Includes [[Transnistria]], a region that has declared, and ''[[de facto]]'' [[list of unrecognized countries|achieved]], independence; however, it is not recognised ''[[de jure]]'' by sovereign [[state]]s.}} |
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{{Cnote|c|[[Russia]] is considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. However the population and area figures include the entire state.}} |
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{{Cnote|d|[[Guernsey]], the [[Isle of Man]] and [[Jersey]] are [[Crown dependencies]] of the [[United Kingdom]]. Other [[Channel Islands]] legislated by the [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]] include [[Alderney]] and [[Sark]].}} |
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{{Cnote|e|[[Cyprus]] is sometimes considered transcontinental country. Physiographically entirely in [[Western Asia]] it has strong historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe. The population and area figures refer to the entire state, including the ''de facto'' independent part [[Northern Cyprus]].}}{{Cnote|f|Figures for [[Portugal]] include the [[Azores]] and [[Madeira]] archipelagos, both in [[Northern Atlantic]].}} |
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{{Cnote|g|Figures for [[Serbia]] include [[Kosovo]], a province that unilaterally declared its independence from [[Serbia]] on [[17 February]], [[2008]], and whose sovereign status is unclear.}}{{Cnote|h|Figures for [[France]] include only [[metropolitan France]]: some [[Administrative divisions of France|politically integral parts of France]] are geographically located outside Europe.}} |
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{{Cnote|i|[[Netherlands]] population for July 2004. Population and area details include European portion only: Netherlands and two entities outside Europe ([[Aruba]] and the [[Netherlands Antilles]], in the [[Caribbean]]) constitute the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]. [[Amsterdam]] is the official capital, while [[The Hague]] is the administrative seat.}} |
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{{Cnote|j|[[Kazakhstan]] is physiographically considered a transcontinental country in Central Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe, with European territory west of the Ural Mountains and both the [[Ural River|Ural]] and [[Emba]] rivers. However, area and population figures refer to the entire country.}} |
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{{Cnote|k|[[Armenia]] is sometimes considered a transcontinental country. Physiographically entirely in [[Western Asia]] it has strong historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe. The population and area figures include the entire state respectively.}} |
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{{Cnote|l|[[Azerbaijan]] is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region). However the population and area figures are for the entire state. This includes the [[exclave]] of [[Nakhchivan]] and the region [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] that has declared, and ''[[de facto]]'' [[list of unrecognized countries|achieved]], independence. Nevertheless, it is not recognised ''[[de jure]]'' by sovereign [[state]]s.}} |
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{{Cnote|m|[[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe. However the population and area figures include the entire state. This also includes [[Abkhazia]] and [[South Ossetia]], two regions that have declared, and ''[[de facto]]'' [[list of unrecognized countries|achieved]], independence. Nevertheless, they are not recognised ''[[de jure]]'' by any sovereign [[state]].}} |
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{{Cnote|n|[[Turkey]] is physiographically considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe. However the population and area figures include the entire state, both the European and Asian portions.}} |
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{{Cnote|o|The total figures for area and population include only European portions of transcontinental countries. The precision of these figure is compromised by the ambiguous geographical extend of Europe and the lack of references for European portions of transcontinental countries.}} |
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{{Cnote|p|[[Kosovo]] unilaterally declared its independence from [[Serbia]] on [[17 February]], [[2008]]. Its sovereign status is unclear. Its population is a 2007 estimate.}} |
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== References == |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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* [[National Geographic]] (2005). ''National Geographic Visual History of the World''. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. ISBN 0-7922-3695-5. |
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</div> |
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== External links == |
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* [http://www.coe.int/ Council of Europe] |
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* [[wikitravel:Europe|Europe travel guide]] from [[Wikitravel]] |
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* [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=13266 Europe at Night] at [[NASA Earth Observatory]] |
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* [http://europa.eu/ European Union] |
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* "Europe". ''[http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/ The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online]'' 2005. New York: [[Columbia University Press]]. |
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[[فرانسه]], |
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[[برطانيه]], |
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[[د آيرلېنډ جمهوريت]], |
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[[جرمني]] / [[آلمان]], |
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[[پولېنډ]], |
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[[لېتوانيا]], |
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[[لاتويا]], |
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[[اېسټونيا]], |
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[[اټاليا]], [[يونان]] |
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{{د نړۍ لویې وچې او سیمې}} |
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[[وېشنيزه:جغرافيه]] |
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[[وېشنيزه:لویې وچې]] |
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