Europe
Europe is a continent[t] located entirely in the Northern
Europe
Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by
the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the
Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe shares
the landmass of Eurasia with Asia, and of Afro-Eurasia with both
Africa and Asia.[9][10] Europe is commonly considered to be
separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural Mountains, the
Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea, and
the waterway of the Bosporus Strait.[11]
Europe covers approx. 10,186,000 square kilometres
(3,933,000 sq mi), or 2% of Earth's surface (6.8% of Earth's land
area), making it the second-smallest continent (using the seven-
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continent model). Politically, Europe is divided into about fifty
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sovereign states, of which Russia is the largest and most populous,
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spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population.
Europe had a total population of about 745 million (about 10% of the Area 10,186,000 square kilometres
world population) in 2021; the third-largest after Asia and (3,933,000 sq mi) (6th)[a]
Africa.[1][2] The European climate is affected by warm Atlantic Population 745,173,774 (2021; 3rd)[1][2]
currents, such as the Gulf Stream, which produce a temperate Population 72.9/km2 (188/sq mi) (2nd)
climate, tempering winters and summers, on much of the continent. density
Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable GDP (PPP) $33.62 trillion (2022 est; 2nd)[3]
producing more continental climates.
GDP $24.02 trillion (2022 est; 3rd)[4]
The culture of Europe consists of a range of national and regional (nominal)
cultures, which form the central roots of the wider Western GDP per $34,230 (2022 est; 3rd)[c][5]
civilisation, and together commonly reference ancient Greece and capita
ancient Rome, particularly through their Christian successors, as HDI 0.845[6]
crucial and shared roots.[12][13] Beginning with the fall of the
Religions Christianity (76.2%)[7]
Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, Christian consolidation of
Europe in the wake of the Migration Period marked the European No religion (18.3%)[7]
post-classical Middle Ages. The Italian Renaissance spread in the Islam (4.9%)[7]
continent a new humanist interest in art and science which led to the Other (0.6%)[7]
modern era. Since the Age of Discovery, led by Spain and Portugal,
Demonym European
Europe played a predominant role in global affairs with multiple
Countries Sovereign (44–50)
explorations and conquests around the world. Between the 16th and
De facto (2–5)
20th centuries, European powers colonised at various times the
Americas, almost all of Africa and Oceania, and the majority of Asia. Dependencies External (5–6)
Internal (3)
The Age of Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Languages Most common:
Napoleonic Wars shaped the continent culturally, politically, and Russian · German · French ·
economically from the end of the 17th century until the first half of Italian · English · Spanish ·
the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Polish · Ukrainian · Romanian
Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic, · Dutch · Serbo-Croatian
cultural, and social change in Western Europe and eventually the
Time zones UTC−1 to UTC+5
wider world. Both world wars began and were fought to a great
extent in Europe, contributing to a decline in Western European Largest cities Largest urban areas:
dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the Soviet Moscow · Istanbul[b] · Paris ·
Union and the United States took prominence and competed over London · Madrid · Essen-
Düsseldorf · Saint Petersburg ·
dominance in Europe and globally.[14] The resulting Cold War
Milan · Barcelona · Berlin[8]
divided Europe along the Iron Curtain, with NATO in the West and
