European Countries

European Countries – is the second smallest continent and can be called a large peninsula or subcontinent. Europe is the western part of the Eurasian continent and is located entirely in the northern hemisphere. Several large islands belong to Europe, such as Iceland and the British Isles, with Great Britain and Ireland.

Area

With an area of 10.2 million square kilometres (3,938,000 square miles), Europe is 20% larger than its neighbour, the United States. The European Union has an area (excluding the United Kingdom) of over 4.23 million square kilometres (1.6 million square miles).

How Many Countries Are There in Europe?

By traditional definition, Europe has 44 sovereign states or countries. And, 50 countries share Europe. Some countries are not included, such as Turkey, which occupies only a small part of Eastern Thrace in the Balkans of Europe.

An archipelago between the Norse Sea and the North Atlantic, the Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland, which is part of North America, is also an autonomous territory of Denmark. Also, Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, is geographically part of Asia Minor (Middle East). Kosovo is a partially recognized country in the Balkans. Parts of western Kazakhstan also count as part of Europe.

Population

A projected 747 million people live in Europe. The greatest populous country in Europe is the European part of Russia, with 110 million people, followed by Germany, with 83 million people in 2020 and metropolitan France, with 67 million people.

Northern Europe refers to the parts of Europe north of Western Europe, the English Channel, and the Baltic Sea. It also includes the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Western Europe is the western shore of Europe. Also, the Atlantic Ocean restricts it to the west, the English Channel and the North Sea to the north, and the Alps to the south.

Eastern Europe is the geographic region east of Germany and west of the Ural Mountains. The United Nations Geo schema lists ten countries, including former Eastern Bloc countries Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, former Soviet republics Belarus and Ukraine, and European Russia.

Southern Europe or Mediterranean Sea Europe refers to the predominantly subtropical southern part of the continent. The region borders the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Southern Europe has 13 sovereign states. Seven of these states are members of the European Union.

More about Europe

High score

At 5,642 m, Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe. At 4,808 m, Mont Blanc is the highest peak in Western Europe and the highest mountain in the Alps. The dormant volcano is locates in the Caucasus region of southern Russia.

Largest Lake

Lake Lagoda, northeast of St. Petersburg, Russia, is Europe’s largest lake, with an area of 17,700 km². Located northeast of Lake Lagoda in Europe, Russia, Lake Onega has an area of 9,700 km². Other large lakes include Lake Vanern in Sweden (the largest lake in Western Europe) and Lake Saimaa in Finland. Lake Balaton in Hungary has an area of 592 km² and is the largest lake in Central Europe.

The Longest River

Europe’s longest river is the Volga, with a length of 3,530 km (2,190 miles). The river basin is almost entirely in Russia.

Europe’s second longest river is the Danube, with a length of 2,850 km (1,770 miles); it is the longest river in the European Union region, flowing through 10 countries and emptying into the Black Sea.

Important Regions of Europe

The essential geographic regions of Europe are Scandinavia and the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the British Isles, the Great Plains of Europe, the Central European Highlands, the Alps, the Mediterranean Sea, the Italian Peninsula and the Apennines, and Iberia. Peninsula, Pyrenees, Balkans and Balkans, Black Sea and Caucasus.