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Regions of Europe

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Vic Park (talk | contribs) at 14:31, 10 November 2022 (Central and Eastern Europe is a proper subregion classified by EuroVoc. East-Central Europe is one of the three European subregions in geopolitics.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about groups of sovereign countries. For regions and non-sovereign countries within the European Union, see Region (Europe).
Different views about regions of Europe
Regions of Europe according to EuroVoc:
  Central and Eastern Europe
  Northern Europe
  Southern Europe
  Western Europe
Subregions of Europe by the UN geoscheme:
  Eastern Europe
  Northern Europe
  Southern Europe
  Western Europe
Subregions of Europe based on The World Factbook:
  Central Europe
  Eastern Europe
  Northern Europe
  South-eastern Europe
  Southern Europe
  South-western Europe
  Western Europe

Europe, the westernmost portion of Eurasia—is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of individual countries may vary based on criteria being used. For instance, the Balkans is a distinct geographic region within Europe but individual countries may alternatively be grouped into Southern Europe (as is often the case of Greece), in Southeastern Europe (as in the case of Bulgaria), or less commonly altogether lumped with East Central Europe.

Regional affiliation of countries may also evolve over time. Malta was considered an island of North Africa for centuries[1] but is now generally considered part of Southern Europe.[2] The exact placement of the Caucasus has also varied since classical antiquity[3] and is now regarded as a distinct region within or partly in Europe.[4] Greenland is technically part of North America but has been politically and culturally associated with Northern Europe for more than a millennium.[5] As such, several countries are often included as belonging to a "Greater Europe", including Armenia, Cyprus, Greenland, as well as the overseas territories and regions of the European Union.

Subregions

Groupings by compass directions are the hardest to define in Europe, since there are a few calculations of the midpoint of Europe (among other issues), and the pure geographical criteria of "east" and "west" are often confused with the political meaning these words acquired during the Cold War era.

The modern geographical subregions of Europe include:

  1. Central and Eastern Europe
    1. Central Europe
    2. Eastern Europe
  2. Northern Europe
    1. North-central Europe
    2. North-eastern Europe
    3. North-western Europe
  3. Southern Europe
    1. South-central Europe
    2. South-eastern Europe
    3. South-western Europe
  4. Western Europe

Note: There is no universally agreed definition for continental subregions. Depending on the source, some of the subregions, such as Central Europe or South-eastern Europe, can be listed as first-tier subregions. Some transregional countries, such as Romania or the United Kingdom, can be included in multiple subregions.

The modern geopolitical subregions of Europe include:

Two Europes

  1. Old Europe and New Europe

Three Europes

  1. East-Central Europe
  2. Eastern Europe
  3. Western Europe

Historical divisions

Europe can be divided along many differing historical lines, normally corresponding to those parts that were inside or outside a particular cultural phenomenon, empire or political division. The areas varied at different times, and so it is arguable as to which were part of some common historical entity (e.g., were Germany or Britain part of Roman Europe as they were only partly and relatively briefly part of the Empire—or were the countries of the former communist Yugoslavia part of the Eastern Bloc, since it was not in the Warsaw Pact).

Contemporary

European Political CommunitySchengen AreaCouncil of EuropeEuropean UnionEuropean Economic AreaEurozoneEuropean Union Customs UnionEuropean Free Trade AssociationNordic CouncilVisegrád GroupBaltic AssemblyBeneluxGUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic DevelopmentCentral European Free Trade AgreementOpen BalkanOrganization of the Black Sea Economic CooperationUnion StateCommon Travel AreaInternational status and usage of the euro#Sovereign statesSwitzerlandLiechtensteinIcelandNorwaySwedenDenmarkFinlandPolandCzech RepublicHungarySlovakiaBulgariaRomaniaGreeceEstoniaLatviaLithuaniaBelgiumNetherlandsLuxembourgItalyFranceSpainAustriaGermanyPortugalSloveniaMaltaCroatiaCyprusRepublic of IrelandUnited KingdomTurkeyMonacoAndorraSan MarinoVatican CityGeorgia (country)UkraineAzerbaijanMoldovaBosnia and HerzegovinaArmeniaMontenegroNorth MacedoniaAlbaniaSerbiaKosovoRussiaBelarus
An Euler diagram showing the relationships between various multinational European organisations and agreements

Economic and political

European Single Market integration:
  European Union member states form the European Single Market
  Non-EU states that participate in the EU Single Market with exceptions: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (see also EFTA)
  Part of a former EU state that remains partially aligned to the EU Single Market on goods: Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom (see also Brexit and the Irish border)
  Non-EU states with a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU allowing for participation in selected sectors of the Single Market: EU accession candidates Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia; EU accession potential candidates: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo
  Non-EU states with a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement with the EU allowing for participation in selected sectors of the Single Market: Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
  Non-EU states which have a bilateral Customs Union arrangement with the EU: Turkey (an accession candidate), Andorra and San Marino
Countries that are member states of the political and economic bloc (27 as of 2020):
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
An alliance of Mediterranean countries within EU:
Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain
Countries that have adopted the euro as their currency:
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Vatican City.
A free trade organisation that operates in parallel with, and is linked by treaties to, the EU:
Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
A free trade agreement among non-EU members:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (represented by UNMIK), Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
A borderless zone created by the Schengen Agreements, comprising:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden; in addition, by separate agreements Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland fully apply the provisions of the Schengen acquis.
A customs union of all the member states of the European Union (EU) and some neighbouring countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. Andorra, San Marino, and Turkey are each in customs union with the EU's customs territory.
An economic union of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia. Moldova and Uzbekistan hold observer status.
A free trade agreement among the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Tajikistan.
A forum of regional economic cooperation:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Other political

Members of the Eastern Partnership
An international organisation whose stated aim is to uphold human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe, and to promote European culture.
It has 46 member states, with approximately 820 million people.
One of five United Nations regional groups
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.
A group of former Soviet Eastern European countries cooperating with the EU:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
  • OECD Europe countries
European countries that are a part of the OECD:
Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
A forum of regional cooperation including:
Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine
A group of former Soviet disputed states in Eastern Europe:
Abkhazia, Artsakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria.
The world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization, with 57 participating states mostly in the Northern Hemisphere.
A cultural and political alliance of four Central European states for the purposes of furthering their European integration, as well as for advancing military, economic and energy cooperation with one another:
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.
An Interreg IIIA project to establish a multinational region in Central Europe encompassing four European countries: Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Promotes Central European cooperation.

Geographical

Peninsulas

Located in the south of Europe, the Apennine Peninsula contains the states of Italy, San Marino, and Vatican City
The Balkan Peninsula is located in Southeastern Europe and the following countries and territories occupy land within the Balkans either exclusively or partially:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (approximately the southern half), Greece, Kosovo,[a] Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania (the Dobrudja region), Serbia, Slovenia (the coastal section), and Turkey (East Thrace)
Located in the north of Europe, including Finland, Norway, Sweden, and part of Russia
Located in Southwestern Europe, this peninsula contains Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal, Spain and a small part of France
Jutland of Denmark (main part of the country excluding its islands) and the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany
Located in the north of Europe, including Norway, Sweden, and part of Finland

Regional

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden
The Isle of Man, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia; also the disputed territories of Abkhazia, Artsakh, and South Ossetia
Guernsey and Jersey
Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, parts of France, and parts of Germany
Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Greenland, and Iceland
States that occupy the Alps:
Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Germany, France and Italy
States that lie along the River Danube:
Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine
Overlaps with Southeastern Europe:
Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Kosovo,[a] North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro
Countries occupying land on and off the Balkans are Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Turkey (East Thrace).
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania
Serbia, Kosovo[a] and Italy occupy a small portion of the Dinaric Alps.
Chain of Islands in the North Atlantic
Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira; also including Cape Verde, an independent African nation.
Mediterranean nations are European countries on the Mediterranean Basin:
Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, San Marino, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta and the British territory of Gibraltar
The Panonnian nations are:
Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine
The Black Sea nations (although some sections lie within Asia) are:
Abkhazia (de facto state), Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine
The world's largest lake which forms a section of the Asian-European border has five countries occupying its shore. Iran and Turkmenistan lie entirely within Asia while the following countries are transcontinental and have sovereignty over the Caspian Sea's European sector:
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia

Religious groupings

Main article: Religion in Europe
Further information: Christianity in Europe
Catholic-majority countries or regions, including Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Southern and Western parts of Germany, Gibraltar (United Kingdom), Hungary, Ireland, Italy, parts of Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Southern Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
Orthodox-majority countries, including Armenia, Artsakh (de facto state), Belarus, Northern and Eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
Protestant-majority countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, North and Eastern Germany, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, parts of Latvia, the Northern Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Muslim-majority countries, including Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo,[a] Northern Cyprus (de facto state), and Turkey.
Kalmykia (Russia) is the only region in Europe where Buddhism is the predominant religion.

Linguistic groupings

See also: Languages of Europe
Eastern and Western Romance zones are geographically separated by either of two sovereign states including Austria or Slovenia with Hungary.
Northern Slavic and Southern Slavic zones geographically separated by any of three countries: Austria, Hungary, and Romania; or by the Black Sea.

Other groupings

  • Blue Banana: describing the concentration of the wealth/economic productivity of Europe in a banana-shaped band running from north west England, London, through Benelux, eastern France, western Germany to northern Italy.
  • Celtic Europe
  • Civil code Europe and common law Europe: those parts that adopted a Napoleonic Code style system and those that retained a Common Law system.

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ a b c d Template:Kosovo-note

References

  1. ^ Falconer, William; Falconer, Thomas (1872). Dissertation on St. Paul's Voyage. BiblioLife. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-113-68809-5. Archived from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  2. ^ Chapman, David; Cassar, Godwin (October 2004). "Valletta". Cities. 21 (5): 451–463. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2004.07.001.
  3. ^ Histories 4.38. C.f. James Rennell, The geographical system of Herodotus examined and explained, Volume 1, Rivington 1830, p. 244
  4. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica”, Caucasus, June 2021: “another scheme identifies the Aras River and the Turkish border as the line of continental demarcation, thereby locating Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in Europe.”
  5. ^ Dale Mackenzie Brown. "The Fate of Greenland's Vikings" Archived 2011-01-11 at the Wayback Machine. Archaeological Institute of America: 28 February 2000
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