Europe
 |
World map showing Europe |
Europe is commonly reckoned as one of the seven
continents of
Earth; the term
continent here referring to a
cultural and political distinction, rather than a
physiographic one, thus leading to various perspectives about Europe's precise borders. Physically and
geologically, Europe is a
subcontinent or large
peninsula, forming the westernmost part of
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 "according to the traditional geographic definition" to the southeast by the waterways adjoining the Mediterranean to and including the
Black Sea and the
Caucasus Mountains (in
Caucasia). Europe's eastern frontier is vague, but has traditionally been given as the
divide of the
Ural Mountains and the
Caspian Sea to the southeast. The Urals are considered by most to be a geographical and tectonic landmark separating Asia from Europe.
Europe is the world's second-smallest
continent in terms of
area, covering about 10,390,000
square kilometres (4,010,000
sq mi) or 2.0% of the
Earth's surface. The only continent smaller than Europe is
Australia. In terms of
population, it is the third-largest continent (Asia and
Africa are larger) with a population of more than 710,000,000, or about 11% of the world's population.
The
European Union, comprising 25 member states, is the largest political and economic entity covering the European continent, with the
Russian Federation being the second (excluding the portions of Russia historically considered to be in Asia).
In
Greek mythology,
Europa was a
Phoenician princess who was abducted by
Zeus in bull form and taken to the island of
Crete, where she gave birth to
Minos. For
Homer,
(
Greek: ; see also
List of traditional Greek place names) was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later
Europa stood for
mainland Greece, and by
500 BC its meaning had been extended to lands to the north.
The Greek term
Europe has been derived from Greek words meaning broad (
eurys) and face (
ops) --
broad having been an
epitheton of
Earth herself in the reconstructed
Proto-Indo-European religion; see
Prithvi (
Plataia). A minority, however, suggest this Greek
popular etymology is really based on a
Semitic word such as the
Akkadian erebu meaning "sunset" [
1](see also
Erebus). From the
Middle Eastern vantagepoint, the sun does set over Europe, the lands to the west. Likewise,
Asia is sometimes thought to have derived from a Semitic word such as the Akkadian
asu, meaning "sunrise" [
2], and is the land to the east from a Middle Eastern perspective.
The majority of major world languages use words derived from 'Europa' to refer to the continent - e.g. Chinese uses the word Ōuzhōu (歐洲), which is abbreviation of the transliterated name Ōuluóbā zhōu (歐羅巴洲).
The origins of Western
democratic and
individualistic culture are often attributed to
Ancient Greece, though numerous other distinct influences, in particular
Christianity, can also be credited with the spread of concepts such as
egalitarianism and
universality of law.
After the
decline of the Roman Empire, Europe entered a long period of changes arising from what is known as the
Age of Migrations. That period has been known as the "
Dark Ages" to
Renaissance thinkers. Isolated monastic communities in
Ireland and elsewhere carefully safeguarded and compiled written knowledge accumulated previously.
During this time, the western part of the Roman Empire was 'reborn' as the
Holy Roman Empire, later called
Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The eastern part of the Roman Empire became known as the
Byzantine Empire. In 1453, when the
Ottoman Empire conquered the Byzantine capital
Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist.
The
Renaissance and the
New Monarchs marked the start of a period of discovery, exploration, and increase in scientific knowledge. In the 15th century,
Portugal opened the age of discoveries, soon followed by
Spain. They were later joined by
France, the
Netherlands and the
United Kingdom in building large colonial empires with vast holdings in
Africa,
the Americas, and
Asia.
After the age of discovery, the ideas of
democracy took hold in Europe. Struggles for independence arose, most notably in
France during the period known as the
French Revolution. This led to vast upheaval in Europe as these revolutionary ideas propagated across the continent. The rise of democracy led to increased tension within Europe on top of the tension already existing due to competition within the
New World. The most famous of these conflicts happened when
Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power and set out on a conquest, forming a new
French Empire, which soon collapsed. After these conquests Europe stabilised, but the old foundations were already beginning to crumble.The
Industrial Revolution started in the
United Kingdom in the late 18th century, leading to a move away from agriculture, much greater general prosperity and a corresponding increase in population. Many of the states in Europe took their present form in the
aftermath of World War I. From the end of
World War II through the end of the
Cold War, Europe was divided into two major political and economic blocks:
Communist nations in
Eastern Europe (with the exceptions of
Turkey and
Greece) and
Capitalist countries in
Southern Europe,
Northern Europe and
Western Europe. About 1990, with the fall of the
Berlin Wall, the wider
Iron Curtain, and the
Soviet Union the
Eastern Block disintegrated.
European integration has been a theme in European relations since the end of the second World War and has spread to Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War. The
European Union, the successor to the
European Community, has enlarged from 6 original members to 25 now. It has developed from a peace-keeping and economic orientated organisation into an entity resembling a
confederation.
NATO has also enlarged since the end of the Cold War, with a number of Eastern European countries joining.
 |
Europe at its furthest extent, reaching to the Urals. |
 |
A satellite composite image of Europe |
Geographically, Europe is the western portion of the larger landmass known as
Eurasia. The continent begins at the
Ural Mountains in
Russia, which define Europe's eastern boundary with
Asia. The southeast boundary with Asia is not universally defined. Most commonly the
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, but
Iceland, much farther away than the nearest points of
Africa, is also often included in Europe. There is ongoing debate on where the
geographical centre of Europe is.
For detailed description of the boundary between Asia and Europe see here.Due to 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
Russia and other post-Soviet states generally include the Urals in Europe while including Caucasia in Asia.
In another usage,
Europe is increasingly being used as a short-form for the
European Union (EU) and its members, currently consisting of 25 member states and the candidate countries negotiating for membership, and several other countries expected to begin negotiations in the future (see
Enlargement of the European Union). This definition, however, excludes non-members such as
Switzerland and
Norway.
Physical geography
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
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 northwestern seaboard, beginning in the western
British Isles and continuing along the mountainous,
fjord-cut spine of
Norway.
This description is simplified. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys and basins that complicate the general trend.
Iceland and the
British Isles 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.
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
Scandinavia and northern
Russia, few areas of untouched wilderness are today to be found in Europe, except for different natural parks.
The main natural vegetation cover in Europe is
forest. The conditions for growth are very favourable. In the north, the
Gulf Stream and
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,
Dinarides,
Carpathians,
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.
Eighty to ninety percent of Europe was once covered by forest. 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
rainforests 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
plantations of
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 the
Republic of Ireland (8%), while the most forested country is
Finland (72%).
In temperate Europe, mixed forest with both
broadleaf and
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;
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.
Glaciation during the most recent
ice age and the presence of man affected the distribution of 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 and
aurochs were extinct before the end of the
Neolithic period. Today
wolves (
carnivores) and
bears (
omnivores) are endangered. Once they were found in most parts of Europe. However, deforestation 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 brown bear lives primarily in the 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 bears may be found on
Svalbard, an autonomous
Norwegian island region far north of Scandinavia. The 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 Spain and Scandinavia.
Other important European carnivores are
Eurasian lynx, European
wild cat,
foxes (especially the
red fox),
jackal and different species of
martens,
hedgehogs, different species of snakes (
vipers,
grass snake...), different birds (
owls,
hawks and other
birds of prey).
Important European
herbivores are
snails,
amphibians,
fish, different birds, and
mammals, like
rodents,
deers and
roe deers,
boars, and living in the mountains,
marmots,
steinbocks,
chamoises among others.
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,
molluscs,
echinoderms, different
crayfish,
squids and
octopuses, fish,
dolphins, and
whales.
Almost all of Europe was possibly settled before or during the last
ice age ca. 10,000 years ago.
Neanderthal man and
modern man coexisted during at least some of this time. Roman road building helped with the
interbreeding of the native Europeans' genetics. In contemporary times Europe has one of the lowest
fertility rates in the world.
Extent
[[Image:Map_of_Europe_(political).png|thumb|center|450px|Territories of Europe (also see {{transcontinental nation}}):
]]
Territories and regions
The countries in this table are categorised according to the scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated.
According to different definitions, such as consideration of the concept
Central Europe, following territories and regions may be subject to various other categorisations.
Name of region[Continental regions as per UN categorisations/map. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below (notes 3, 8, 10-11, 13-17) may be in one or both of Europe and Asia, Africa, or Oceania.]
and
territory, with flag | Area
(km²) | Population
(1 July 2002 est.) | Population density
(per km²)! Capital |
|---|
| Eastern Europe: |
| Belarus | 207,600 | 10,335,382 | 49.8 | Minsk |
| Bulgaria | 110,910 | 7,621,337 | 68.7 | Sofia |
| Czech Republic | 78,866 | 10,256,760 | 130.1 | Prague |
| Hungary | 93,030 | 10,075,034 | 108.3 | Budapest |
Moldova[Includes Transnistria, a region that has declared, and de facto achieved, independence; however, it is not recognised de jure by sovereign states.] | 33,843 | 4,434,547 | 131.0 | Chişinău |
| Poland | 312,685 | 38,625,478 | 123.5 | Warsaw |
| Romania | 238,391 | 22,303,552 | 94.0 | Bucharest |
Russia[Russia is generally considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe (UN region) and Asia, with European territory west of the Ural Mountains and both the Ural and Emba rivers; population and area figures are for European portion only.]
| 3,960,000 | 106,037,143 | 26.8 | Moscow |
| Slovakia | 48,845 | 5,422,366 | 111.0 | Bratislava |
| Ukraine | 603,700 | 48,396,470 | 80.2 | Kyiv |
| Northern Europe: |
| Denmark | 43,094 | 5,368,854 | 124.6 | Copenhagen |
| Estonia | 45,226 | 1,415,681 | 31.3 | Tallinn |
| Faroe Islands (Denmark) | 1,399 | 46,011 | 32.9 | Tórshavn |
| Finland | 336,593 | 5,157,537 | 15.3 | Helsinki |
Guernsey[Guernsey is a crown dependency affiliated with the United Kingdom.]
| 78 | 64,587 | 828.0 | St Peter Port |
| Iceland | 103,000 | 279,384 | 2.7 | Reykjavík |
| Ireland | 70,280 | 3,883,159 | 55.3 | Dublin |
Isle of Man[Isle of Man is a crown dependency affiliated with the United Kingdom.]
| 572 | 73,873 | 129.1 | Douglas |
Jersey[Jersey is a crown dependency affiliated with the United Kingdom.]
| 116 | 89,775 | 773.9 | Saint Helier |
| Latvia | 64,589 | 2,366,515 | 36.6 | Riga |
| Lithuania | 65,200 | 3,601,138 | 55.2 | Vilnius |
| Norway | 324,220 | 4,525,116 | 14.0 | Oslo |
Svalbard (Norway)[Kingdom of Norway has sovereignty over Svalbard as per Svalbard Treaty.]
| 62,049 | 2,868 | 0.046 | Longyearbyen |
| Sweden | 449,964 | 9,067,049 | 20.2 | Stockholm |
| United Kingdom | 244,820 | 59,778,002 | 244.2 | London |
| Southern Europe: |
| Albania | 28,748 | 3,544,841 | 123.3 | Tirana |
| Andorra | 468 | 68,403 | 146.2 | Andorra la Vella |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 51,129 | 3,964,388 | 77.5 | Sarajevo |
| Croatia | 56,542 | 4,390,751 | 77.7 | Zagreb |
| Gibraltar (UK) | 5.9 | 27,714 | 4,697.3 | Gibraltar |
| Greece | 131,940 | 10,645,343 | 80.7 | Athens |
| 0.44 | 900 | 2,045.5 | Vatican City |
| Italy | 301,230 | 57,715,625 | 191.6 | Rome |
Macedonia[The political name of this state is a matter of international dispute.]
| 25,333 | 2,054,800 | 81.1 | Skopje |
| Malta | 316 | 397,499 | 1,257.9 | Valletta |
| Montenegro | 13,812 | 616,258 | 48.7 | Podgorica |
Portugal[Figures for Portugal include the Azores west of Portugal but exclude the Madeira Islands, west of Morocco in Africa.]
| 91,568 | 10,084,245 | 110.1 | Lisbon |
| San Marino | 61 | 27,730 | 454.6 | San Marino |
Serbia[Figures for Serbia include Kosovo and Metohia, a province administrated by the UN (UNMIK) as per Security Council resolution 1244.]
| 88,361 | 9,598,000 | 96.7 | Belgrade |
| Slovenia | 20,273 | 1,932,917 | 95.3 | Ljubljana |
Spain[Figures for Spain exclude the Canary Islands, west of Morocco in Africa, and the exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which are on the northwest of the African continent.]
| 498,506 | 40,077,100 | 80.4 | Madrid |
| Western Europe: |
| Austria | 83,858 | 8,169,929 | 97.4 | Vienna |
| Belgium | 30,510 | 10,274,595 | 336.8 | Brussels>- | France[Figures for France include only metropolitan France: some politically integral parts of France are geographically located outside Europe.]
| 547,030 | 59,765,983 | 109.3 | Paris |
| Germany | 357,021 | 83,251,851 | 233.2 | Berlin |
| Liechtenstein | 160 | 32,842 | 205.3 | Vaduz |
| Luxembourg | 2,586 | 448,569 | 173.5 | Luxembourg |
| Monaco | 1.95 | 31,987 | 16,403.6 | Monaco |
Netherlands[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.]
| 41,526 | 16,318,199 | 393.0 | Amsterdam |
| Switzerland | 41,290 | 7,301,994 | 176.8 | Bern |
| Central Asia: |
Kazakhstan[Kazakhstan is sometimes considered a transcontinental country in Central Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe, with European territory west of the Ural Mountains and both the Ural and Emba rivers; population and area figures are for European portion only.]
| 370,373 | 1,285,174 | 3.4 | Astana |
Western Asia:[Armenia and Cyprus are sometimes considered transcontinental countries: both are geographically in Western Asia but have historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe.]
|
Azerbaijan[Azerbaijan is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion only (north of the crest of the Caucasus and the Kura River). This excludes the exclave of Nakhichevan and Nagorno-Karabakh (a region that has declared, and de facto achieved, independence; however, it is not recognized de jure by any country).]
| 39,730 | 4,198,491 | 105.7 | Baku |
Georgia[Georgia is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion only (north of the crest of the Caucasus and the Kura River). Also includes Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two regions that have declared, and de facto achieved, independence; however, they are not recognised de jure by sovereign states.] | 49,240 | 2,447,176 | 49.7 | Tbilisi |
Turkey[Turkey is generally considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe: the region of Rumelia (Trakya) " which includes the provinces of Edirne, Kirklareli, Tekirdag, and the western parts of the Çanakkale and Istanbul Provinces " is west and north of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles; population and area figures are for European portion only, including all of Istanbul.]
| 24,378 | 11,044,932 | 453.1 | Ankara |
| Total | 10,395,067 | 708,945,854 | 68.2 |
|
Map showing the approximate current distribution of languages in Europe. |
See also: EurolinguisticsThere are several linguistic groups widely recognized in Europe. These sometimes (but not always) coincide with cultural and historical connections between the various nations, though in other cases religion is considered a more significant distinguishing factor.
Germanic languages
Germanic languages are spoken more or less in north-western Europe and some parts of
central Europe. This region consists of:
Norway,
Sweden,
Germany, the
United Kingdom, almost all of
Ireland,
Denmark, the
Netherlands,
Austria,
Liechtenstein, most of
Switzerland,
Iceland,
Flanders and the German-speaking areas of
Belgium, the
Faroe Islands,
Luxembourg, the
Swedish-speaking municipalities of Finland, and
South Tyrol in Italy.
Romance languages
Romance languages are spoken more or less in south-western Europe, as well as
Romania and
Moldova which are situated in
Eastern Europe. This area consists of:
Italy,
Spain,
Portugal,
France,
Romania,
Moldova,
Wallonia,
Romandy,
French-speaking Switzerland,
Romansh-speaking Switzerland, and
Italian-speaking Switzerland. All Romance languages are derived from the Roman language,
Latin.
Slavic languages
Slavic languages are spoken in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. This area consists of:
Belarus,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria,
Croatia, the
Czech Republic, the
Republic of Macedonia,
Montenegro,
Poland,
Russia,
Serbia,
Slovakia,
Slovenia and
Ukraine.
Cyrillic Alphabet
The
Cyrillic alphabet is named after St. Cyril, a missionary from Byzantium. It was invented in the
First Bulgarian Empire sometime during the 10th century AD, possibly by St. Kliment of Ohrid, to write the Old Church Slavonic language. The Cyrillic alphabet achieved its current form in 1708 during the reign of Peter the Great. Four letters were eliminated from the alphabet in a 1917/18 reform.
The Cyrillic alphabet has been adapted to write over 50 different languages, mainly in Russia, Central Asia and part of Eastern Europe. In many cases additional letters are used, some of which are adaptations of standard Cyrillic letters, while others are taken from the Greek or Latin alphabets.
Uralic languages
The
Uralic Languages are divided into three main groups of which the
Finno-Permic languages are spoken in
Finland,
Estonia and European
Russia while the
Ugric languages are spoken in
Hungary and Siberian Russia. These two main branches form the group of the
Finno-Ugric languages.
Altaic languages
Turkic Languages are spoken in
Turkey,
Azerbaijan, the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognised only by Turkey), parts of
Bulgaria, parts of
Greece, parts of
Romania, parts of the
Republic of Macedonia, parts of
Moldova, parts of
Russia, parts of
Ukraine and parts of the
Caucasus.
Baltic languages
Baltic languages are spoken in
Lithuania and
Latvia. (
Estonia's national language is part of the
Finno-Ugric family even though it is a
Baltic state geographically.)
Celtic languages
Celtic Languages were originally used only to describe the
Gaelic language in
Ireland, however the term now extends to the other
Gaelic and
Brythonic languages.
Celtic Europe are those countries and regions where
Celtic languages are spoken. The
Celtic nations are:
Ireland,
Scotland (UK),
Wales(UK),
Cornwall (UK), the
Isle of Man (a
British Crown dependency) and
Brittany (within
France). These are all nations where a
Celtic language is spoken and share in Celtic organisations (see
Pan Celticism).
Sometimes considered Celtic nations are
Galicia and
Asturias (both autonomous communities of
Spain), whose own Celtic language died out a millennium ago, and England (in addition to Cornwall) where Celtic influence remains in some regional dialects (see
Cumbric), although
England's Celtic languages died out as recently as the 18th century in Devon.
Other languages
Outside of these six main linguistic groups one can find:
* The
Greek language, spoken in
Greece,
Cyprus and parts of
Turkey,
Albania and
Italy, and in
Greek diaspora communities in several other European countries (most notably
Germany).
* The
Albanian language is its own independent branch of the Indo-European language family with no close living relatives. Most scholars maintain that it derives from the
Illyrian language. Major Albanian-speaking communities outside Albania live in Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece, and Turkey.
* Ibero-Caucasian, a group that includes ethnic groups throughout the
Caucasus region (both North and South).
Ibero-Caucasian languages are not linked to the
Indo-European languages. This group includes
Georgians,
Abkhaz,
Chechens,
Ingush,
Bats, and a number of other smaller ethnic groups that reside in the
Caucasus.
* The
Maltese language, a member of the Afro-Asian group, which includes
Arabic and
Hebrew, is spoken in
Malta. Unlike other Semitic languages, Maltese is written in the
Roman alphabet.
* Armenia, although not considered as part of Europe geographically, has a language that constitutes a separate branch of
Indo-European family of languages. Besides Armenia, the
Armenian language is spoken in European countries with
Armenian communities (such as France, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Belgium, Russia, Germany etc.).
* The
Basque language is spoken in parts of southern France and northern Spain, i.e. the
Basque Country[[Image:Europe religion map en.png|thumb|250px|Predominant religions in Europe
]]
The most popular religions of Europe are the following:
*
Christianity**
Roman Catholicism: Countries or areas with significant Catholic populations are
Portugal,
Spain,
France,
Luxembourg,
Belgium, south
Netherlands, the
Republic of Ireland,
Scotland,
Northern Ireland, south and west
Germany, south
Switzerland,
Italy,
Malta,
Austria,
Hungary,
Slovenia,
Croatia, the Croatian parts of
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Slovakia, the
Czech Republic,
Poland, west
Ukraine,
Romania,
Latgale region in
Latvia, and
Lithuania. There are also large Catholic minorities in
England and
Wales.
**
Orthodox Christianity: The countries with significant Orthodox populations are
Albania,
Armenia,
Belarus,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria,
Cyprus,
Finland (
Karelia),
Georgia,
Greece,
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Moldova,
Montenegro,
Romania,
Russia,
Serbia,
Ukraine.
**
Protestantism: Countries with significant Protestant populations include
Norway,
Iceland,
Sweden,
Finland,
Estonia,
Latvia, the
UK,
Denmark,
Germany, the
Netherlands and
Switzerland. There are significant minorities in
France,
Czech Republic,
Hungary, and indeed small minorities in most European Countries.
*
Islam: Countries with significant Muslim population are
Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria,
Republic of Macedonia,
Serbia (especially in
Kosovo),
Montenegro, several republics of
Russia,
Crimea in
Ukraine,
Kazakhstan,
Turkey,
Azerbaijan and
Georgia. Also,
as of 2005, about 5% of the EU identify themselves as Muslims, with many Muslim immigrants in
Germany, the
UK,
Benelux,
Sweden and
France.
Other minor religions exist in Europe, some brought by migrants, including:
*
Judaism, mainly in
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
France,
UK and
Russia.
*
Hinduism, mainly among
Indian immigrants in the
UK.
*
Buddhism, thinly spread throughout western Europe, and in
Kalmykia,
Russia*Indigenous European
pagan traditions and beliefs, many countries.
*
Rastafari, communities in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and elsewhere.
*
Sikhism and
Jainism, both mainly among Indian immigrants in the
UK.
*
Voodoo, mainly among
black Caribbean and
West African immigrants in the
UK and
France.
*
Traditional African Religions (including
Muti), mainly in the
UK and
France.
Millions of Europeans profess no religion or are atheist or agnostic. The largest non-confessional populations (as a percentage) are found in the
Netherlands,
Sweden, the
Czech Republic,
Belgium and
France although most former
communist countries have significant non-confessional populations. Attendance at church is a minority activity in most Western European countries - as an example, the Church of England attracts around 1 million worshippers on a Sunday [
3], which corresponds to about 2% of the population of
England.
Official religions
A number of countries in Europe have
official religions, including Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Vatican City (Catholic), Republic of Ireland (Catholic
de facto); and Greece (Eastern Orthodox), Denmark, Iceland and Norway (Lutheran). In Switzerland, some
cantons are officially Catholic, others Reformed Protestant. Some Swiss villages even have their religion as well as the village name written on the signs at their entrances.
Georgia has no established church, but the
Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys
"de facto" privileged status. In Finland, both
Finnish Orthodox Church and
Lutheran church are official. England, a part of the UK, has
Anglicanism as its official religion. Scotland, another part of the UK, has Presbyterianism as the 'National' church, but is no longer "official", and in Sweden, the 'National' church is
Lutheran, but no longer "official". Portugal, France, Turkey and Azerbaijan are officially "secular".
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