150 – Europe001 – [[World]]
| footnotes = {{unbulleted list|style=font-size:90%;
|a. {{note|footnote_a}} Figures include only European portions of transcontinental countries.{{cref2|n|1}}
|b. {{note|footnote_b}} Includes Asian population. Istanbul is partly in Asia and partly in Europe.
|c. {{note|footnote_c}} "Europe" as defined by the International Monetary Fund}}
}}
'''Europe''' is a [[continent]]{{cref2|t}} located entirely in the [[Northern 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.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe|title=Europe|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330175836/https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Europe: Human Geography {{!}} National Geographic Society |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/europe-human-geography/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org}} Europe is commonly considered to be [[Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe|separated from Asia]] by the [[Drainage divide|watershed]] of the [[Ural Mountains]], the [[Ural (river)|Ural River]], the [[Caspian Sea]], the [[Greater Caucasus]], the [[Black Sea]], and the [[Turkish straits]].{{Cite book|title=National Geographic Atlas of the World|edition=7th|year=1999|location=Washington, DC|publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]|isbn=978-0-7922-7528-2}} "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles."
Europe covers approximately {{Convert|10,186,000|km2}}, or 2% of [[Earth#Surface|Earth's surface]] (6.8% of Earth's land area), making it the second-smallest continent (using the [[Continent#Number|seven-continent model]]). [[Politics of Europe|Politically]], Europe is divided into about [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe#UN member states and UNGA non-member observer state|fifty sovereign states]], of which [[Russia]] is the [[List of European countries by area|largest]] and [[List of European countries by population|most populous]], spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of [[Demographics of Europe|its population]]. Europe had a total population of about {{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Europe}}|R}}/1e6 round 0}} million (about 10% of the [[world population]]) in {{UN_Population|Year}}; the [[List of continents and continental subregions by population|third-largest]] after Asia and Africa.{{UN_Population|ref}} The [[climate of Europe|European climate]] is affected by warm Atlantic currents, such as the [[Gulf Stream]], which produce a [[temperate climate]], tempering winters and summers, on much of the continent. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable producing more [[continental climate]]s.
The [[culture of Europe]] consists of a range of national and regional cultures, which form the central roots of the wider [[Western culture|Western civilisation]], and together commonly reference [[ancient Greece]] and [[ancient Rome]], particularly through [[Christianity in Europe|their Christian successors]], as crucial and shared roots.{{harvnb|Lewis|Wigen|1997|page=226}}{{cite book|first=Kim|last=Covert|title=Ancient Greece: Birthplace of Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVMYJNvUiYkC&pg=PP5|year=2011|publisher=Capstone|isbn=978-1-4296-6831-6|page=5|quote=Ancient Greece is often called the cradle of western civilization. ... Ideas from literature and science also have their roots in ancient Greece.|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=27 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727133725/https://books.google.com/books?id=KVMYJNvUiYkC&pg=PP5|url-status=live}} Beginning with the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]] in 476 CE, [[Christianization|Christian consolidation]] of Europe in the wake of the [[Migration Period]] marked the European [[post-classical]] [[Middle Ages]]. The [[Italian Renaissance]] spread across many [[Western Europe]]an countries, adapting to local contexts and giving rise to distinct national expressions. The renewed [[Renaissance humanism|humanist]] emphasis on [[Renaissance art|art]] and [[Science in the Renaissance|science]] was among the several factors that contributed to the broader transition to the modern era. Since the [[Age of Discovery]], led by [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] and [[Portuguese Empire|Portugal]], Europe played a predominant role in global affairs with multiple explorations and conquests around the world. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, [[list of former European colonies|European powers colonised]] at various times the [[Americas]], almost all of Africa and [[Oceania]], and the majority of Asia.
The [[Age of Enlightenment]], the [[French Revolution]], and the [[Napoleonic Wars]] shaped the continent culturally, politically, and economically from the end of the 17th century until the first half of the 19th century. The [[Industrial Revolution]], which began in [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic, cultural, and social change in [[Western Europe]] and eventually the wider world. Both [[world war]]s began and were fought to a great extent in Europe, contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the [[Soviet Union]] and the United States took prominence and competed over [[geopolitical dominance]] in Europe and globally.National Geographic, 534. The resulting [[Cold War]] divided Europe along the [[Iron Curtain]], with [[NATO]] in the [[Western Bloc|West]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]] in the [[Eastern Bloc|East]]. This divide ended with the [[Revolutions of 1989]], the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]], and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], which allowed [[European integration]] to advance significantly.
European integration has been advanced institutionally since 1948 with the founding of the [[Council of Europe]], and significantly through the realisation of the [[European Union]] (EU), which represents today the majority of Europe.{{Cite web |title=History of the European Union 1945–59 |url=https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/history-eu/1945-59_en |access-date=16 April 2022 |website=european-union.europa.eu |language=en |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423212328/https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/history-eu/1945-59_en |url-status=live }} The European Union is a [[Supranational union|supranational]] [[Political identity|political entity]] that lies between a [[confederation]] and a [[federation]] and is based on a system of [[European treaties]].{{Cite web|url=http://www.ies.ee/iesp/No11/articles/03_Gabriel_Hazak.pdf|title=The European union—a federation or a confederation?|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319194121/https://www.ies.ee/iesp/No11/articles/03_Gabriel_Hazak.pdf|url-status=live}} The EU originated in Western Europe but [[Enlargement of the European Union|has been expanding]] eastward since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. A majority of its members have adopted a common currency, the [[euro]], and participate in the [[European single market]] and [[European Union Customs Union|a customs union]]. A large bloc of countries, the [[Schengen Area]], have also abolished internal border and immigration controls. [[Elections to the European Parliament|Regular popular elections]] take place every five years within the EU; they are considered the second-largest democratic elections in the world after [[Elections in India|India's]]. The [[Economy of the European Union|EU economy]] is the second-largest in the world by nominal [[GDP]] and third-largest by [[PPP-adjusted GDP]].
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==Etymology==
{{Anchor|Etymology}}
{{Further|Europa (consort of Zeus)}}
[[File:Anaximander world map (mul).svg|thumb|left|Reconstruction of an early [[early world maps|world map]] made by [[Anaximander]] of the 6th century BCE, dividing the known world into three large landmasses, one of which was named Europe]]
In classical [[Greek mythology]], [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]] ({{langx|grc|Εὐρώπη}}, {{transliteration|grc|Eurṓpē}}) was a [[Phoenicia]]n princess. One view is that her name derives from the Ancient Greek elements {{lang|grc|εὐρύς}} ({{transliteration|grc|eurús}}) 'wide, broad', and {{lang|grc|ὤψ}} ({{transliteration|grc|ōps}}, [[Genitive case|{{abbr|gen.|genitive}}]] {{lang|grc|ὠπός}}, {{transliteration|grc|ōpós}}) 'eye, face, countenance', hence their composite {{transliteration|grc|Eurṓpē}} would mean 'wide-gazing' or 'broad of aspect'.{{cite book|author1=M. L. West|first2=Morris|last2=West|title=Indo-European Poetry and Myth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXrJA_5LKlYC|date= 2007|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-928075-9|page=185|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122123919/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXrJA_5LKlYC|url-status=live}}{{cite book|first=Charles|last=FitzRoy|title=The Rape of Europa: The Intriguing History of Titian's Masterpiece|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zhF0BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT52|date=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4081-9211-5|pages=52–|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=20 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320035838/https://books.google.com/books?id=zhF0BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT52|url-status=live}}{{cite book|first=Michael C.|last=Astour|title=Hellenosemitica: An Ethnic and Cultural Study in West Semitic Impact on Mycenaean Greece|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NMkUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA128|year=1967|publisher=Brill Archive|page=128|id=GGKEY:G19ZZ3TSL38|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=20 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320014449/https://books.google.com/books?id=NMkUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA128|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Europe|title=Europe – Origin and meaning of the name Europe by Online Etymology Dictionary|website=etymonline.com|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=17 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917144349/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Europe|url-status=live}} ''Broad'' has been an [[epithet]] of Earth herself in the reconstructed [[Proto-Indo-European mythology|Proto-Indo-European religion]] and the poetry devoted to it. An alternative view is that of [[Robert S. P. Beekes|Robert Beekes]], who has argued in favour of a pre-Indo-European origin for the name, explaining that a derivation from {{transliteration|grc|eurus}} would yield a different [[toponymy|toponym]] than Europa. Beekes has located toponyms related to that of Europa in the territory of ancient Greece, and localities such as that of [[Europus (Almopia)|Europos]] in [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|ancient Macedonia]].{{cite journal |last1=Beekes |first1=Robert |title=Kadmos and Europa, and the Phoenicians |journal=Kadmos |date=2004 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=168–69 |doi=10.1515/kadm.43.1.167 |s2cid=162196643 |url=https://www.robertbeekes.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/b118.pdf |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-date=1 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101121039/https://www.robertbeekes.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/b118.pdf |url-status=live |issn=0022-7498 }}
There have been attempts to connect {{transliteration|grc|Eurṓpē}} to a Semitic term for ''west'', this being either [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] {{transliteration|akk|erebu}} meaning 'to go down, set' (said of the sun) or [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] {{transliteration|phn|'ereb}} 'evening, west', which is at the origin of [[Arabic]] {{transliteration|ar|maghreb}} and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] {{transliteration|he|ma'arav}}. [[Martin Litchfield West]] stated that "phonologically, the match between Europa's name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor",{{Cite book |author=M. L. West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIp0RYIjazQC&pg=PA451 |title=The east face of Helicon: west Asiatic elements in Greek poetry and myth |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-19-815221-7 |location=Oxford |page=451}}. while Beekes considers a connection to Semitic languages improbable.
Most major world languages use words derived from {{transliteration|grc|Eurṓpē}} or ''Europa'' to refer to the continent. Chinese, for example, uses the word {{transliteration|zh|pinyin|Ōuzhōu}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|歐洲}}/{{lang|zh-Hans|欧洲}}), which is an abbreviation of the transliterated name {{transliteration|zh|pinyin|Ōuluóbā zhōu}} ({{lang|zh|歐羅巴洲}}) ({{transliteration|zh|pinyin|zhōu}} means "continent"); a similar Chinese-derived term {{nihongo||欧州|Ōshū}} is also sometimes used in Japanese such as in the Japanese name of the European Union, {{nihongo||欧州連合|Ōshū Rengō}}, despite the [[katakana]] {{nihongo||ヨーロッパ|Yōroppa}} being more commonly used. In some Turkic languages, the originally Persian name {{transliteration|fa|[[Frangistan]]}} ("land of the [[Franks]]") is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as {{transliteration|fa|Avrupa}} or {{transliteration|fa|Evropa}}.{{Cite journal|author=Davidson, Roderic H. |s2cid=157454140|title=Where is the Middle East?|jstor=20029452 |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=38|issue=4 |pages=665–675 |year=1960|doi=10.2307/20029452 }}
==Definition==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2025}}
{{Further|Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe}}
{{See also|List of transcontinental countries}}
===Contemporary definition===