Europe is acontinent located entirely in theNorthern Hemisphere and mostly in theEastern Hemisphere. It comprises the westernmost peninsulas of the continental landmass ofEurasia, and is bordered by theArctic Ocean to the north, theAtlantic Ocean to the west, theMediterranean Sea to the south, andAsia to the east. Europe is commonly considered to beseparated from Asia by thewatershed of theUral Mountains, theUral River, theCaspian Sea, theGreater Caucasus, theBlack Sea, and the waterways of theTurkish Straits. Although much of this border is over land, Europe is generally accorded the status of a full continent because of its great physical size and the weight of history and tradition.
Europe covers about 10,180,000 km2 (3,930,000 sq mi), or 2% of the Earth's surface (6.8% of land area), making it the second smallest continent (using theseven-continent model). Politically, Europe is divided into aboutfifty sovereign states, of whichRussia is thelargest andmost populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had atotal population of about 741 million (about 11% of theworld population), as of 2018. TheEuropean climate is largely affected by warm Atlantic currents that temper winters and summers on much of the continent, even atlatitudes along which the climate in Asia andNorth America is severe. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast.
Thehistory of Europe concerns itself with the discovery and collection, the study, organization and presentation and the interpretation of past events and affairs of the people of Europe since the beginning of written records. During theNeolithic era and the time of theIndo-European migrations, Europe saw human inflows from east and southeast and subsequent important cultural and material exchange. The period known asclassical antiquity began with the emergence of the city-states ofancient Greece. Later, theRoman Empire came to dominate the entireMediterranean basin. The fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476 traditionally marks the start of theMiddle Ages. Beginning in the 14th century aRenaissance of knowledge challenged traditional doctrines in science and theology. Simultaneously, theProtestant Reformation set up Protestant churches primarily in Germany, Scandinavia and England. After 1800, theIndustrial Revolution brought prosperity to Britain and Western Europe. The main European powers set up colonies in most of the Americas and Africa, and parts of Asia. In the 20th century,World War I andWorld War II resulted in massive numbers of deaths. TheCold War dominated European geo-politics from 1947 to 1989. After the fall of theIron Curtain, the European countries grew together.
Theculture of Europe is rooted in theart,architecture,film, different types ofmusic,economic,literature, andphilosophy that originated from the continent ofEurope. European culture is largely rooted in what is often referred to as its "common culturalheritage".
Theeconomy of Europe comprises more than 744 million people in 50 countries. The formation of theEuropean Union (EU) and in 1999, the introduction of a unified currency, theEuro, brings participating European countries closer through the convenience of a shared currency and has led to a stronger European cash flow. The difference in wealth across Europe can be seen roughly in former Cold War divide, with some countries breaching the divide (Greece,Estonia,Portugal,Slovenia and theCzech Republic). Whilst most European states have aGDP per capita higher than the world's average and arevery highly developed (Liechtenstein,Luxembourg,Monaco,Andorra,Norway,Sweden,Denmark,Netherlands,Switzerland,United Kingdom,Ireland,Germany), some European economies, despite their position over the world's average in theHuman Development Index, are poorer.
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