Europe
Pre-1945: Industrial growth
The Industrial Revolution started in Europe, specifically the United Kingdom in the late 18th century,[101] and the 19th century saw Western Europe industrialise. Economies were disrupted by World War I but by the beginning of World War II they had recovered and were having to compete with the growing economic strength of the United States. World War II, again, damaged much of Europe's industries.
1945-1990: The Cold War
After World War II the economy of the UK was in a state of ruin,[102] and continued to suffer relative economic decline in the following decades.[103] Italy was also in a poor economic condition but regained a high level of growth by the 1950s. West Germany recovered quickly and had doubled production from pre-war levels by the 1950s.[104] France also staged a remarkable comeback enjoying rapid growth and modernisation.[105] The majority of Eastern European states came under the control of the USSR and thus were members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON).[106] The states which retained a free-market system were given a large amount of aid by the United States under the Marshall Plan.[107] The western states moved to link their economies together, providing the basis for the EU and increasing cross border trade. This helped them to enjoy rapidly improving economies, while those states in COMECON were struggling in a large part due to the cost of the Cold War. Until 1990, the European Community was expanded from 6 founding members to 12. The emphasis placed on resurrecting the West German economy led to it overtaking the UK as Europe's largest economy.
1991-2003: The Rise of the EU
With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1991 the Eastern states had to adapt to a free market system. There were varying degrees of success with Central European countries such as Poland, Hungary, and Slovenia adapting reasonably quickly, while eastern states like Ukraine and Russia taking far longer. Western Europe helped Eastern Europe by forming economic ties with them. After East and West Germany were reunited in 1990, the economy of West Germany struggled as it had to support and largely rebuild the infrastructure of East Germany. Yugoslavia lagged farthest behind as it was ravaged by war and in 2003 there were still many EU and NATO peacekeeping troops in Kosovo, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, with only Slovenia making any real progress. By the millennium change, the EU dominated the economy of Europe comprising the five largest European economies of the time namely Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain. In 1999 12 of the 15 members of the EU joined the Eurozone replacing their former national currencies by the common euro. The three who chose to remain outside the Eurozone were: the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden.
Language
European languages mostly fall within three Indo-European language groups: the Romance languages, derived from the Latin language of the Roman Empire; the Germanic languages, whose ancestor language came from southern Scandinavia; and the Slavic languages.[90]
Romance languages are spoken primarily in south-western Europe as well as in Romania and Moldova. Germanic languages are spoken in north-western Europe and some parts of Central Europe. Slavic languages are spoken in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe.[90]
Many other languages outside the three main groups are spoken in Europe. While having much of its vocabulary descended from Romance languages, the English language is a Germanic language. The Celtic language group is a distinct group like the Romance, Germanic, and Slavic language groups. Even though it has largely disappeared from daily use, there are still varying numbers of speakers of each of the six Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Cornish, and Breton.[90]
Multilingualism and the protection of regional and minority languages are recognized political goals in Europe today. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe.
Religion
Historically, religion in Europe has been a major influence on European art, culture, philosophy and law. The majority religion in Europe is Christianity while other religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism exist but in smaller numbers. Europe is a relatively secular continent and has the largest number and proportion of irreligious, agnostic and atheistic people in the Western world, with a particularly high number of self-described non-religious people in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Sweden and France.[108]
Culture
The culture of Europe can be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of West and East; Christianity and Islam; cultural mixes exist across the continent. There are cultural innovations and movements, sometimes at odds with each other, such as Christian proselytism or Humanism. Thus the question of "common culture" or "common values" is complex.
See also
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- List of European languages by country
- Communications in Europe
- Continental Europe
- OSCE
- OSCE countries statistics
- The European miracle
- Europe as a potential superpower
- Euroregion / Eurodistrict
- European American
- Euroscepticism
- Flags of Europe
- List of European countries by geographical area
- Economics
- Economy of the European Union
- Financial and social rankings of European countries
- List of European countries by GDP
- Demographics
- Politics
- Date of independence of European countries
- International Organisations in Europe
- Alternative names of European cities
Notes
^ a: Continental regions as per UN categorisations/map. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below may be in one or both of Europe and Asia, Africa, or Oceania.
^ b: Includes Transnistria, a region that has declared, and de facto achieved, independence; however, it is not recognised de jure by sovereign states.
^ c: Russia is considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. However the population and area figures include the entire state.
^ d: Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey are Crown dependencies of the United Kingdom. Other Channel Islands legislated by the Bailiwick of Guernsey include Alderney and Sark.
^ e: Cyprus is sometimes considered transcontinental country. Physiographically entirely in Western Asia it has strong historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe. The population and area figures refer to the entire state, including the de facto independent part Northern Cyprus.
^ f: Figures for Portugal include the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, both in Northern Atlantic.
^ g: Figures for Serbia include Kosovo, a province that has declared, and de facto achieved, independence; however, it's independence is internationally disputed as it is only partially recognized and not a member of the UN.
^ h: Figures for France include only metropolitan France: some politically integral parts of France are geographically located outside Europe.
^ i: 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.
^ j: Kazakhstan is physiographically 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. However, area and population figures refer to the entire country.
^ k: Armenia is sometimes considered a transcontinental country. Physiographically entirely in Western Asia it has strong historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe. The population and area figures include the entire state respectively.
^ l: Azerbaijan is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region). However the population and area figures are for the entire state. This includes the exclave of Nakhchivan and the region Nagorno-Karabakh that has declared, and de facto achieved, independence. Nevertheless, it is not recognised de jure by sovereign states.
^ m: Georgia is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe. However the population and area figures include the entire state. This also includes Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two regions that have declared, and de facto achieved, independence. Nevertheless, they are not recognised de jure by any sovereign state.
^ n: Turkey is physiographically considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe. However the population and area figures include the entire state, both the European and Asian portions.
^ o: The total figures for area and population include only European portions of transcontinental countries. The precision of these figure is compromised by the ambiguous geographical extend of Europe and the lack of references for European portions of transcontinental countries.
^ p: Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Its population is a 2007 estimate.
^ p: The CIA factbook states that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe.
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External links
- Europe travel guide from Wikitravel
- Europe at Night at NASA Earth Observatory
- Council of Europe
- European Union
- "Europe". The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. 2005. New York: Columbia University Press.
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