Political map (neighbouring countries in Africa and Asia also shown)

Roland pledges fealty to Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor

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Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of Earth. more...

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The westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, it is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, to the southeast by the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea and the waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. To the east, Europe is generally divided from Asia by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, and by the Caspian Sea.

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface. Of Europe's 48 countries, Russia is the largest by both area and population, while the Vatican is the smallest. Europe is the third most populous continent after Asia and Africa with a population of 710,000,000 or about 11% of the world's population. However, Europe's borders, and population are in dispute, as the term continent can refer to a cultural and political distinction or a physiographic one.

Europe is the birthplace of Western culture. European nations played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century onwards, especially after the beginning of colonization. By the 17th and 18th centuries European nations controlled most of Africa, the Americas, and large portions of Asia. World War I and World War II led to a decline in European dominance in world affairs as the United States and Soviet Union took prominence. The Cold War between those two superpowers divided Europe along the Iron Curtain. European integration led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Definition

The term "Europe" has multiple uses. Its principal ones are geographical and political.

Physiographically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of the continent of Eurasia; its limits are well defined by sea to the North, South and West, and by a slightly arbitrary boundary discussed below on the east and south-eastern side. The Ural mountains are usually taken as the eastern limit of Europe; points beyond are not usually considered to be part of the continent.;

Politically, Europe comprises those countries in the European Union, but may at times be used more casually to refer to both the EU together with other non-EU countries in the same general region.;

In addition, people in countries such as Ireland, United Kingdom, Scandinavia and the North Atlantic and Mediterranean islands, may routinely refer to "continental" or "mainland" Europe (or simply "the Continent"), as a term for the main land mass.