Countries of Europe

Europe is a landmass consisting of the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia, 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, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It is commonly accepted that Europe is separated from Asia by the Ural Mountains, the watershed of the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and the waterways of the Turkish Straits.

Europe covers about 10.18 million km² (3.93 million square miles), or 2% of Earth's surface (6.8% of its land area), making it the second smallest continent. Politically, Europe is divided into around fifty sovereign states, with Russia being the largest, occupying 39% of the territory and accounting for 15% of its population. The total population of Europe in 2021 was about 745 million people (around 10% of the world's population). The European climate is largely influenced by warm Atlantic currents, which moderate winter and summer across much of the continent, even in latitudes where Asia and North America experience harsher climates. Further inland, seasonal variations are more pronounced than near the coasts.