Map of Europe

The European continent contains many countries of diverse backgrounds and cultures. Europe, in particular ancient Greece, is the birthplace of Western culture. It played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century onward, especially after the beginning of colonialism. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European nations controlled, at various times, the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and large portions of Asia. Both World Wars were largely focused upon Europe.

There are fifty internationally recognized sovereign states in Europe of which 44 have their capital city within Europe. Germany, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Scandinavia, are some of the major European countries. Germany is the country that is surrounded by the most countries (nine). The countries are Switzerland, Poland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Belgium, and Austria.

• Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 3,930,000 square miles
• Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by both area and population, while the Vatican City is the smallest
• Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 733 million (11% of the world's population)

Interesting facts about Europe

Europe received its name from a princess in Greek mythology. Europa was a Phoenician princess kidnapped by Zeus, who had transformed himself into a white bull to take her Paris is the largest city in Europe with a population of about 10 million. There is a lot of competition with big cities like London, Istanbul and Moscow There are no deserts in the European continent The Ural Mountains are a natural boundary that separates Northern Asian from Northern Europe

• There are five peninsulas in Europe. The Iberian Peninsula contains Spain and Portugal; the Balkan Peninsula has Albania and Greece; the Scandinavian Peninsula has Norway and Sweden; the Jutland peninsula has Denmark and Germany; and the Apennines peninsula contains San Marino and Italy