Europe

European state alliances and trade agreements

• CEFTA - Central European Free Trade Agreement
• CETA - Canada-Europe Trade Agreement
• EFTA - European Free Trade Association
• BENELUX - Belgium-Netherlands-Luxembourg Economic Union
• EMU - Economic and Monetary Union
• EU - European Union
• NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• PESCO - Permanent Structured Cooperation
• BSEC - Black Sea Economic Cooperation
• Schengen Area
• Visegrád Group (V4)
• Nordic Council

Most spoken native languages in Europe

🔍 Click to zoom

Almost all European languages belong to the Indo-European family (Slavic, Germanic, Romance, Baltic, Hellenic, Albanian, Celtic groups), with the exception of Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian (Uralic family), Maltese (Semitic) and Basque (isolated language). The main religions follow a marked geographical distribution: Christianity dominant in the west, north and east (Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy), Islam present mainly in the Balkans (Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo) and Turkey, and Judaism as a minority.

Population and density in Europe

🔍 Click to zoom

Compared to other continents, Europe is quite densely populated and highly urbanized: about 75% of Europeans live in cities. The average population density of the European continent (excluding Asian Russia) is about 70 to 75 inhabitants per km², with strong regional disparities. This density is significantly lower in Scandinavia and some Eastern European regions. Conversely, Central and Western Europe are densely populated:

Netherlands: (508 inhabitants/km²),
Belgium: (383 inhabitants/km²),
England: (434 inhabitants/km²),
Germany: (240 inhabitants/km²),
Italy: (206 inhabitants/km²),
Metropolitan France: (119 inhabitants/km²).

Almost all European languages belong to the large Indo-European family (Slavic, Germanic, Romance, Baltic, Hellenic, Albanian, Celtic and Armenian groups). Several languages have completely different origins: Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian (Uralic/Finnic-Ugric family), Maltese (Semitic, close to Arabic) and Basque (isolated pre-Indo-European language). The main religions also follow a marked geographical distribution: Christianity dominates the entire continent (Catholicism in Southern and Western Europe, Protestantism in Northern Europe, Orthodoxy in Eastern Europe and the Balkans), while Islam is majority or very present in the Balkans (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo) and in European Turkey. There are also significant Muslim communities in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands resulting from recent immigration.

European demographics

With a median age of 44.5 years in the European Union, Europe is the oldest continent in the world, ahead of North America (38.5 years) and Asia (32 years). This demographic data is structural and will not reverse in the short term, despite pro-natalist policies and immigration.

The average fertility rate in the European Union is 1.52 children per woman, well below the generational renewal threshold. The most fertile countries are France (1.84), Czechia (1.71), Romania (1.71), Ireland (1.70) and Sweden (1.67). The least fertile are Malta (1.13), Spain (1.19), Italy (1.20), Poland (1.26) and Finland (1.32).

Without migratory intake, the population of the European Union would already be decreasing by about 500,000 people per year. On average, 1.8 to 2.2 million net migrants enter the EU each year, mainly from Africa (Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa), the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey), Eastern Europe outside the EU (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova) and South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh).

Immigration is a key factor of demographic stabilization for Europe, but it does not fully compensate for the natural deficit (births - deaths) in most countries. For example, in Germany, the population would have already decreased by more than 5 million since 1990 without migration flows.

📊 Summary demographic table of the European Union

Time zones in Europe

Europe extends over 4 main time zones (excluding overseas territories):

• UTC±0 (WET - Western European Time): Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom (including Gibraltar).
• UTC+1 (CET - Central European Time): Albania, Germany, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Denmark, Spain (except Canary Islands), France (metropolitan), Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Czechia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Vatican.
• UTC+2 (EET - Eastern European Time): Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine (majority of territory).
• UTC+3 (MSK - Moscow Time): Belarus, Russia (European part).

Special cases and exceptions: Kazakhstan (a small part of which is in Europe) uses UTC+3 to UTC+5 (Aqtöbe, Atyrau, Western Urals). Russia, although spanning 11 time zones in total, only uses UTC+3 for its European part (from Kaliningrad to the Urals). Turkey abandoned daylight saving time in 2016 and remains on UTC+3 all year round. Belarus is also on permanent winter time (UTC+3) since 2011.

European institutions

• ECB - European Central Bank
• EIB - European Investment Bank
• EBRD - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• ECJ - Court of Justice of the European Union
• ECHR - European Court of Human Rights

European geology and geography

From a strictly geological point of view, Europe is not a distinct continent in terms of tectonic plates. It lies on the Eurasian plate, which extends from the middle of the North Atlantic to the Pacific. However, the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, the Balkans, Greece and much of Turkey also lie on the Eurasian plate, but with adjacent microplates (Anatolian plate, Aegean plate).

Part of Iceland, meanwhile, straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at the boundary between the Eurasian and North American plates. The conventional cultural, historical and geographical boundary between Europe and Asia is drawn in the east along the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains and the Bosphorus Strait.

Main European geological features:

• Scandinavian Shield (or Fennoscandia): Precambrian rocks among the oldest in the world (up to 3.5 billion years), outcropping in Norway, Sweden, Finland and northwestern Russia.
• Great plains of Central and Eastern Europe: vast sedimentary deposits stretching from northern France to western Russia.
• Alpine chains (Alps, Carpathians, Balkans, Apennines, Pyrenees): recent geological formation (Tertiary era) due to the collision between the African plate and the Eurasian plate.
• Paris Basin and London Basin: Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary basins.
• Active volcanism: Iceland (Mid-Atlantic Ridge), Italy (Vesuvius, Etna, Stromboli), Greece (Santorini), Portugal (Azores archipelago).

Climate in Europe

Europe extends from the Arctic Circle (Norwegian island of Svalbard) to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea (Crete) and even to the Spanish Canary Islands (off the coast of Africa). Five main climatic regimes share the territory, with well-established annual recurrences.

Weather records in Europe

🌧️ Rainiest city in Europe: Bergen (Norway) ≈ 2,250 mm/year (some Norwegian villages exceed 3,500 mm/year)

☀️ Driest city in Europe: Almería (Spain)

🔥 Highest temperature officially recorded in Europe: 48.8°C in Sicily (Italy), Floridia, 11 August 2021 (previous record 48.0°C in Athens in 1977)

❄️ Lowest temperature in geographical Europe: -58.1°C in Ust'-Ščugor (Komi Republic, European Russia), 31 December 1978.

🌡️ Official cold record (outside Russia): -52.6°C in Vuoggatjålme (Sweden), 4 February 1966.

Energy in Europe

The EU imports about 55 to 60% of its energy, a figure that remains high despite transitions and independence efforts since 2022. This rate varies considerably depending on the member state: Denmark (about 35%) and Estonia (about 15%) are less dependent, while Cyprus (>95%), Malta (>95%), Luxembourg (>90%) and Italy (>75%) remain very vulnerable to imports.

The main European energy models are:

• Nuclear model: France (≈64.8% of electricity from nuclear in 2024), Slovakia (59%), Belgium (46%), Finland (41%), Sweden (29%, complemented by hydropower), Bulgaria (38%), Hungary (47%), Czechia (34%). France remains the most nuclearized country in Europe in proportion.
• Renewable model (hydropower + wind + solar): Norway (88% hydro), Sweden (40% hydro + 20% wind + nuclear), Denmark (58% wind, world record), Portugal (55% renewables), Spain (50% renewables, including 23% wind, 14% solar), Austria (78% renewables, dominated by hydro), Germany (55% renewables in 2024: 31% wind, 12% solar, 9% biomass, 3% hydro).
• Gas/coal model: Poland (≈68% coal, still very dependent, but declining), Italy (≈45% natural gas, 35% renewables, the rest imported), Netherlands (≈40% gas, 48% renewables after the gradual closure of the Groningen field), Ireland (≈50% gas), Greece (≈45% gas).

Europe (FAQ)