| Location | Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the east |
| Map references | Europe |
| Area | total: 4,479,968 sq km rank by area (sq km): 1. France (includes five overseas regions) 643,801 2. Spain 505,370 3. Sweden 450,295 4. Germany 357,022 5. Finland 338,145 6. Poland 312,685 7. Italy 301,340 8. United Kingdom (includes Gibraltar) 243,617 9. Romania 238,391 10. Greece 131,957 11. Bulgaria 110,879 12. Hungary 93,028 13. Portugal 92,090 14. Austria 83,871 15. Czechia 78,867 16. Ireland 70,273 17. Lithuania 65,300 18. Latvia 64,589 19. Croatia 56,594 20. Slovakia 49,035 21. Estonia 45,228 22. Denmark 43,094 23. Netherlands 41,543 24. Belgium 30,528 25. Slovenia 20,273 26. Cyprus 9,251 27. Luxembourg 2,586 28. Malta 316 |
| Area - comparative | less than one-half the size of the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 13,271 km border countries (17): Albania 212 km, Andorra 118 km, Belarus 1,176 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 956 km, Holy See 3 km, Liechtenstein 34 km, Macedonia 396 km, Moldova 683 km, Monaco 6 km, Montenegro 19 km, Norway 2,375 km, Russia 2,435 km, San Marino 37 km, Serbia 1,353 km, Switzerland 1,729 km, Turkey 415 km, Ukraine 1,324 km note: data for European continent only |
| Coastline | 65,992.9 km |
| Climate | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south |
| Terrain | fairly flat along Baltic and Atlantic coasts; mountainous in the central and southern areas |
| Elevation extremes | mean elevation: about 300 m elevation extremes: lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m highest point: Mont Blanc 4,810 m |
| Natural resources | iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish |
| Irrigated land | 154,539.82 sq km (2011 est.) |
| Population distribution | population distribution varies considerably from country to country, but tends to follow a pattern of coastal and river settlement, with urban agglomerations forming large hubs facilitating large scale housing, industry, and commerce; the area in and around the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (known collectively as Benelux), is the most densely populated area in the EU |
| Natural hazards | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic |
| Environment - current issues | various forms of air, soil, and water pollution; see individual country entries |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on January 20, 2018
