Europe Study

Europe, the planet’s 6th largest continent, includes 47 countries and assorted dependencies, islands and territories.

Europe’s recognized surface area covers about 9,938,000 sq km (3,837,083 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth’s surface, and about 6.8% of its land area.

In exacting geographic definitions, Europe is really not a continent, but part of the peninsula of Euroasia which includes all of Europe and Asia. However, it’s still widely referred to as an individual continent.

The European continent, bordered by numerous bodies of water, is separated from Asia by Russia’s Ural Mountains and by the Caspian and Black Seas. It is separated from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea.

FAST FACTS:

Namesake: The name “Europe” comes from Greek mythology. The continent was actually named after Europa, a Phoenician princess that Zeus abducted after he assumed the form of an impressive white bull.
Major Languages: Languages vary greatly across the entire European continent. The ‘Romance Languages’ of French, Italian and Spanish are the most prevalent. English and Germanic languages are used in many places. Slavic languages are spoken in eastern Europe, and to the north, Scandinavian and Baltic languages are ubiquitous from Iceland east to European Russia.
Population: 731,000,000 (2008 est)
It is the third most populous continent, after Asia and Africa
Population Density: 70 per sq km (181 per sq mi)

Largest European Countries By Populations: (2010 estimates)