Europe[222]

GAC002 Assessment Event 4: Academic Research Essay

Europe:

A Look at Europe Today

Student Name: Nicholas

Student ID: NFLS28859

Teacher: Andrew

Due Date: 29 May 2014

Word count: 2,245

GAC002 Assessment Event 4 Nicholas NFLS28859

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Composing the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and other bodies of water to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet the borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat arbitrary, as the primarily physiographic term "continent" can incorporate cultural and political elements.

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by both area and population (although the country has territory in both Europe and Asia), while the Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 733 million or about 11% of the world's population. In 1900, Europe's share of the world's population was

List of Countries in Europe

The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the various common definitions of Europe, geographic or political.

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Languages in Europe

This is a list of 39 spoken languages (mother tongue) in Europe.

1.Russian 125 000 000 (mainly in European Russia (100 000 000), Ukraine (20 000 000), Belarus

(3 000 000), Estonia (500 000) and Latvia (500 000)

2.German 98 000 000 (mainly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland)

3.French 70 000 000 (mainly in France, Belgium and Switzerland)

4.English 65 000 000 (mainly in the UK and Ireland, also spoken in Malta and Cyprus)

5.Italian 65 000 000 (mainly in Italy, Switzerland, France, Malta and Croatia)

6.Spanish 47 000 000 (mainly in Spain)

7.Polish 39 000 000 (mainly in Poland)

https://www.360docs.net/doc/d55479166.html,rainian 39 000 000 (mainly in Ukraine and Russia)

9.Romanian 30 000 000 (mainly in Romania and Moldova)

10.Dutch 22 000 000 (mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium);

11.Hungarian 15 000 000 (mainly in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, etc.)

12.Greek 12 000 000 (mainly in Greece, Cyprus and Albania)

13.Portuguese 12 000 000 (mainly in Portugal, Luxembourg, France and Germany)

14.Serbian 12 000 000 (mainly in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Germany,

Austria and Switzerland)

15.Turkish 12 000 000 (mainly in European Turkey and Germany)

16.Swedish 10 000 000 (mainly in Sweden and Finland)

17.Czech 10 000 000 (mainly in Czech Republic)

18.Bulgarian 10 000 000 (mainly in Bulgaria)

19.Catalan 9 000 000 (mainly in Spain and Andorra, also in France and Italy)

20.Albanian 8 500 000 (mainly in Albania, Kosovo, Turkey, Macedonia, Italy, Switzerland and

Greece)

21.

22.Belarusian 8 000 000 (mainly in Belarus and Russia)

23.Croatian 6 200 000 (mainly in Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Austria, Germany,

Slovenia and Italy)

24.Danish 5 500 000 (mainly in Denmark)

25.Finnish 5 500 000 (mainly in Finland)

26.Norwegian 5 000 000 (mainly in Norway)

27.Slovak 5 000 000 (mainly in Slovakia)

28.Lithuanian 4 000 000 (mainly in Lithuania)

29.Galician 3 000 000 (mainly in Spain)

30.Armenian 3 000 000 (Mainly in Armenia)

31.Bosnian 2 700 000 (mainly in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo and

Slovenia)

32.Slovene 2 500 000 (mainly in Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary)

https://www.360docs.net/doc/d55479166.html,tvian 2 000 000 (mainly in Latvia)

34.Macedonian 2 000 000 (mainly in Macedonia)

35.Basque 1 000 000 (mainly in Spain and France)

36.Estonian 1 000 000 (mainly in Estonia)

37.Maltese 450,000 (mainly in Malta, some in UK and Italy)

38.Irish 400 000 (mainly in Ireland)

39.Icelandic 300 000 (mainly in Iceland)

40.Luxembourgish 390 000 (mainly in Luxembourg)

41.Montenegrin 160 000 (mainly in Montenegro)

Some of Europe’s countries:

Italy

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia—the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea—and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, whilst Championed'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.

Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries the political centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire. After its decline, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombard and Ostrogoth, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.

France

France, officially the French Republic, is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as

l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2.

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France region (or Paris Region, French: Region parisienne). The city of Paris, within its administrative limits largely unchanged since 1860, has an estimated population of

2,211,297 (January 2008), but the Paris metropolitan area has a population of 11,899,544 (January 2008), and is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe.

Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centres, and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities.

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country and member state of the European Union located in south-western Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.

Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres, it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France.

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third largest in the European Union after London and Paris. The city spans a total of 604.3 km2.

Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city state on the C?te d'Azur (French Riviera). It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about 16 km from Italy. Its area is 1.98 km2 with a population of 35,986 as of 2011. Monaco boasts the world's highest GDP nominal per capita at $151,630 and is the most densely populated country in the world. Monaco also has the world's highest life expectancy at almost 90 years, and the lowest Unemployment rate at 0%. With about 40,000 workers who commute from France and Italy each day. After a recent expansion of Port Hercules Monaco's total area is 2.05 km2, with new plans to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.

Monaco is a principality governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state. The House of Garibaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297, and the state's sovereignty was officially recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite Monaco being independent and pursuing its own foreign policy course, its national defence is the responsibility of France.

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in south-western Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name werePortusCale.

Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus that flows from Spain and disgorges in Tagus Estuary, before escaping into the Atlantic. The northern landscape is mountainous towards the interior with several plateaus indented by river valleys, whereas the south, that includes the Algarve and the Alentejo regions, is characterized by rolling plains.

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal, with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of 84.8 km2. The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on a area of 958 km2, it is the 9th most populous urban area in the European Union. About 2,831,000 people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (which represents approximately 27% of the population of the country). Lisbon is the westernmost large city located in Europe, as well as its westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. It lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the Tagus River.

Switzerland

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal autherities. The country is situated in Western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.

Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Central Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 7.9

million people concentrates mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.

The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt (federal city, de facto capital) of Switzerland, and, with (as of December 2009) a population of 131,000, the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the Canton of Bern, the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons. The official language of Bern is German, but the main spoken language is the Alemannic dialect called Bernese German.