Europe is one of the most densely populated and urbanised continents, and it is prosperous and highly industrialised. It is sixth in area among the continents, with varied land, cultures and political systems, and has 56 countries.

• Location: between 10° W and 60° E longitude and 36° N and 72° N latitude.
• Extent: the second smallest continent: 10.4 million km², about three times India; about 7% of the Earth’s surface but about one-fourth of the world’s population.
• Physical setting: Europe is a peninsula of Asia, with water on three sides: the Barents Sea (north), Atlantic Ocean (west) and Mediterranean Sea (south). The Ural mountains, Caucasus mountains and Caspian Sea separate it from Asia. These are not real barriers, so together they are called Eurasia.

• The west and south are mountainous (snowy peaks, gorges, valleys); most of the east is a stable plateau.
• Highest point: Mt. Elbrus (5,633 m) in the Caucasus. Lowest place: the Caspian Sea, 28 m below sea level.
• Europe has many peninsulas: Scandinavian, Iberian, Jutland, Balkan; so it is called the ‘Peninsula of Peninsulas’.
• Its coastline is highly indented: 80,500 km, longer than Asia’s. Thousands of islands lie off it; the largest are Britain and Ireland; others: Shetland, Faroe, Orkneys, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete and the Channel Islands.

1. North-Western Uplands: the oldest, glacier-worn (fossil) mountains of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Britain and Iceland: about 2,000 m in Scandinavia and 600 m in Ireland and Scotland. Peaks: Galdhøpiggen (2,469 m, Norway), Ben Nevis (1,343 m, Scotland), Snowdon (1,085 m, Wales).
2. North European Plains (Central Lowlands): from the Urals to the Atlantic; broad in the east, narrow in the west; includes European Russia, Poland, northern Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, northern France and eastern England. Some land in the Netherlands and Belgium is below sea level. Not flat everywhere, but with very fertile farmland.
3. Central Uplands: old rocks, worn mountains and plateaus, under 600 m: Meseta (Spain, Portugal), Massif Central and Vosges (France), Black Forest (Germany). Rocky, infertile soil; river valleys are good farmland.
4. Southern Mountains (Alpine system): young fold mountains like the Himalayas, from the Atlantic to the Caspian: Sierra Morena, Pyrenees (France–Spain border), the Alps with Mont Blanc (4,807 m), Apennines (Italy), Dinaric Alps, Balkan and Carpathian mountains.

• Most of Europe has a temperate (tepid) climate, controlled by latitude, relief, winds and position. Winds from the Atlantic matter most, because of the warm Gulf Stream and the strong Westerlies.
• North: longer, colder winters and short cool summers. East: colder winters and hotter, shorter summers than the west.

1. North-West European maritime: Norway to northern Spain: mild winters, cool summers, plenty of rain, cloudy and foggy days (10–18 °C; about 75 cm rain).
2. Trans-continental: Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria: cold winters, warm summers (−12 to 10 °C); about 50 cm rain, mostly in early summer.
3. Mediterranean: along the Mediterranean Sea: hot, dry, sunny summers and mild rainy winters (8–22 °C; 75–100 cm).
4. Mountain: Alps and Caucasus: −4 to 16 °C; 50 cm on the leeward side and over 200 cm on the windward side; freezing at high altitudes.

Because people have lived here for so long, most natural vegetation has been destroyed, except in high or harsh places. Six types:

1. Tundra: lichens and mosses: northern Norway, Sweden, Finland; also high Alps and northern Urals.
2. Taiga (coniferous): Scots pine, spruce, larch: cone-shaped trees with needle leaves.
3. Mixed forests: south-central Europe: oak, ash, elm, poplar, willow, beech.
4. Mediterranean: broad-leaved evergreens: cork oak, olive, laurel.
5. Grasslands (steppes): Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, European Russia.
6. Alpine: Alps, Pyrenees, Balkan, Carpathian and Dinaric mountains.

• Farming: still important. Vast fertile, irrigated plains and good climate; most countries have over 50% farmland (except Scandinavia); average holding 10 hectares. Mixed farming (crops + livestock) in the west; cereals, fruits, vegetables and livestock in the south; commercial farming near cities. Under 10% of people farm.
• Crops: wheat is the main food crop (Paris basin, great plains, Hungary, Po basin); maize is second (France, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Spain); rye, oats and a little rice. Root crops: sugar beet and potatoes; Europe is the leading producer of potatoes. Fibre crop: flax. Fruits: grapes, apples, figs, oranges, lemons, plums. Bulgaria is famous for roses.
• Dairying: helped by cool humid climate, big city markets, transport, refrigeration, machines and pastures. Highly developed in Denmark (most important), Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Britain; they export cheese, butter, condensed milk and chocolate.
• Fishing: in shallow seas of north-west Europe; intensive in the North Sea. Famous grounds: Dogger Bank and Great Fisher Bank. Norway is the largest producer and exporter of fish. Seals and whales are caught in polar waters.

• Iron ore: about 5% of world reserves: France, Germany, Britain, Sweden. Copper: Bulgaria, Poland. Little petroleum and gas: North Sea, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany. Coal is the main source of electricity (Russia, Germany, Britain). Also bauxite and potash.
• Iron and steel: Germany (Ruhr, Saar, Weser, Berlin), Britain (Black Country, Sheffield, NE coast, South Wales), France (Lorraine), Upper Silesia (Poland), Po valley and Lombardy (Italy).
• Cotton textiles: Britain is the birthplace (Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire); also Germany and France. Silk, wool and synthetics: Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy.
• Ship-building: Germany leads; also Sweden, Britain, France. Automobiles: Germany, France, Italy, Britain.
• Industrial heart: a triangle from the North Sea to central Poland and from the Po valley to Sweden. Regions include Britain, the Western Triangle, Paris, Lorraine-Saar, Upper Rhine, Silesia, southern Scandinavia (Stockholm), Eastern Germany to Czech and Slovakia, and the Po basin.

• About 742 million (2023), mostly in cities; growth is low and declining.
• Most populous countries: Germany, Britain, Italy, France. Dense: Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands (950 per km²), industrial coalfields, Greater London, the Rhine valley, north Italy. Sparse: north-west Europe, Iceland (3 per km²), the Alps, Caucasus, central France, Balkan belt, Scottish highlands.
• Migration: over 200 years Europeans moved abroad and others came to Europe; after World War II many immigrants came to Britain, and German minorities live in Poland, Hungary, Romania and other countries.