Europe (ˈjʊərəp or ˈjɜrəp) is, by convention, one of the world's seven
continents. Comprising the westernmost
peninsula of
Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia 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 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 km
2 or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 countries,
Russia is by far the largest by both area and population, taking up 40% of the continent (although the country has territory in both Europe and Asia), while
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.
Europe, in particular
Ancient Greece, is the birthplace of
Western culture. It played a predominant role in global affairs from the 15th century onwards, especially after the beginning of
colonialism. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European nations controlled at various times
the Americas,
most of Africa,
Oceania, and large portions of Asia. In 1900, Europe's share of the world's population was 25%.
Both
World Wars were largely focused upon Europe, greatly contributing to a decline in
Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the
United States and
Soviet Union took prominence. During the
Cold War, Europe was divided along the
Iron Curtain between
NATO in the west and the
Warsaw Pact in the east.
European integration led to the formation of the
Council of Europe and the
European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the
revolutions of 1989 and the
fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.