Regions of Europe

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The European continent is usually considered divided from the Asian continent by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea.

Europe covers approximately 10.18 million km2 or 3.93 million mi2 (2% of the planet’s surface).

Politically, Europe is split into approximately 50 independent countries, of which Russia is the largest, spanning 39 percent of the continent. The map below shows how Europe is classified by the United Nations.

Moreover, Europe is frequently split into regions based on geographical, ethnic, cultural, or historical criteria.

Groupings by cardinal directions are the most troublesome to define in Europe, since Europe’s midpoint has several considerations. The clear geographical criteria of “west” or “east” are often blended with these words’ political sense during the Cold War Era.

Identifying Regions of Europe using Multiple Maps through Various Sources

Northern Europe is the general term for the geographical region in Europe that is approximately north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. Nations usually included within this region are Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. Less often, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, northern Germany, and northern Belarus, and northwest Russia.

Central Europe is the region comprising the central part of Europe. It is said to occupy continuous territory that is otherwise conventionally Eastern Europe and Western Europe.

Western Europe is the region comprising the western part of Europe. Below, some different geographic, geopolitical, and cultural definitions of the term are outlined.

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of the European continent. There is no consensus on the precise area it covers, partly because the term has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic connotations. There are “almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region.” A related United Nations paper adds that “every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct.”

Southern Europe is the southern region of the European continent. Most definitions of Southern Europe, also known as Mediterranean Europe, include Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Andorra, Vatican City, San Marino, Gibraltar, Corsica, and Malta. It also often includes Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Slovenia, the East Thrace of European Turkey, and Cyprus, though these countries may fall under different regional definitions as well. Despite not having a coast in the Mediterranean, Kosovo, Serbia, and the Republic of Macedonia are also often included. Some definitions may also include mainland Southern France and Monaco, which are otherwise considered parts of Western Europe.

The Balkans, or the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographic area in southeastern Europe with various definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch from the Serbian-Bulgarian border to the Black Sea.

How is Google identifying regions of Europe?

The division of Europe into regions is not wholly about the geographical location, which cannot be explained with relevant terms such as West or East. It is also significantly affected by culture.

For example, the Czech Republic on either side is Eastern or Western, but they are both. Typically Slavic languages are defined for Eastern Europe, but Czech culture is much more Western than Eastern. That is why some consider the Czech Republic as an Eastern European country, while others think it is a Western European country.

Therefore, it is not surprising that sometimes Google can rank some Western European countries as Eastern European countries.

Heat map of what Google Images consider Eastern Europe is