Europe is divided into four different regions. This is based on culture, the environment and economics.

Western Europe, the industrial force of Europe is the centre of its economic power. It has a total population of around 187 million persons.

Western Europe embraces Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom (embodying England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) Included within the broad outlines of Western Europe are also Austria, Switzerland, and the Republic of Ireland.

Eastern Europe has the largest land coverage of the region. It includes the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Slovak Republic.

The southern part of Eastern Europe is generally referred to as the Balkans. This includes the countries of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, and Serbia-Montenegro.

Northern Europe includes Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. This area is generally colder. It has a relatively small population of around 25 million people.

Southern Europe (much of which borders the Mediterranean) consists of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The culture of these countries goes back to Greco-Roman times with Spain having been strongly influenced for centuries by the Moors.

Many mountain ranges run through Europe; in fact almost all of Europe contains mountainous land. Spain boasts the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Pyrenees form a natural border between France and Spain.

The Pindus Mountains are located in Greece and Bulgaria has the Balkan Mountains.

The Carpathians are located in Slovakia, south-western Ukraine and Romania.

The Apennines are the backbone of the Italian peninsula.

The Dinaric Alps thread their way through Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Albania.

Europe was populated by many peoples and cultures throughout history. Celts were European tribes with metal-making skills in bronze and iron. They migrated from the Alpine areas into Spain, France and Britain around 1000 BC. Around 300 BC the Greek Empire reached even into India and their ideas an culture influenced and formed many of the ideas of today’s Europe. The in In the first century BC Rome established its empire surrounding the Mediterranean and extended it right up into northwest Europe.

The German tribes – Saxons, Franks, Burgundians, and moved outward Swedes (from what is modern day Germany) in around 300AD – conquering most of Western Europe.

The Moors, or Muslim groups of people, invaded Spain and southern Italy in around 700AD and stayed in Spain for close to 700 years. Vikings – renowned for their sea-going prowess influenced as far inland as Russia. They spread from Scandinavia starting around 700AD and conquered a great deal of northwest Europe, Iceland and Greenland.