Countries and states of Europe

Countries and states of Europe

Europe is a unique continent – it is not surrounded by water on all sides and has a land border with neighboring Asia. From a scientific point of view, there is no such continent; Europe is part of the larger continent of Eurasia. However, from a geopolitical point of view, Europe is a separate continent, surrounded by the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and the Black Sea in the southeast.

The definition of the borders between Europe and Asia is a matter of disagreement among geographers and politicians. Today it is generally accepted that the border runs along the Ural Mountains in Russia, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains.

All European countries, including dependent territories and possessions, are listed below. Some European countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey) are only partially located in Europe, but most of them are located in another geographic region (Asia or the Middle East), so they are not represented in this list.

The largest country in Europe in terms of land area that is entirely located on the continent is Ukraine (Russia is mostly located in Asia), and the smallest country in Europe is the Vatican City.
The most visited countries in Europe are France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany.