Europe is the world's
continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land
Europe is the world's
continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) 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
, with a
of 739–743 million or about 11% of the world's population
The most commonly used currency is the euro
Europe, in particular
, is the birthplace of
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
most of Africa
, and the overwhelming majority of
, which began in
around the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe, and eventually the wider world. Demographic growth meant that, by 1900, Europe's share of the world's population was 25%.
The use of the term "Europe" has developed gradually throughout history.
In antiquity, the Greek historian Herodotus
mentioned that the world had been divided by unknown persons into three parts, Europe, Asia, and Libya (Africa), with the Nile
and the River Phasis
forming their boundaries—though he also states that some considered the River Don
, rather than the
, as the boundary between Europe and Asia.
Europe's eastern frontier was defined in the 1st century by geographer Strabo
at the River Don.
The Book of Jubilees
described the continents as the lands given by Noah
to his three sons; Europe was defined as stretching from the Pillars of Hercules
at the Strait of Gibraltar
, separating it from
, to the Don, separating it from
A cultural definition of Europe as the lands of
coalesced in the 8th century, signifying the new cultural condominium created through the confluence of Germanic traditions and Christian-Latin culture, defined partly in contrast with Byzantium
, and limited to northern Iberia, the British Isles, France, Christianized western Germany, the Alpine regions and northern and central Italy.
The concept is one of the lasting legacies of the Carolingian Renaissance
: "Europa" often figures in the letters of Charlemagne's court scholar,
This division—as much cultural as geographical—was used until the Late Middle Ages
, when it was challenged by the
Age of Discovery
The problem of redefining Europe was finally resolved in 1730 when, instead of waterw