Western Europe Multilingualism and the protection of regional and minority languages are recognized political goals in Western Europe today. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe. Western Europe is one of the richest regions of the world. Germany has the highest GDP in Europe and the largest financial surplus of any country, Luxembourg has the world's highest GDP per capita, and the United Kingdom has the highest Net National Wealth of any European state. Switzerland
Western Europe would give the following calculation of Western Europe's population. All figures based on the projections for 2018 by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Using the CIA classification a little more liberally and including "South-Western Europe", would give the following calculation of Western Europe's population. The climate of Western Europe varies from subtropical and semi-arid in the southern coast of Italy and Spain to alpine in the Pyrenees. The Mediterranean climate of the south is dry and warm. The western and northwestern parts have a mild, generally humid climate, influenced by the North