What is the area of ​​overseas Europe. Overseas Europe area. General characteristics of the territory of Foreign Europe

One of the important regions in politics and the world economy is considered to be Foreign Europe. On this territory, world civilization was born, great discoveries were made, urban agglomerations were created, and industrial revolutions were carried out. This article will help you to study in more detail the topic "Europe Abroad Square".

Territory

The area occupied by Foreign Europe is 5.4 million square kilometers (this is without the CIS countries), only 10 million km2. According to data for 2013, 742.5 million people live here. The concept of "Europe Abroad" means 40 sovereign states that geographically belong to this continent.

The borders of Foreign Europe stretched from north to south for about 5 thousand kilometers, the extreme points are the island of Spitsbergen and the island of Crete. From west to east, the distance is more than 3 thousand kilometers.

In the twentieth century political map the region has undergone repeated changes. There are several reasons for this:

• division of territory during the First and Second World Wars;
• unification of the FRG and the GDR;
• collapse of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the USSR.

The line of demarcation between Europe and Asia also changed. VN Tatishchev back in 1720 proposed to establish a border in the east along the ridge of the Ural Mountains, along the Yaik River (Ural) to the mouth, which flows into the Caspian Sea. This division has become generally accepted.

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Who borders Europe can be seen on the map. In modern geography, the border runs:

– north - in the Arctic Ocean;

– west - across the Atlantic Ocean;

– south - this is the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara and Black seas;

– East - the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, through the Mugodzhary mountains, along the Emba River to the Caspian Sea, then along the Kuma and Manych rivers to the mouth of the Don River.

Fig. 1. Borders of Europe

Geographical position

Europe is located in the Northern Hemisphere, in the western part of the Eurasian continent. The relief is dominated by plains. The largest are the East European, Central European, Middle and Lower Danube plains, as well as the Paris Basin.

European mountains are mostly medium in size and account for 17% of the territory. The main ones are the Alps, Carpathians, Pyrenees, Apennines, Caucasian, Ural, Crimean and Scandinavian mountains.

Fig. 2. Physical map continent

Most countries have a coastal location. The coastline is too indented. The distance from the sea, on average, is 300 km. The countries of Europe are close to each other. Basically, the borders do not run along natural boundaries, or there is a small distance that does not affect transport links. Such a neighboring location has a beneficial effect on the integration processes.

Integration has led to the creation, among the 19 states that are members of the EEC, the European Economic Area. Within its limits, the free movement of goods, capital, services, people is established, a single monetary system... All this has a beneficial effect on the development of the economies of countries.

The continent is also favorably located in relation to the rest of the world regions, such as Africa and Asia. This makes it possible to establish transport links and trade. Wealth natural resources provides the prerequisites for the development of industries and economies.

Political map of Europe

The largest countries of Foreign Europe in terms of area are France, Spain, Germany and Scandinavian countries.

Most countries are sovereign states. It includes 34 republics and 14 monarchies.

Fig. 3. Political map of Europe

The most ancient republic in Europe is San Marino, which has existed since the 13th century. The confederation of Switzerland appeared at the end of the 13th century.

In terms of population, the largest are France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain. The G7 countries include Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy. The country with the more developed economy is Germany.

What have we learned?

Europe, despite its small size, in comparison with other continents, has the maximum cultural diversity. Due to its favorable location here, in a small area, densely populated states are located, most of which have a high level of economic development.

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The European territory, which is located outside the former CIS countries, is usually referred to as “overseas Europe”. It consists of four dozen countries connected with each other by a whole bunch of historical and political relations. Territory overseas Europe is about 5.4 million square kilometers, and the population is more than 500 million people. This region is undoubtedly one of the centers of world civilization and occupies an important place in world politics. Today we will talk with you on such a topic as general characteristics overseas Europe. Grade 11 of the school curriculum involves the consideration of this topic. Let's remember what we were taught in school and learn something new for ourselves!

States

The territory we are considering today stretches 5,000 km from north to south and 3,000 km from west to east. There are large and medium ones among them, but for the most part they are still small. For example, there is a joke that having entered Belgium, you need to have time to press the brake, otherwise you can enter another state. A fast train travels through this country in just 140 minutes. Such states are in the majority in Europe. That is why in many of them there is no such concept as a sleeping car.

As the general characteristics of the countries of foreign Europe show, they, from the point of view, have two main features. The first of them is the neighboring position of the countries. Given the small (relatively, of course) size of the territory and its shallow "depth", the states have a well-established system of transport links. The second feature is the coastal position of the majority of European countries. Many of them are located near the busiest waterways. The life of countries such as England, the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Norway, Italy and Greece has been closely linked with the sea since ancient times.

During the twentieth century, the political map of Europe underwent significant changes three times: after the First and Second World Wars, as well as at the end of the 90s. Today, in foreign Europe, you can find republics, monarchies, as well as unitary and federal states.

Nature and resources

It was created under the influence of natural prerequisites, namely the composition of minerals. It differs in the northern (platform) and southern (folded) parts of the region. The northern part is rich in ore and fuel resources. The main coal basins are the Ruhr (Germany) and Upper Silesian (Poland). Among the oil and gas basins, it is worth highlighting the Severomorsky. And among the iron ore - the Kiruna basin (Sweden) and Lorraine (France).

The southern part of the region is rich in ore deposits of magmatic and sedimentary origin. As for the reserves of fuel resources, here they are not as large as in the north of Europe.

The general characteristics of foreign Europe in terms of energy shows that its resources are quite voluminous here, but they are mainly in mountainous regions, namely: Alpine, Scandinavian and Dinaric. In a large number of countries, resources are already practically depleted. The nature of the region allows for active agriculture. The only problem is the lack of land. Small coastal states struggle with it, expanding towards the seas. For example, a third of the territory of the Netherlands was "recaptured" from the sea with the help of dams and levees. Local residents in this regard say: "God created the Earth, and the Netherlands created the Netherlands." This is unlikely to be written in the section of the book "Geography" (grade 11). The general characteristics of foreign Europe, however, cannot ignore this fact.

The region is located in the temperate and subtropical (in the south) zones. In the Mediterranean region, sustainable agriculture is impossible without artificial irrigation. Mostly Italy and Spain suffer from this. The best conditions for forestry Finland and Sweden can boast. No wonder there is a saying: "Finland without a forest is like a bear without wool." it is also represented quite widely.

Now the time has come to consider the next point of the conversation on the topic "General characteristics of foreign Europe."

Population of overseas Europe

The ethnic composition is rather homogeneous. Most of the peoples belong to the Indo-European family. The dominant religion in the region is Christianity. However, the southern part is also inclined towards Catholicism, and the northern part towards Protestantism. Foreign Europe is considered one of the most densely populated regions of the Earth. The population density here is more than 100 people per 1 square kilometer. The location is determined mainly by the geography of the peoples. In terms of urbanization, Europe also ranks high. On average, about 78% of the population lives in cities. There are countries where this figure reaches 90%.

For recent years the population of Europe began to grow too slowly. Population decline is observed in 15 states. In addition, its composition is changing - the number of elderly people is growing. This influenced the region's share in the global mechanism of external migration. Overseas Europe is gradually turning into a hotbed of labor emigration. There are about 20 million workers from abroad. 7 million of them live in Germany.

The 11th grade of the school curriculum examines such questions superficially, but we will touch on them in more detail. As an integral region, foreign Europe has the world leadership in terms of the scale of exports of goods, size industrial production and tourism development. First of all, the economic power of the region rests on such countries as: France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany. Over the past decade, the leader of this four has become Germany, whose economy is developing very dynamically. "Workshop of the world" - Great Britain, began to give up its positions. Among the rest of the countries, the most important are: the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and Sweden. They, in contrast to the "main four", focus on individual industries.

Industry

Leading foreign Europe - mechanical engineering. It accounts for a third of the region's products and two-thirds of exports. It's no secret that Europe is famous for its cars. First of all, mechanical engineering gravitates towards large cities, including capitals. Moreover, as a rule, each sub-industry is oriented in a certain area of ​​the state.

The chemical industry is in second place. Germany has been particularly successful in this area. Before World War II, the chemical industry of the region was focused mainly on coal (bituminous and brown), salts (table and potash) and pyrites. Then there was a reorientation of the industry to hydrocarbon raw materials. The largest centers of petrochemicals are located in the estuaries of the Seine, Thames, Elbe, Rhine and Rhone. Here this industry intertwined with oil production.

Natural gas and oil produced in the North Sea fields are sent to different countries along a huge system of trunk pipelines. Gas from Algeria is transported in methane tankers. Russian gas, which is bought by 20 European countries, also plays an important role.

The next largest industry is metallurgical. It was formed here even before the start of scientific and technological revolution. Ferrous metallurgy is most widely developed in Germany, England, Spain, France, Czech Republic and Poland. Aluminum and non-ferrous metallurgy also takes a large share. Aluminum is smelted not only in countries with vast reserves of bauxite, but also in countries with developed electricity production.

The timber industry is concentrated mainly in Finland and Sweden, while the light industry is concentrated in southern Europe. Italy is the second largest shoe-making country in the world, after China. And Portugal is considered the main "seamstress" of the region. In most countries, national traditions for the production of musical instruments, furniture, and glass products are still preserved.

Agriculture

The general characteristics of the economy of foreign Europe were touched upon above, now let's talk in more detail. Most of the countries in the region are fully self-sufficient in agricultural products and actively sell them abroad. After World War II, the region moved from small peasant economy to a specialized high-end product. The main industries - crop and livestock production, spread throughout Europe and are closely intertwined with each other. Natural and historical conditions have caused the formation of these species Agriculture: North European, Central European and South European.

Northern European farming is common in Finland, Scandinavia and Great Britain. It is characterized by intensive dairy farming, which is served by the cultivation of gray crops and forage crops. In the Central European type, the main role is played by meat and dairy cattle breeding, as well as poultry farming.

The predominance of plant growing is inherent in the South European type. Sowing is mainly aimed at cereals, but the international specialization of the southern part of Europe is the production of grapes, olives, citrus fruits, tobacco, nuts and ethers. The main "garden" of Europe is the Mediterranean coast. Usually each state has its own specialization in agriculture. For example, Holland is famous for growing flowers, France and Switzerland for cheese production, and so on.

Tourism

General characteristics of foreign Europe cannot do without tourism. Europe was, is and will be the main region of international tourism. Here he is manifested in all directions. The most popular are France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain and other large countries. And in small states such as Andorra, Monaco and others, tourism is a currency-forming industry. The main ones in foreign Europe are mountain and sea.

Transport connection

Today we give a general description of foreign Europe, and it is impossible without a transport system. Europe is inferior in terms of transportation distance to America and Russia, but in terms of the provision of a transport network, it is the leader all over the world. The density of the movement is very high. Main role road transport plays in the transportation of passengers and goods. The railway network in most countries is being actively reduced.

The overland transport network has a complex configuration. It is formed by highways of the meridian and latitudinal directions, the majority of which are of international importance. The river paths are also oriented towards these directions. A special role the river Rhine plays. More than two hundred million tons of cargo are transported through it annually. In places where land and waterways intersect, transport hubs have arisen, which over time have turned into real port-industrial complexes. For example, it ships about 350 million tons annually.

Western Europe is an example of how huge natural barriers are no longer an obstacle to the transport system. Railways, roads and pipelines cross the Alps in all necessary directions. The shores of the Baltic, Mediterranean and North Seas are connected by ferry crossings.

General characteristics of foreign Europe: science and money

In Europe today there are many technopolises that make it one of the world's centers of science. The largest of them are located in the vicinity of Munich and Cambridge. And in the southern part of France, the High Technology Road was formed.

Europe is home to the lion's share of the world's largest banks. Switzerland has become the benchmark for banking. In the safes of its banks, about 50% is kept valuable papers from around the world.

Environmental Protection

General characteristics of foreign Europe shows that the issue of nature protection is a resonant issue in its territories. Due to the high population density and the active development of industry, Europe has long faced a number of environmental issues... Some of them are related to coal mining and processing. Others - with an abundance of petrochemical and metallurgical plants in large cities... Still others - with an increasing number of cars on the streets. Fourth - with the development of tourism, which leads to the degradation of nature. And so on.

All countries in the region are pursuing an active environmental policy. As a result, more and more decisive measures are being taken: the promotion of bicycles and electric vehicles, active restoration of vegetation, etc.

Conclusion

Today the topic of our conversation is the general characteristics of foreign Europe. Grade 11 is a time when a huge load falls on the shoulders of schoolchildren, so they overlook many fundamental things. We reminded ourselves of everything that could be forgotten, and learned something new on the topic "General characteristics of foreign Europe." A presentation (grade 11) with this article will be an easy task for any student.

Europe is the name of the part of the world lying in the western part of the continent of Eurasia in the Northern Hemisphere, and together with Asia forming a single continent. Its area is 10 million km 2, about 20% of the total population of the Earth (743 million people) live here. Europe is the largest economic, historical and political center with essential worldwide.

Geographical position

Europe is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, its coastline is highly indented, the area of ​​its islands is 730 thousand km 2, ¼ part of the entire area is occupied by peninsulas: Kola, Apennine, Balkan, Iberian, Scandinavian, etc. along the eastern coast of the Ural Mountains, the Emba River, the Caspian Sea. Kumo-Manychskaya depression and the mouth of the Don.

Main geographic characteristics

The average height of the surface is 300 meters, the highest point is Mount Elbrus (5642 m, the Caucasus Mountains in Russia), the lowest is -27 m (the Caspian Sea). Most of the territory is occupied by plains (East European, Lower and Middle Danube, Central European), 17% of the surface is mountains and plateaus (Ural, Carpathians, Pyrenees, Alps, Scandinavian mountains, Crimean mountains, mountains of the Balkan Peninsula), Iceland and the Mediterranean islands are in the zone of seismic activity.

The climate of most of the territory is temperate (the western part is temperate oceanic, the eastern part is temperate continental), the northern islands lie in the arctic and subarctic climatic zones, southern Europe is a Mediterranean climate, the Caspian lowland is semi-desert.

The amount of water runoff in Europe is about 295 mm, it is the second largest in the world after South America, however, due to the much smaller area of ​​the territory, the volume of water runoff (2850 km 3) exceeds the readings of Africa and Antarctica. Water resources are distributed unevenly across Europe; the flow of inland waters decreases from north to south and from west to east. Most of the rivers belong to the basin of the seas of the Atlantic Ocean, a smaller part - to the basin of the Arctic Ocean and the basin of the internal flow of the Caspian Sea. The largest rivers in Europe are located mainly in Russia and Eastern Europe; there are also large rivers on the territory Western Europe... The largest rivers: Volga, Kama, Oka, Danube, Ural, Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Rhine, Elbe, Vistula, Tahoe, Loire, Oder, Neman. The lakes of Europe are of tectonic origin, which determines their significant depth, elongated shape and highly indented coastline, these are the lowland lakes Ladoga, Onega, Vettern, Imandra, Balaton, mountain lakes - Geneva, Como, Garda.

In accordance with the laws of latitudinal zoning, the entire territory of Europe is located in various natural zones: the extreme north is the zone of arctic deserts, then the tundra and forest-tundra, the zone of deciduous and mixed forests, forest-steppe, steppe, subtropical Mediterranean forest vegetation and shrubs, the extreme south is the semi-desert zone ...

European countries

The territory of Europe is divided between 43 independent states officially recognized by the UN, there are also 6 officially unrecognized republics (Kosovo, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, LPR, DPR) and 7 dependent territories (in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans). Due to their very small size, 6 states are referred to as so-called microstates: Vatican, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino. Partially in Europe are the territories of such states as Russia - 22%, Kazakhstan - 14%, Azerbaijan - 10%, Georgia - 5%, Turkey - 4%. 28 European states are united in the national union of the European Union (EU), have a common euro, common economic and political views. According to cultural, geographical and political characteristics, the entire territory of Europe is conditionally divided into Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Central.

List of countries in Europe

Major European countries:

(with a detailed description)

Nature

Nature, plants and animals of Europe

The presence in Europe of several natural and climatic zones determines a rich and varied plant and animal world, which, under the influence of human economic activity, underwent a number of changes, which led to a decrease in their biodiversity and even to the complete disappearance of some species ...

In the Far North, in an arctic climate, mosses, lichens, polar buttercups, and poppies grow. Dwarf birches, willows, alder appear in the tundra. To the south of the tundra there are vast expanses of taiga, which is characterized by the growth of such typical coniferous trees as cedar, spruce, fir, larch. Due to the dominant temperate climate zone in most of Europe, significant areas are occupied by huge forests of deciduous and mixed trees (aspen, birch, maple, oak, fir, hornbeam). In the steppe and forest-steppe zone there are oak forests, steppe grasses, grasses, shrubs: feather grass, irises, steppe hyacinths, blackthorn, steppe cherry, and wolfberry. The Black Sea subtropics are characterized by the predominance of forests of fluffy oak, juniper, boxwood, black alder. Southern Europe is characterized by subtropical vegetation, there are palms and lianas, olives, grapes, citrus fruits, magnolias, cypresses grow.

The foothills of the mountains (Alps, Caucasian, Crimean) are characterized by the growth of conifers, for example, such as relict Caucasian plants: boxwood, chestnut, Eldar and Pitsunda pines. In the Alps, pines and spruces are replaced by subalpine tall-grass meadows, on the peaks there are alpine meadows that amaze with the beauty of their emerald greenery.

In the northern latitudes (subarctic, tundra, taiga), where the influence of man on the surrounding nature is manifested to a lesser extent, there are more predators: polar bears, wolves, arctic foxes. Reindeer, polar hares, walruses, and seals live there. In the Russian taiga, red deer, brown bears, lynxes and wolverines, sables and ermines are still found, wood grouses, hazel grouses, black grouse, woodpeckers, nutcrackers live here.

Europe is a highly urbanized and industrially developed region, therefore large mammals are practically absent here, the largest inhabitants of European forests are deer and fallow deer, wild boars and chamois still live in the Alps, Carpathians and the Iberian Peninsula, mouflons are still found on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, Poland and Belarus are famous for their relic animals from the genus of bison bison, which are listed in the Red Book and live exclusively in reserves. The lower tiers of deciduous and mixed forests are inhabited by foxes, hares, badgers, ferrets, weasels, and squirrels. Beavers, otters, muskrats and nutria live on the banks of rivers and water bodies. Typical inhabitants of the semi-desert zone: gazelles, jackals, a large number of small rodents, snakes.

Climatic conditions

Seasons, weather and climate of European countries

Europe is located in four climatic zones: arctic (low temperatures, in summer not higher than +5 C 0, precipitation - 400 mm / year), subarctic (mild maritime climate, t January - +1, -3 °, July - + 10 °, the prevalence of cloudy days with fogs, precipitation - 1000 mm / year), moderate (maritime - cool summers, mild winters, and continental - long winters, cool summers) and subtropical (hot summers, mild winters) ...

The climate of most of Europe belongs to the temperate zone, the west is influenced by the Atlantic oceanic air masses, the east is continental, the south is Mediterranean air masses from the tropics, the north is invaded by the arctic air. The territory of Europe has sufficient moisture, precipitation (mainly in the form of rain) is unevenly distributed, their maximum (1000-2000 mm) falls on Scandinavia, the British Isles, the slopes of the Alps and the Apennines, at least 400 mm in the east of the Balkan Peninsula and the southeast of the Pyrenees ...

Peoples of Europe: culture and traditions

The population of Europe (770 million) is diverse and varied ethnic composition... In total, 87 nationalities are read, of which 33 are the national majority in some separate independent state, 54 are a minority (105 million or 14% of the total population of Europe) ...

In Europe, there are 8 groups of peoples, whose number exceeds 30 million, together they represent 460 million people, which is 63% of the total European population:

• Russians of the European part (90 million);
• Germans (82 million)
• French (65 million)
• British (55-61 million)
• Italians (59 million)
• Spanish (46 million)
• Ukrainians (46 million);
• Poles (38 million).

About 25 million European inhabitants (3%) are members of the non-European diaspora, the population of the EU (approximately 500 million people) is 2/3 of the total population of Europe.

Europe is the smallest and at the same time the "closest" part of the world in the world. Its closest neighbor is Asia, and together they form the largest continent - Eurasia. But today, the focus is on Foreign Europe.

General information

There are various approaches to dividing Europe into regions. Until the end of the 80s of the last century in history and geography, the term "Western Europe" was understood as a set of independent European states, which, after the end of the Second World War, continued their capitalist development. There were 32 of them, and the countries of the socialist camp - Eastern Europe - served as a counterbalance to them. In 1991, after the collapse of the USSR and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a new concept “Europe Abroad” appeared.

It unites 40 countries located in Europe, except for those that are part of the CIS.

Geographical position of Foreign Europe

Speaking about the physical and geographical position of Foreign Europe, it should be said that it occupies a fairly compact scale the globe territory: its total area is 5.4 million square meters. km. Spitsbergen is the extreme point in the north, while Crete is in the south. The region stretches 5,000 km from north to south and 3,000 km from west to east. Foreign Europe is washed on three sides by the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and their seas. The coastline is very indented. Most of the territory is dominated by plains, and only about 17% are mountains. Among them, the main ones are the Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines, Carpathians, mountains on the Balkan and Scandinavian peninsulas. This region is dominated by four climatic zones, which gradually replace each other from north to south:

• arctic (arctic islands of Europe): the Arctic maritime climate "reigns" here with very frosty winters and cold summers;
• subarctic (Iceland and the northern coast of mainland Europe): characterized by a predominance of the subarctic marine type of climate with cold, sometimes mild winters and cool summers with strong westerly winds;
• moderate (British Isles, most of mainland Europe): there are two types of climate - maritime temperate and continental temperate.
• subtropical (southern Mediterranean Europe): the climate type characteristic of these latitudes is Mediterranean with warm winters and dry, hot summers.

Rice. 1 Regions of Foreign Europe

Regional division

Geographically, Europe Abroad is divided into four regions according to the cardinal points: North, South, West and East. However, recently, in addition to Northern, Southern and Western Europe, new terms have appeared in the everyday life of geographers - Central-Eastern and Eastern Europe. The latter includes Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Russia - the countries of the CIS. How many states, and to which regions of Foreign Europe are "credited", is summarized in the following table:

Rice. 2 Modern leaders of the G7 countries

Economic development

Foreign Europe is one of the most economically developed regions in the world. Both politically and sectoral and territorial structure The economy of the region is characterized by diversity and richness. If Europe Abroad is presented in the form of a large four-story apartment building, then countries with economies in transition: Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia. The second and the third are developed countries with market economy: Spain, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and others. However, their level of economic and social development has not yet reached the high bar of leaders, which include the "neighbors" from the top floor - Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy. They account for about 70% of the total GDP. They are also members of the "Group of Seven" or "G7" - an association of seven leading economically developed countries(USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan.

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The leaders of these states gather annually to discuss not only the problems of Foreign Europe, but the pressing issues facing humanity: political, military (global security, terrorism, reasons for exacerbating local conflicts), social (protection of human rights, support and conditions for cooperation with developing countries), environmental (global warming, climate change) and economic (science and finance, market regulation, size of imports and exports).

Peculiarities

Among the many features of Europe Abroad, one important thing should be noted - the presence of a "Central Development Axis". This term means the Western European part with a length of 1600 km, which, in fact, is the center, the core of the Old World with the largest concentration of the population (300 people per 1 km2) and the main sectors of the economy. The conventional border of the "axis" originates from Manchester, then "rushes" through Hamburg, Venice, Marseille and returns to Hamburg again, forming a loop in the shape of a banana. It covers a large area of ​​Europe, including the following parts: the regions of Great Britain, the western lands of Germany, the north and south of France, Switzerland and the north of Italy.

If you look at the map of Europe, you can see that on the territory of the "Central axis of development" there are "world centers" - London and Paris, each of which houses about thirty headquarters of the largest corporations. In addition, it is the place where more than half of the entire industrial potential of Europe is concentrated: coal and metallurgical enterprises, general mechanical engineering, automotive industry, chemical industry enterprises, the latest high-tech industries, port-industrial complexes and much more.

Rice. 3 “Central Development Axis” of Europe

What have we learned?

The peculiarities of Europe Abroad are under our focus. After considering this topic in geography for grade 10 and grade 11, we come to the following conclusion: a relatively small area on a huge continent is one of the most successful, developed in terms of the quality of life of the population, in terms of production structure, in scale economic activity and the level of technological development. Many factors contributed to this: geographical location, favorable natural conditions, small size of countries and their close proximity, and much more.

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Average rating: 4.6. Total ratings received: 899.

1. General characteristics of the physical and economic-geographical location of Europe

Europe is a part of the world with an area of ​​about 10 million km² (of which 5.1 million km² are in Foreign Europe, in relation to the CIS countries) and a population of 740 million people (about 10-11% of the world's population). The average height is about 300 m, the maximum is 4808 m, Mont Blanc mountain.
Features of the geographical location:

1. The length from north to south (from Spitsbergen to Crete) is 5 thousand km, and from west to east - more than 3 thousand km.
2. Relief "mosaic" of its territory: lowlands and elevated territories. Most of the mountains of Europe are of medium height. Borders pass mainly along such natural boundaries that do not create obstacles for transport links.
3. A high degree of ruggedness of the coastline.
4. Seaside location of most countries. The average distance from the sea is 300 km. In the western part of the region there is no place more than 480 km away from the sea, in the east - 600 km.
5. The "depth" of the territory of most countries is small. So in Bulgaria and Hungary there is no place that would be removed from the borders of these countries by more than 115-120 km.
6. Neighboring position favorable for integration processes.
7. Favorable position in terms of contacts with the rest of the worlds, tk. is located at the junction with Asia and Africa, extended far into the ocean - "the great peninsula of Eurasia."
8. A variety of natural resources, but non-complex location across countries, many deposits are largely depleted.

Europe is usually divided into Northern and Southern, Western and Eastern, this is rather arbitrary, especially since not only purely geographical, but also political factors come into play here.

2. European organizations and associations

A single economic, political and financial space is emerging in Europe Abroad.
The vast majority of countries are members of the UN. Switzerland joined the UN in September 2002, NATO members - 14 countries, EU members - 15 countries. Most of the countries belong to the industrialized group. Four countries: Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy are part of the "Big Seven of Western Countries." Post-socialist countries or countries with economies in transition occupy a special place on the economic map of the region.
The Council of Europe is an international organization promoting cooperation between all European countries in the field of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, rule of law and cultural interaction. Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe is the oldest international organization in Europe. The most famous bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights, which operates in accordance with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the European Pharmacopoeia Commission.

3. Political changes in Europe. NATO

After the collapse of the socialist regimes, the situation has changed markedly. Most of the countries of the former "socialist camp" have reoriented themselves to Western structures. Currently, more than half of European states are part of European Union and NATO, almost all the others declare their desire to join these organizations.

4. Changes on the political map of Europe

The following events had the greatest impact on the formation of the political map of Europe: World War, World War II, collapse of the USSR and the entire world socialist system. Until the mid-1980s, there were 32 sovereign states, including microstates. Since the beginning of the 90s, there have been about 40 states.

5. Modern political map of Foreign Europe

Currently, there are more than 40 states in Europe. Most states by the form of government are republics, 12 monarchies. According to the administrative and territorial structure, all countries (except Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland) are unitary. Largest countries by area: France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Finland. Largest countries by population: Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy. Four states of Foreign Europe are members of the Big Seven: France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain. Main economy Europe is considered Germany.

Natural resources of foreign Europe

Europe's endowment with resources is primarily determined by three circumstances. First, the European region is one of the most densely populated regions on the planet. Consequently, the natural resources of the region are used very actively. Secondly, European countries followed the path of industrial development earlier than others. As a result, the impact on nature on an industrial scale began here several centuries ago. Finally, Europe is a relatively small region of the planet. The conclusion suggests itself: Europe's natural resources are severely depleted. The exception is the Scandinavian Peninsula, whose resources were largely preserved almost intact until the end of the twentieth century. Indeed, the active industrial development of Scandinavia began only in the second half of the twentieth century. At the same time, the population of the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula is small and distributed over a large area. All these features of the Scandinavian sub-region are opposite to those characteristic of Europe as a whole.

1. Share of Foreign Europe by certain resources

For the world economy, the following resources located within Europe Abroad are of great importance:

1. Coal
2. Lead
3. Oil
4. Bauxites
5. Soil

2. Mineral resources

Deposits of magmatic fossils are concentrated in places where ancient crystalline rocks emerge on the surface - in Fennoscandia and in the belt of ancient destroyed mountains of Central Europe. These are deposits of iron ores in the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula, ores of non-ferrous metals in the area of ​​the Baltic shield and in ancient massifs and mountains.
Europe has significant reserves of natural fuels. Large coal basins are located in Germany (Ruhr basin), Poland (Upper Silesian basin) and Czech Republic (Ostrava-Karvin basin). In the late 1960s, huge reserves of oil and gas were discovered at the bottom of the North Sea. Great Britain and Norway quickly became among the world leaders in oil production, while the Netherlands and Norway - in gas production.
In Europe, there are quite large reserves of ore raw materials. Iron ore is mined in Sweden (Kiruna), France (Lorraine) and the Balkan Peninsula. Non-ferrous metal ores are represented by copper-nickel and chrome ores from Finland, Sweden, bauxite from Greece and Hungary. There are large uranium deposits in France, and titanium in Norway. There are polymetals, tin, mercury ores in Europe (Spain, the Balkan, Scandinavian peninsulas), Poland is rich in copper.

3. Soils

The soils of Europe are quite fertile. However, the small area of ​​the countries and the large population size explain the low population. In addition, almost all available areas have already been used for agriculture. The territory of the Netherlands, for example, is more than 80% plowed up.

4. Water resources.

Natural waters are one of the most important and scarce natural resources in Europe. The population and various sectors of the economy use huge volumes of water, and the amount of water consumption continues to increase. The qualitative deterioration of water caused by uncontrolled or poorly controlled economic use is the main problem in modern water use in Europe.

The modern economy of European countries annually takes from water sources for the needs of industry, agriculture and for water supply settlements about 360 km3 of clean waters. The demand for water and water consumption increases steadily as the population grows and the economy develops. According to calculations, only at the beginning of the XX century. industrial water consumption in Europe increased 18 times, significantly outstripping the growth rate of the gross national product. The water situation in Europe is generally good, with the exception of southern Italy, Greece and Spain.

5. Hydropower, forest, agro-climatic, recreational resources

The Alps, the Scandinavian mountains, and the Carpathians are rich in hydropower resources. Agroclimatic resources. The countries of Europe have a fairly high agroclimatic potential, as they are located in temperate and subtropical geographic zones, have favorable thermal resources and moisture supply. But the increased population density characteristic of Europe in all historical epochs contributed to the long-standing and intensive use of natural resources. The low fertility of some types of soil prompted Europeans to pay attention to the development different ways improving soils and raising their natural fertility. It was in Europe that the practice of artificially improving the chemical composition of the soil cover with the help of organic and mineral fertilizers was born, variants of crop rotation systems and other agrotechnical measures were developed.

6. Forest resources

Forests cover 30% of its territory in foreign Europe. Every European has an average of 0.3 hectares of forest (in the world this norm is 1 hectare). The long history of economic development of European lands was accompanied by intensive deforestation. Forests not affected economic activities, in Europe is almost not preserved, with the exception of the territories of the Alps and Carpathians. Europe is the only part of the world with an increase in forest area in recent decades. And this is happening despite the high population density and the severe shortage of productive land. The need to protect their very limited land resources and fertile soils from erosional destruction and regulate flood runoff, long recognized by Europeans, was expressed in the fact that the environmental protection functions of forest plantations were overestimated. Therefore, the soil and water protection role of the forest, its recreational importance, has grown immeasurably in importance, in addition, environmental policy in Europe contributed to the lesser deforestation. The largest reserves of forest resources in Europe Abroad are in Finland, Sweden, Norway.

7. Recreational resources

The territory of Foreign Europe is rich in unique recreational resources. The recreational resources of France, Spain, Italy and other European countries are of global importance.

Population of Europe

The population of Europe is over 500 million. The region has a rather difficult demographic situation.
1. Fertility and mortality

In recent years, the population of overseas Europe has begun to grow very slowly. This is due to the fact that the reproduction of the population of the region is characterized by a complex demographic situation... In some countries, there is even a natural decline in population. At the same time, the age composition of the population is changing, the proportion of older people is growing.

2. Reproduction of the population

Almost all European countries are characterized by modern type reproduction of the population. Countries with the lowest rates of natural increase (population decline): Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary.

3. National composition

All this led to a sharp change in the share of the region in the world system of external migration of the population. Having been the main hotbed of emigration since the Great Geographical Discoveries, foreign Europe has become the main global hotbed of labor immigration. Now there are 18 - 20 million foreign workers here, a significant part of whom are in the position not of citizens, but of temporary guest workers (in German "guest workers").
In terms of ethnic composition, the population of foreign Europe is relatively homogeneous: the overwhelming majority of the 62 peoples of the region belong to Indo-European language family... At the same time, related languages ​​of the Slavic, Romance, Germanic groups have significant similarities. The same is true for the languages ​​of the Uralic family. Nevertheless, the ethnic map of the region, which has evolved over millennia, is not so simple. Along with mono-nationalities, there are many states with a complex national composition.

Types of state by nationality:

• mono-ethnic (i.e. the main ethnic group is over 90%). Most of them are in Europe (Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy, Portugal),
• with a sharp predominance of one nation, but with more or less significant minorities (Great Britain, France, Spain, Finland, Romania);
• bi-national (Belgium);
• multinational countries with a complex and ethnically heterogeneous composition (Switzerland, Latvia, etc.).

In many countries, there are complex problems of interethnic relations: Great Britain, Spain (Basques), France (Corsica), Belgium, Cyprus, etc.
The most common languages ​​in Europe Abroad: French, German, Italian, English.

4. Religious composition

In all countries of foreign Europe, the dominant religion is Christianity. In Southern Europe, Catholicism predominates sharply, in Northern Europe, Protestantism; and in the Middle they are in different proportions. The world center of Catholicism, the Vatican, is located in Rome. Orthodoxy is practiced in the southeastern and eastern countries of Europe Abroad. Islam is practiced in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

5. Accommodation and migration of the population

Foreign Europe is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. At the same time, the distribution of the population in it is primarily determined by the geography of cities. The level of urbanization here is one of the highest in the world: on average, 74% live in cities, and in some countries more than 80% and even 90% of the total population. The total number of cities is measured in many thousands, and their network is very dense. Gradually, over the millennia, a Western European type of city was formed, the roots of which go back to the times of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages.

A characteristic feature of the urbanization of foreign Europe is a very high concentration of the population in cities and urban agglomerations. The largest of them are London, Paris and Rhine-Ruhr. In the 70s. after a period of rapid growth of cities and agglomerations, an outflow of population from their centers (nuclei) began, first to near and distant suburbs, and then to more distant small towns and countryside("Green wave"). As a result, the number of inhabitants in central regions London, Paris, Hamburg, Vienna, Milan and many other cities either stabilized or even began to decline. This process has received the name of suburbanization in science.

The largest number of migrants go to the following countries: France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria. In addition, Europe Abroad is characterized by migration within the region - and from east to west.

The task:

Using the data from the endpaper of the textbook and table No. 2 in the Appendix, apply to states with monarchical and republican systems of government.

Lesson presentation