Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents.
Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is
generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of
the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus
region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the
southeast. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and other
bodies of water to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the
Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected
waterways to the southeast. Yet the borders for Europe—a
concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat
arbitrary, as the term continent can refer to a cultural and
political distinction or a physiographic one. Europe is the
world's second-smallest 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 states, Russia is the largest by both area and
population (although the country covers both Europe and Asia),
while the Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third-most
populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of
731 million or about 11% of the world's population. However,
according to the United Nations (medium estimate), Europe's share
may fall to about 7% by 2050. In 1900, Europe's share of the
world's population was 25%. Europe, in particular Ancient Greece,
is the birthplace of Western culture. It played a predominant
role in global affairs from the 16th century onwards, especially
after the beginning of colonialism. Between the 16th and 20th
centuries, European nations controlled at various times the
Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and large portions of Asia.
Both World Wars were largely focused upon Europe, greatly
contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world
affairs by the mid-20th century as the United States and Soviet
Union took prominence. During the Cold War, Europe was divided
along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw
Pact in the east. European integration led to the formation of
the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe,
both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the
Soviet Union in 1991.
from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe
