Editing Western Europe

{{POV|date=June 2012}}

[[File:Western Europe.ogv|alt=|thumb|This video was taken by the crew of [[Expedition 29]] on board the [[International Space Station|ISS]] on a pass over Western Europe.]]

[[File:Western Europe to Central India.ogv|alt=|thumb|This video was taken by the crew of [[Expedition 29]] on board the [[International Space Station|ISS]] on a pass from Western Europe to central [[India]].]]

'''Western Europe''' is the region comprising the westerly countries of [[Europe]]. While the term has a geographic context, another main definition developed during the [[Cold War]] (approx. 1945-1991) to describe the countries associated with the [[Western European Union]] (1954–2011; now part of the [[European Union]] (EU)), a defensive alliance drafted in 1948 among non-communist European nations during the Cold War, as opposed to the countries of the [[Eastern Bloc]] (or [[Warsaw Pact]]). Countries [[Culture of Europe|culturally]] and [[Geography of Europe|geographically]] associated with other European regions that steered clear of [[Soviet Empire|Soviet influence]] during the Cold War are usually included, while western members of the former Eastern Bloc (with the exception of [[Eastern Germany]]) are excluded.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

Countries described as Western European are invariably [[High income economy|high-income]] [[Developed country|developed countries]], characterized by [[Democracy|democratic]]{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} political systems, [[Mixed economy|mixed economies]] combining the [[free market]] with aspects of the [[welfare state]], and most are members of [[NATO]] and the EU.

The [[United Nations]] (UN) Statistics Division considers Western Europe to consist of [[United Nations geoscheme|just nine countries]], although the [[United Nations Regional Groups]] include European countries from the UN-designated [[Northern Europe|Northern]] and [[Southern Europe]] in its [[Western European and Others Group]].

==History==

===Classical antiquity and medieval origins===

As [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] domain expanded, a cultural and linguistic division appeared between the mainly [[Koine Greek|Greek]]-speaking eastern provinces which had formed the highly urbanized [[Hellenistic civilization]]. In contrast, the western territories largely adopted the [[Latin]] language. This cultural and linguistic division was eventually reinforced by the later political east-west division of the [[Roman Empire]].

The division between these two was enhanced during [[Late Antiquity]] and the [[Middle Ages]] by a number of events. The [[Western Roman Empire]] collapsed starting the [[Early Middle Ages]]. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as the Greek or [[Byzantine Empire]], managed to survive and even to thrive for another 1000 years. The rise of the [[Carolingian Empire|Frankish Empire]] in the west, and in particular the [[East-West Schism|Great Schism]] that formally divided [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Roman Catholicism]], enhanced the cultural and religious distinctiveness between Eastern and Western Europe.

The conquest of the Byzantine Empire, center of the Eastern Orthodox Church, by the [[Muslim]] [[Ottoman Empire]] in the 15th century, and the gradual fragmentation of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (which had replaced the [[Frankish Empire]]) led to a change of the importance of Roman Catholic/[[Protestant]] vs. Eastern Orthodox concept in Europe.

Western Europe's significant historical events include the [[Renaissance]], the [[Protestant Reformation]] by [[Martin Luther]] and the [[Counter-Reformation]] of the Catholic Church, the [[Age of Enlightenment]], the [[French Revolution]] and the [[Industrial Revolution]].

===Cold War===

During the final stages of World War II the future of Europe was decided between the [[Allies]] in the 1945 [[Yalta Conference]], between the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]], [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and the Premier of the [[Soviet Union]], [[Joseph Stalin]].

Post-war Europe would be divided into two major spheres: [[Western world|the West]], influenced by the United States, and the [[Eastern Bloc]], influenced by the Soviet Union. With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the [[Iron Curtain]].

This term had been used during [[World War II]] by German [[Propagandaministerium|Propaganda Minister]] [[Joseph Goebbels]] and later Count [[Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk]] in the last days of the war; however, its use was hugely popularised by Winston Churchill, who used it in his famous "Sinews of Peace" address March 5, 1946 at [[Westminster College, Missouri|Westminster College]] in [[Fulton, Missouri]]:

{{quote|From [[Szczecin|Stettin]] in the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] to [[Trieste]] in the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] an ''iron curtain'' has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of [[Central and Eastern Europe]]. [[Warsaw]], [[Berlin]], [[Prague]], [[Vienna]], [[Budapest]], [[Belgrade]], [[Bucharest]] and [[Sofia]]; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from [[Moscow]].}}

Although some countries were officially [[Neutral country|neutral]], they were classified according to the nature of their political and economical systems. This division has largely defined the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe and its borders with [[Eastern Europe]] till this day.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

===Modern political developments===

The world changed dramatically with the fall of the "Iron Curtain" in 1989. The Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the German Democratic Republic, leading to the [[German reunification]]. COMECON and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had been part of the Soviet Union regained their full independence.

Although the term ''Western Europe'' was largely a term of the Cold War,{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} it still remains much in use. The term is commonly used in the media and in everyday use both in "western" and other regions of Europe.

==United Nations==

[[Image:Europe subregion map UN geoschme.svg|thumb|Regions used for statistical processing purposes by the [[United Nations Statistics Division]] (Western Europe highlighted in cyan):

{{legend|#4080FF|[[Northern Europe]]}}

{{legend|#00FFFF|Western Europe}}

{{legend|#FF8080|[[Eastern Europe]]}}

{{legend|#00FF00|[[Southern Europe]]}}]]

The [[United Nations]] Statistics Division published in 2011 considers Western Europe to consist of the following nine countries,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#europe |title=Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings |publisher=United Nations Statistics Division|date=2011-09-20 |accessdate=2012-07-19}}</ref> except in the case of [[United Nations Regional Groups]], in which the term also includes northern and southern Europe:

*{{flagcountry|Austria}}

*{{flagcountry|Belgium}}

*{{flagcountry|France}}

*{{flagcountry|Germany}}

*{{flagcountry|Liechtenstein}}

*{{flagcountry|Luxembourg}}

*{{flagcountry|Monaco}}

*{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}

*{{flagcountry|Switzerland}}

According to the UN Statistics Division, ''the assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories by the United Nations''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm |title=Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49) |publisher=United Nations Statistics Division|date=|accessdate=2012-07-19}}</ref>

==Population of Western Europe==

{{off-topic|section|discuss=talk:Western Europe#Inclusion of the (East) Germany to Western Europe #Population of Western Europe|date=October 2012}}

[[Image:CIA Western-Europe-map2.png|thumb|Western Europe according to CIA, Encyclopædia Britannica{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}, Brockhaus Encyclopedia{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}, Encarta Encyclopedia{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}, Columbia Encyclopedia{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}, and the BBC{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}]]

<!-- The table is missing Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City -->

Population of various countries that were commonly referred to as "Western Europe" between [[World War II]] and the [[fall of communism]] in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stylemanual.ngs.org/home/E/europe-geographical-and-political |title=EUROPE, GEOGRAPHICAL AND POLITICAL - National Geographic Style Manual |publisher=Stylemanual.ngs.org |date=1993-11-01 |accessdate=2012-07-19}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Country

! Population <br />(2011 est.)

! Population <br /> (2000 est.)

! -/+ of Population

! Percent change

! [[Capital (political)|Capital]]

|-

|{{flag|Austria}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 8,414,638

| style="text-align:right;"| 8,002,186

| style="text-align:right;"| 412,452

| style="text-align:right;"| 4.90%

| [[Vienna]]

|-

|{{flag|Belgium}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 11,007,020

| style="text-align:right;"| 10,296,350

| style="text-align:right;"| 710,670

| style="text-align:right;"| 6.45%

| [[Brussels]]

|-

| {{flag|Denmark}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,564,219

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,330,020

| style="text-align:right;"| 234,019

| style="text-align:right;"| 4.20%

| [[Copenhagen]]

|-

| {{flag|Finland}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,388,417

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,167,486

| style="text-align:right;"| 220,931

| style="text-align:right;"| 4.10%

| [[Helsinki]]

|-

| {{flag|France}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 65,821,885

| style="text-align:right;"| 60,537,977

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,283,908

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.02%

| [[Paris]]

|-

| {{flag|Germany}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 81,799,600

| style="text-align:right;"| 82,163,475

| style="text-align:right;"| -363,875

| style="text-align:right;"| -0.44%

| [[Berlin]]

|-

| {{flag|Greece}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 10,787,690

| style="text-align:right;"| 10,964,020

| style="text-align:right;"| -176,330

| style="text-align:right;"| -1.63%

| [[Athens]]

|-

| {{flag|Iceland}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 318,452

| style="text-align:right;"| 279,049

| style="text-align:right;"| 39,403

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.37%

| [[Reykjavík]]

|-

| {{flag|Ireland}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,581,269

| style="text-align:right;"| 3,777,763

| style="text-align:right;"| 803,506

| style="text-align:right;"| 17.53%

| [[Dublin]]

|-

| {{flag|Italy}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 60,681,514

| style="text-align:right;"| 56,923,524

| style="text-align:right;"| 3,757,990

| style="text-align:right;"| 6.19%

| [[Rome]]

|-

| {{flag|Luxembourg}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 511,840

| style="text-align:right;"| 433,600

| style="text-align:right;"| 78,240

| style="text-align:right;"| 15.28%

| [[Luxembourg (city)|Luxembourg]]

|-

| {{flag|Netherlands}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 16,699,600

| style="text-align:right;"| 15,863,950

| style="text-align:right;"| 835,650

| style="text-align:right;"| 5.00%

| [[Amsterdam]]

|-

|{{flag|Norway}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,989,300

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,478,497

| style="text-align:right;"| 510,803

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.23%

| [[Oslo]]

|-

| {{flag|Portugal}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 10,647,763

| style="text-align:right;"| 10,195,014

| style="text-align:right;"| 452,749

| style="text-align:right;"| 4.25%

| [[Lisbon]]

|-

| {{flag|Spain}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 46,030,111

| style="text-align:right;"| 40,049,708

| style="text-align:right;"| 5,980,401

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.00%

| [[Madrid]]

|-

| {{flag|Sweden}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 9,415,570

| style="text-align:right;"| 8,861,426

| style="text-align:right;"| 554,144

| style="text-align:right;"| 5.88%

| [[Stockholm]]

|-

| {{flag|Switzerland}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 7,866,500

| style="text-align:right;"| 7,162,444

| style="text-align:right;"| 704,056

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.95%

| [[Bern]]

|-

| {{flag|United Kingdom}}

| style="text-align:right;"| 62,262,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 58,785,246

| style="text-align:right;"| 3,476,754

| style="text-align:right;"| 5.58%

| [[London]]

|- style=" font-weight:bold; "

| Total

| style="text-align:right;"| 412,787,386

| style="text-align:right;"| 389,273,735

| style="text-align:right;"| 23,513,651

| style="text-align:right;"| 5.70%

| style="text-align:right;"|

|}

==See also==

<!-- {{Wikipedia books}} -->

<!-- {{main|Outline of Western Europe|Index of Western Europe-related articles}} -->

{{div col|4}}

<!-- *[[Bibliography of Western Europe]] -->

*[[Central Europe]]

*[[Eastern Europe]]

*[[Marshall Plan]]

*[[New Europe]]

*[[Old Europe]]

{{div col end}}

{{portal bar|Geography<!-- |Eurasia -->|Europe<!-- |Western Europe -->}}

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==

{{refbegin|30em}}

*''The Making of Europe'', ISBN 0-14-015409-4, by Robert Bartlett

*''Crescent and Cross'', ISBN 1-84212-753-5, by [[Hugh Bicheno]]

*''The Normans'', ISBN 0-7524-2881-0, by Trevor Rowley

*''1066 The Year of the Three Battles'', ISBN 0-7126-6672-9, by Frank McLynn

{{refend}}

==External links==

{{Commons and category}}

*[http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#europe The European sub-regions according to the UN]

*[http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9217/europe.htm Teaching about Western Europe]

{{Regions of the world}}

{{Europe topics (small)}}

[[Category:Western Europe| ]]

[[Category:Regions of Europe]]

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[[ace:Iërupa Barat]]

[[ar:أوروبا الغربية]]

[[an:Europa Occidental]]

[[frp:Eropa du Ponant]]

[[az:Qərbi Avropa]]

[[bn:পশ্চিম ইউরোপ]]

[[zh-min-nan:Se-au]]

[[be:Заходняя Еўропа]]

[[be-x-old:Заходняя Эўропа]]

[[bg:Западна Европа]]

[[bs:Zapadna Evropa]]

[[br:Europa ar C'hornaoueg]]

[[ca:Europa Occidental]]

[[cv:Хĕвеланăç енчи Европа]]

[[cs:Západní Evropa]]

[[cy:Gorllewin Ewrop]]

[[da:Vesteuropa]]

[[de:Westeuropa]]

[[et:Lääne-Euroopa]]

[[es:Europa Occidental]]

[[eo:Okcidenta Eŭropo]]

[[eu:Mendebaldeko Europa]]

[[fa:اروپای غربی]]

[[fo:Vesturevropa]]

[[fr:Europe de l'Ouest]]

[[fy:West-Jeropa]]

[[gv:Yn Oarpey Heear]]

[[gag:Günbatısı Evropa]]

[[gl:Europa Occidental]]

[[ko:서유럽]]

[[hy:Արևմտյան Եվրոպա]]

[[hr:Zapadna Europa]]

[[id:Eropa Barat]]

[[os:Ныгуылæн Европæ]]

[[is:Vestur-Evrópa]]

[[it:Europa occidentale]]

[[he:מערב אירופה]]

[[jv:Éropah Kulon]]

[[kn:ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಯುರೋಪ್]]

[[ka:დასავლეთი ევროპა]]

[[kk:Батыс Еуропа]]

[[sw:Ulaya ya Magharibi]]

[[ku:Ewropaya Rojava]]

[[lad:Evropa Oksidentala]]

[[la:Europa Occidentalis]]

[[lv:Rietumeiropa]]

[[lt:Vakarų Europa]]

[[hu:Nyugat-Európa]]

[[mk:Западна Европа]]

[[mg:Eoropa Andrefana]]

[[mr:पश्चिम युरोप]]

[[xmf:ბჟადალი ევროპა]]

[[arz:اوروبا الغربيه]]

[[ms:Eropah Barat]]

[[nl:West-Europa]]

[[nds-nl:West-Europa]]

[[ja:西ヨーロッパ]]

[[no:Vest-Europa]]

[[nn:Vest-Europa]]

[[oc:Euròpa Occidentala]]

[[pnb:لہندا یورپ]]

[[ps:لوېديځه اروپا]]

[[pl:Europa Zachodnia]]

[[pt:Europa Ocidental]]

[[ro:Europa de Vest]]

[[ru:Западная Европа]]

[[sco:Wastren Europe]]

[[sq:Evropa Perëndimore]]

[[simple:Western Europe]]

[[sk:Západná Európa]]

[[sl:Zahodna Evropa]]

[[cu:Ꙁападьна Єѵрѡпа]]

[[ckb:ئەورووپای ڕۆژاوا]]

[[sr:Западна Европа]]

[[sh:Zapadna Evropa]]

[[fi:Länsi-Eurooppa]]

[[sv:Västeuropa]]

[[tl:Kanlurang Europa]]

[[ta:மேற்கு ஐரோப்பா]]

[[tt:Көнбатыш Аурупа]]

[[th:ยุโรปตะวันตก]]

[[tr:Batı Avrupa]]

[[uk:Західна Європа]]

[[ur:مغربی یورپ]]

[[vec:Eoropa oçidentałe]]

[[vi:Tây Âu]]

[[wa:Urope coûtchantrece]]

[[war:Katundan nga Europa]]

[[wo:Sowwu Tugal]]

[[yi:מערב אייראפע]]

[[yo:Apáìwọ̀òrùn Europe]]

[[zh-yue:西歐]]

[[diq:Ewropaya Rocawani]]

[[zea:West-Europa]]

[[zh:西欧]]-->{{wikipedia}}