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The history of Europe covers the peoples inhabiting Europe from prehistory to the present.

The period known as classical antiquity began with the emergence of the city-states of ancient Greece. Later, the Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean Basin. The fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476 traditionally marks the start of the Middle Ages. Beginning in the 14th century a Renaissance of knowledge challenged traditional doctrines in science and theology. Simultaneously, the Protestant Reformation set up Protestant churches primarily in Germany, Scandinavia and England.

After 1800, the Industrial Revolution brought prosperity to Britain and Western Europe.

The main powers set up colonies in most of the Americas and Africa, and parts of Asia.

In the 20th century, World War I, and World War II resulted in massive numbers of deaths.

The Cold War dominated European geo-politics from 1947 to 1989.

Unification into a European Union moved forward after 1950, with some setbacks.

Today, most countries west of Russia belong to the NATO military alliance, along with the United States and Canada.

In Western Europe, Germanic peoples became more powerful in the remnants of the former Western Roman Empire and established kingdoms and empires of their own. Of all of the Germanic peoples, the Franks would rise to a position of hegemony over Western Europe, the Frankish Empire reaching its peak under Charlemagne around 800. This empire was later divided into several parts; West Francia would evolve into the Kingdom of France, while East Francia would evolve into the Holy Roman Empire, a precursor to modern Germany and Italy. The British Isles were the site of several large-scale migrations.

Beginning in the 14th century in Florence and later spreading through Europe, a Renaissance of knowledge challenged traditional doctrines in science and theology. The rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman knowledge had an enormous liberating effect on intellectuals. Simultaneously, the Protestant Reformation under German Martin Luther questioned Papal authority. Henry VIII seized control of the English Church and its lands. The European religious wars between German and Spanish rulers. The Reconquista ended Muslim rule in Iberia. By the 1490s a series of oceanic explorations marked the Age of Discovery, establishing direct links with Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Religious wars continued to be fought in Europe, until the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. The Spanish crown maintained its hegemony in Europe and was the leading power on the continent until the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, which ended a conflict between Spain and France that had begun during the Thirty Years' War. An unprecedented series of major wars and political revolutions took place around Europe and the world in the period between 1610 and 1700.

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain, based on coal, steam, and textile mills. Political change in continental Europe was spurred by the French Revolution under the motto liberté, égalité, fraternité. Napoleon Bonaparte took control, made many reforms inside France, and transformed Western Europe. But his rise stimulated both nationalism and reaction and he was defeated in 1814-15 as the old royal conservatives returned to power.

Germany lost its overseas empire and several provinces, had to pay large reparations, and was humiliated by the victors. They in turn had large debts to the United States. The 1920s were prosperous until 1929 when the Great Depression broke out, which led to the collapse of democracy in many European states. The Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, rearmed Germany, and along with Mussolini's Italy sought to assert themselves on the continent by demands and appeasement, leading eventually to the Second World War. Most of the fighting took place on the Eastern Front, and the war ended with the defeat of the Axis powers, leaving the USSR and the United States dominating Eastern and Western Europe respectively.

The Iron Curtain now separated the east under Moscow's control from the capitalist West. The United States launched the Marshall Plan from 1948-51 and NATO from 1949, and rebuilt industrial economies that all were thriving by the 1950s. France and West Germany took the lead in forming the European Economic Community, which eventually became the European Union (EU). Secularization saw the weakening of Protestant and Catholic churches across most of Europe, except where they were symbols of anti-government resistance, as in Poland. The Revolutions of 1989 brought an end to both Soviet hegemony and communism in Eastern Europe. Germany was reunited, Europe's integration deepened, and both NATO and the EU expanded to the east. The EU came under increasing pressure because of the worldwide recession after 2008.

The origins

Homo erectus and Neanderthals settled Europe long before the emergence of modern humans, Homo sapiens. The earliest appearance of anatomically modern people in Europe has been dated to 35,000 BC. Evidence of permanent settlement dates from the 7th millennium BC in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. The Neolithic reached Central Europe in the 6th millennium BC and parts of Northern Europe in the 5th and 4th millennium BC. There is no prehistoric culture that covers the whole of Europe. For short introductions to the various cultures, see Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age.

The first well-known literate civilization in Europe was that of the Minoans of the island of Crete and later the Myceneans in the adjacent parts of Greece, starting at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. Around 400 BC, the La Tene culture spread over most of the interior as far as the Iberian Peninsula ( Spain and Portugal), and later Anatolia. The Etruscans inhabited central Italy and Lombardy, where they were displaced by the Celts, who mingled with earlier residents of Iberia to produce a unique Celtiberian culture. As the Celts did not use a written language, knowledge of them is piecemeal. The Romans encountered them and recorded a great deal about them; these records and the archaeological evidence form our primary understanding of this extremely influential culture. The Celts posed a formidable, if disorganized, competition to the Roman state, that later colonized and conquered much of the southern portion of Europe.

Early Middle Ages

The Holy Roman Empire emerged around 800, as Charlemagne, king of the Franks, subdued western Germany, large parts of Italy and chunks of surrounding countries; he received substantial help from an alliance with the Pope, who wanted to cut the remaining ties with the Byzantine Empire; in this way the domains of the Pope became an independent state in central Italy.

In the 10th century independent kingdoms were established in Central Europe, e.g. Poland and Hungary.

The subsequent period, ending around 1000, saw the further growth of feudalism, which weakened the Holy Roman Empire.

High Middle Ages

After the East-West Schism, Western Christianity was adopted by newly created kingdoms of Central Europe: Poland, Hungary and Bohemia. The Roman Catholic Church developed as a major power, leading to conflicts between the Pope and Emperor.

Later Middle Ages

One of the largest catastrophes to have hit Europe was the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death. There were numerous outbreaks, but the most severe was in the mid- 1300s and is estimated to have killed a third of Europe's population. Since many Jews worked as money-lenders (usury was not allowed for Christians) and were generally more immune to disease (thanks to their kosher laws concerning hygiene), the Jews were often disliked by Europeans, so it was popular to blame them for the epidemic. This led to increased persecution of Jews in some areas. Thousands of Jews fled to Poland which, ironically, was spared by the plague.

Renaissance and Reformation

The new nation states were frequently in a state of political flux and war. In particular, after Martin Luther started the Reformation in 1517, wars of politics and religion ravaged the continent: the schism of the dominant western church was to have major political, social and cultural implications for Europe. What became the split between Catholicism and Protestantism was particularly pronounced in England (where the king Henry VIII severed ties with Rome and proclaimed himself head of the church), and in Germany (where the Reformation united the various Protestant princes against the Catholic Habsburg emperors).

Colonial expansion

Eastern Europe was an arena of conflict for domination between Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire. This period saw a gradual decline of these three powers which were eventually replaced by new enlightened absolutist monarchies, Russia, Prussia and Austria. By the turn of the 19th century they became new powers, having divided Poland between them, with Sweden and Turkey having experienced substantial territorial losses to Russia and Austria respectively. Numerous Polish Jews emigrated to Western Europe, founding Jewish communities in places where they had been expelled from during the Middle Ages.

The English Civil War and Unification with Scotland
Main article: English Civil War
English Commonwealth

Act of Union

Having gone through a political revolution 100 years early, Great Britain entered the 18th century in a stronger position than her continental rivals who were still controlled by absolute monarchs.

The French Revolution
Main article: French Revolution
At the time the assembly wanted to create a constitutional monarchy and over the following two years, passed various laws including the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the abolition of feudalism and a fundamental change in the relationship between France and Rome. At first the king went along with these changes and enjoyed reasonable popularity with the people, but as anti-royalism increased along with the threat of foreign invasion the king, now stripped of his power decided to flee along with his family. He was recognised and bought back to Paris, on 12 January 1793, having been convicted of treason he was executed.

On 20 September 1792 the National Convention abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Due to the emergency of war the National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, controlled by the Jacobin Robespierre, to act as the country's executive. Under Robespierre the committee initiated the Reign of Terror, during which up to 40,000 people were executed in Paris, mainly nobles, and those convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal, often on the flimsiest of evidence. Elsewhere in the country counter-revolutionary insurrections were brutally suppressed. The Robespierre was overthrown in the coup of 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794) and executed. The regime which followed ended the Terror and relaxed Robespierre's more extreme policies.

Napoleonic Wars

Napoleon Bonaparte was France's most successful general in the Revolutionary wars, having conquered large parts of Italy and forced the Austrians to sue for peace. In 1799 he returned from Egypt and on 18 Brumaire (9 November) overthrew the government, replacing it with the Consulate, in which he was First Consul. On 2 December 1804, after a failed assassination plot he crowned himself Emperor.

In 1806 a Fourth Coalition was set up, on 14 October Napoleon defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, marched through Germany and defeated the Russians on 14 June 1807 at Freidland, the Treaties of Tilsit divided Europe between France and Russia and created the Duchy of Warsaw.On 12 June 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with a Grande Armée on nearly 700,000 troops. After the measured victories at Smolensk and Borodino Napoleon occupied Moscow, only to find it burned by the retreating Russian Army, he was forced to withdraw, on the march back his army was harassed by Cossacks, and suffered disease and starvation. Only 20,000 of his men survived the campaign.

Congress of Vienna

The Congress's principal results, apart from its confirmation of France's loss of the territories annexed in 1795 - 1810, were the enlargement of Russia, (which gained most of the Duchy of Warsaw) and Prussia, which acquired Westphalia and the northern Rhineland. Germany was consolidated from the ~300 states of the Holy Roman Empire (dissolved in 1806) into 39 states. These states were formed into a loose German Confederation under the leadership of Prussia and Austria.

Poland was again divided by Russia, Prussia and Austria. The Polish Kingdom became part of Russia, while western Poland became Prussian and southern Poland was made Austrian. Only the Republic of Cracow stayed independant until 1846.

Representatives at the Congress agreed to numerous other territorial changes. Norway was transferred from Denmark to Sweden. Austria gained Lombardy-Venetia in Northern Italy, while much of the rest of North-Central Italy went to Habsburg dynasts (The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Modena, and the Duchy of Parma). The Pope was restored to the Papal States. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was restored to its mainland possessions, and also gained control of the Republic of Genoa. In Southern Italy the Bourbon Ferdinand IV was restored to the throne. A large United Kingdom of the Netherlands was created for the Prince of Orange, including both the old United Provinces and the formerly Austrian-ruled territories in the Southern Netherlands.

There were other, less important territorial adjustments, including significant territorial gains for the German Kingdoms of Hanover and Bavaria, and the Portuguese rights to the Territory of Olivenza were recognized.

The countries involved with the Congress also agreed to meet at intervals and this led to the establishment of the "Congress system". This system was frequently criticized by 19th century historians for ignoring national and liberal impulses associated with the French Revolution. However, in the twentieth century many historians began to admire the work of the statesmen at the Congress of Vienna, whose work appeared to have prevented another large-scale European war for nearly one hundred years (1818-1914).

The first revolution to occur in Europe after the French Revolution was the Serbian Uprising of 1804, and the Second Serbian Uprising of 1815, which resulted in the proclamation of autonomous Serbia by the Ottoman Empire. The political dynamics of Europe changed three times over the 19th century - once after the Congress of Vienna, and again after the Crimean War. In 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, the major powers of Europe managed to produce a peaceful balance of power among the empires after the Napoleonic wars (despite the occurrence of internal revolutionary movements). But the peace would only last until the Ottoman Empire had declined enough to become a target for the others. (See history of the Balkans#Rise of Independence.) This instigated the Crimean War in 1854 and began a tenser period of minor clashes among the globe-spanning empires of Europe that set the stage for the first World War. It changed a third time with the end of the various wars that turned the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Prussia into the Italian and German nation-states, significantly changing the balance of power in Europe.

After the relative peace of most of the 19th Century, the rivalry between European powers exploded in 1914, when World War I started. On one side were Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey (the Central Powers/Triple Alliance), while on the other side stood Serbia and the Triple Entente - the loose coalition of France, the United Kingdom and Russia, which were joined by Italy in 1915 and by the United States in 1917. Despite the defeat of Russia in 1917 (the war was one of the major causes of the Russian Revolution, leading to the formation of the communist Soviet Union), the Entente finally prevailed in the autumn of 1918.

Meanwhile, Western Europe slowly began a process of political and economic integration, desiring to unite Europe and prevent another war. This process resulted eventually in the development of organizations such as the European Union and the Council of Europe.

The most violent breakup happened in Yugoslavia, in the Balkans. Four ( Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia) out of six Yugoslav republics declared independence and for most of them a violent war ensued, in some parts lasting until 1995. The remaining two republics formed a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, under the direction of Slobodan Milošević. Milošević presided over the Kosovo War, and was overthrown after his government was weakened by NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia. Following the ouster of Milošević, the country changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro as a move to placate the frictions between the two federal units and claimed to be instituting a Western-style democracy.

In the post-Cold War era, NATO and the EU have been gradually admitting most of the former members of the Warsaw Pact.

Recent history

The Maastricht Treaty created a single currency for most EU members. The was created in 1999 and replaced all previous currencies in participating states in 2002. The most notable exception to the currency union, or , was the United Kingdom, which also did not sign the Schengen Agreement.

EU did not participate in the Yugoslav Wars, and was divided on supporting the United States in the 2003-2011 Iraq War. NATO has been part of the war in Afghanistan, but at a much lower level of involvement than the United States.

Supported by the United States and some European countries, Kosovo's government unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008.

Public opinion in the EU turned against enlargement, partially due to what was seen as over-eager expansion including Turkey gaining candidate status. The European Constitution was rejected in France and the Netherlands, and then (as the Treaty of Lisbon) in Ireland, although a second vote passed in Ireland in 2009.

The financial crisis of 2007-08 effected Europe, and government responded with austerity measures. Limited ability of the smaller EU nations (most notably Greece) to handle their debts led to social unrest, government liquidation, and financial insolvency. In May 2010, the German parliament agreed to loan 22.4 billion euros to Greece over three years, with the stipulation that Greece follow strict austerity measures. See European sovereign-debt crisis.

Beginning in 2014, Ukraine has been in a state of revolution and unrest with two breakaway regions ( Donetsk and Lugansk) attempting to join Russia as full federal subjects. On 16 March, a referendum was held in Crimea leading to the secession of Crimea and its largely internationally unrecognized annexation to the Russian Federation as the Republic of Crimea.

In June 2016, in a referendum in the United Kingdom on the country's membership in the European Union, 52% of voters voted to leave the EU, leading to the complex Brexit separation process and negotiations, which led to political and economic changes for both the UK and the remaining European Union countries. The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020.

Chronology
AD

45-55 (ca): First Christian congregations in mainland Greece and in Rome.

293: Diocletian reorganizes the Empire by creating the Tetrarchy.

330: Constantine makes Constantinople into his capital, a new Rome.

527: Justinian I is crowned emperor of Byzantium. Orders the editing of Corpus Juris Civilis, Digest (Roman law).

597: Beginning of Roman Catholic Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England (missions and churches had been in existence well before this date, but their contacts with Rome had been loose or nonexistent)

600: Saint Columbanus uses the term "Europe" in a letter.

655: Jus patronatus.

681: Khan Asparukh leads the Bulgars and invades the Byzantine empire in the Battle of Ongal, and creates Bulgaria.

718: Tervel of Bulgaria helps the Byzantine Empire stop the Arabic invasion of Europe, and breaks the siege of Constantinople.

722: Battle of Covadonga in the Iberian Peninsula. Pelayo, a noble Visigoth, defeats a Muslim army that tried to conquer the Cantabrian coast. This helps establish the Christian Kingdom of Asturias, and marks the beginning of the Reconquista.

732: At the Battle of Tours, the Franks stop the advance of the Arabs into Europe.

800: Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor.

813: Third Council of Tours: Priests are ordered to preach in the native language of the population.

843: Treaty of Verdun.

863: Saints Cyril and Methodius arrive in Great Moravia, initiating Christian mission among the Slav peoples.

864: Boris I of Bulgaria baptises the whole nation, converting the population from tengri, to Eastern Orthodox Christianity

872: Unification of Norway.

886: Cyril and Methodius students - Sava, Kliment, Naum, Gorazd, Angelariy - arrive in Bulgaria. The Cyrillic alphabet becomes the official Bulgarian alphabet.

895: Hungarian people led by Árpád start to settle in the Carpathian Basin.

988 Kievan Rus adopts Christianity, often seen as the origin of the Russian Orthodox Church-

1054: Start of the East-West Schism, which divides the Christian church for centuries.

1066: Successful Norman Invasion of England by William the Conqueror.

1095: Pope Urban II calls for the First Crusade.

12th century: The 12th century in literature saw an increase in the number of texts. The Renaissance of the 12th century occurs.

1128: Battle of São Mamede, formation of Portuguese sovereignty.

1250: Death of emperor Frederick II; end of effective ability of German emperors to exercise control in Italy.

1303: The period of the Crusades is over.

1309-1378: The Avignon Papacy

1315-1317: The Great Famine of 1315-1317 in Northern Europe

1341: Petrarch, the "Father of Humanism", becomes the first poet laureate since antiquity.

1337-1453: The Hundred Years' War between England and France.

1348-1351: Black Death kills about one-third of Europe's population.

1453: Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.

1492: The Reconquista ends in the Iberian Peninsula. A Spanish expeditionary group, commanded by Christopher Columbus, lands in the New World.

1497: Vasco da Gama departs to India starting direct trade with Asia.

1508: Maximilian I the last ruling "King of the Romans" and the first "elected Emperor of the Romans".

1519: Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano begin first global circumnavigation. Their expedition returns in 1522.

1519: Hernán Cortés begins conquest of Mexico for Spain.

1532: Francisco Pizarro begins the conquest of Peru (the Inca Empire) for Spain.

1547: The Grand Duchy of Moscow becomes the Tsardom of Russia.

1582: The introduction of the Gregorian calendar; Russia refuses to adopt it until 1918.

1610: Galileo Galilei uses his telescope to discover the moons of Jupiter.

1618: The Thirty Years' War brings massive devastation to central Europe.

1648: The Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War, and introduces the principle of the integrity of the nation state.

1699: Treaty of Karlowitz concludes the Austro-Ottoman War. This marks the end of Ottoman control of Central Europe and the beginning of Ottoman stagnation, establishing the Habsburg Monarchy as the dominant power in Central and Southeastern Europe.

18th century: Age of Enlightenment spurs an intellectual renaissance across Europe.

1712: Thomas Newcomen invents first practical steam engine which begins Industrial Revolution in Britain.

1721: Foundation of the Russian Empire.

1775: James Watt invents a new efficient steam engine accelerating the Industrial Revolution in Britain.

1784: Immanuel Kant publishes Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?.

1789: Beginning of the French Revolution and end of the absolute monarchy in France.

1792-1802: French Revolutionary Wars.

1799: Napoleon comes to power as dictator of France.

1803-1815: Napoleonic Wars end in defeat of Napoleon.

1806: Napoleon abolishes the Holy Roman Empire.

1814-15: Congress of Vienna; Treaty of Vienna; France is reduced to 1789 boundaries; Reactionary forces dominate across Europe.

1825: George Stephenson opens the Stockton and Darlington Railway the first steam train railway for passenger traffic in the world.

1836: Louis Daguerre invents first practical photographic method, in effect the first camera.

1838: SS Great Western, the first steamship built for regularly scheduled transatlantic crossings enters service.

1848: Revolutions of 1848 and publication of The Communist Manifesto.

1852: Start of the Crimean War, which ends in 1855 in a defeat for Russia.

1859: Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species.

1861: Unification of Italy after victories by Giuseppe Garibaldi.

1866: First commercially successful transatlantic telegraph cable is completed.

1870: Franco-Prussian War and the fall of the Second French Empire.

1871: Unification of Germany under the direction of Otto von Bismarck.

1873: Panic of 1873 occurs. The Long Depression begins.

1885: Karl Benz invents Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the world's first automobile.

1885: First permanent citywide electrical tram system in Europe (in Sarajevo).

1895: Auguste and Louis Lumière begin exhibitions of projected films before the paying public with their cinematograph, a portable camera, printer, and projector.

1902: Guglielmo Marconi sends first transatlantic radio transmission.

1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated; World War I begins.

1917: Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks seize power in the Russian Revolution. The ensuing Russian Civil War lasts until 1922.

1918: World War I ends with the defeat of Germany and the Central Powers. Ten million soldiers killed; collapse of Russian, German, Austrian, and Ottoman empires.

1918: Collapse of the German Empire and monarchic system; founding of Weimar Republic.

1918: Worldwide Spanish flu epidemic kills millions in Europe.

1918: Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolves.

1919: Versailles Treaty strips Germany of its colonies, several provinces and its navy and air force; limits army; Allies occupy western areas; reparations ordered.

1920: League of Nations begins operations; largely ineffective; defunct by 1939.

1921-22: Ireland divided; Irish Free State becomes independent and civil war erupts.

1922: Benito Mussolini and the Fascists take power in Italy.

1933: Adolf Hitler and the Nazis take power in Germany.

1935: Italy conquers Ethiopia; League sanctions are ineffective.

1936: Start of the Spanish Civil War; ends in 1939 with victory of Nationalists who are aided by Germany and Italy.

1938: Germany escalates the persecution of Jews with Kristallnacht.

1938: Appeasement of Germany by Britain and France; Munich agreement splits Czechoslovakia; Germany seized the remainder in 1939.

1939: Britain and France hurriedly rearm; failed to arrange treaty with USSR.

1940: Great Britain under Winston Churchill becomes the last nation to hold out against the Nazis after winning the Battle of Britain.

1941: U.S. begins large-scale lend-lease aid to Britain, Free France, the USSR and other Allies; Canada also provides financial aid.

1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa; fails to capture Moscow or Leningrad.

1942: Nazi Germany commences the Holocaust - a Final Solution, with the murder of 6 million Jews.

1943: After Stalingrad and Kursk, Soviet forces begin recapturing Nazi-occupied territory in the East.

1944: U.S., British and Canadian armed forces invade Nazi-occupied France at Normandy.

1945: Hitler commits suicide, Mussolini is murdered. World War II ends with Europe in ruins and Germany defeated.

1945: United Nations formed.

1947: Cold War begins as Europe is polarized East versus West.

1948-51: U.S. provides large sums to rebuild Western Europe through the Marshall Plan; stimulates large-scale modernization of European industries and reduction of trade restrictions.

1949: The NATO alliance is established.

1955: USSR creates a rival military coalition, the Warsaw Pact.

1950: The Schuman Declaration begins the process of European integration.

1954: The French Empire begins to be dismantled; Withdraws from Vietnam.

1956: Suez Crisis signals the end of the effective power of the British Empire.

1956: Hungarian Uprising defeated by Soviet military forces.

1957: Treaties of Rome establish the European Economic Community from 1958.

1968: The May 1968 events in France lead France to the brink of revolution.

1968: The Prague Spring is defeated by Warsaw Pact military forces. The Club of Rome is founded.

1980: The Solidarność movement under Lech Wałęsa begins open, overground opposition to the Communist rule in Poland.

1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union and begins reforms which inadvertently leads to the fall of Communism and the Soviet Union.

1986: Chernobyl disaster occurs, the worst nuclear disaster in history.

1989: Communism overthrown in all the Warsaw Pact countries except the Soviet Union. Fall of the Berlin Wall (opening of unrestrained border crossings between east and west, which effectively deprived the wall of any relevance).

1990: Reunification of Germany.

1991: Breakup of Yugoslavia and the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars.

1991: Dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1993: Maastricht Treaty establishes the European Union.

2002: End of European colonial empires with the independence of East Timor, formerly Portuguese Timor.

2004: Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta join the European Union.

2007: Romania and Bulgaria join the European Union.

2008: The Great Recession begins. Unemployment rises in some parts of Europe.

2013: Croatia joins the European Union.

2014: Revolution in Ukraine and serious tensions between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union.

2015: European migrant crisis starts.

2020: The United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

2020: COVID-19 pandemic, hardest hit are Italy, Spain and the UK.

Related pages

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The history of Europe covers the peoples inhabiting Europe from prehistory to the present. The period known as classical antiquity began with the emergence of the city-states of ancient Greece. Later, the Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean Basin. The fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476 traditionally marks the start of the Middle Ages.

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Please contact me with any queries on the quiz and happy researching.

Mr Scotland

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What is Euroquiz?

Euroquiz is an annual project open to all P6 pupils across Scotland, which sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world. Subjects covered include languages, history, geography, culture and European affairs. Heats take place in local authorities from January to March, with the winning teams from all areas progressing to the National Euroquiz Final held in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament in June.

Are you a teacher or parent looking for more information? Visit our information for schools page with details about what to expect and how to prepare your team.

For help preparing your team, have a look at our Euroquiz Resources Page for recommended teaching materials and sample questions.

Watch our Euroquiz Highlights Film for a taste of the Euroquiz journey, including interviews with participants and teachers.

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Euroquiz is an annual project open to all P6 pupils across Scotland, which sees teams of four working together to broaden their knowledge of Europe and the wider world. Subjects covered include languages, history, geography, culture and European affairs.

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Great for research but not updated since UK left EU.

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Use this template to help with your research on Euro countries.

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Compare scores with friends on all Sporcle quizzes.

Your Account Isn't Verified!

In order to create a playlist on Sporcle, you need to verify the email address you used during registration. Go to your Sporcle Settings to finish the process.

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Compare scores with friends on all Sporcle quizzes. Your Account Isn't Verified! In order to create a playlist on Sporcle, you need to verify the email address you used during registration. Go to your Sporcle Settings to finish the process.

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Europe: Countries - Map Quiz Game - Seterra

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Do you have an upcoming geography quiz on Europe but can't tell Austria apart from Hungary on a map? This Europe map quiz game has got you covered. From Iceland to Greece and everything in between, this geography study aid will get you up to speed in no time, while also being fun.If you want to practice offline, download our printable maps of Europe in pdf format.

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Can you name all the countries of Europe?

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Can you name the countries of Europe? Test your knowledge on this geography quiz and compare your score to others.

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Europe: Countries - Map Quiz Game - Seterra

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Do you have an upcoming geography quiz on Europe but can't tell Austria apart from Hungary on a map? This Europe map quiz game has got you covered. From Iceland to Greece and everything in between, this geography study aid will get you up to speed in no time, while also being fun.If you want to practice offline, download our printable maps of Europe in pdf format.

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3 pages of flags to match with the country and capital city for each.

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is traditionally defined as one of seven continents. Physiographically, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia (or the larger Afro-Eurasia); Asia occupies the eastern bulk of this continuous landmass and all share a common continental shelf. Europe's eastern frontier is delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia.

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Europe Natural Features Reading Differentiated Comprehension Activity

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Newsround - Quiz: Do you know these European landmarks?

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How well do you know Europe? Match these famous landmarks to their countries...

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Read the passage then answer the questions.

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Europe Landmarks Reading Comprehension Activity

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The Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) is an independent, non-political charity which promotes and encourages education about Europe and the development of foreign language skills amongst children and young people in Scotland. Increasingly we see the need for a skilled workforce which is ab…

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French, German, Spanish and Italian are used. A section of the quiz has answers read out in the four languages so our good knowledge of French will be very useful.

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Duolingo is the world's most popular way to learn a language. It's 100% free, fun and science-based. Practice online on duolingo.com or on the apps!

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2nd level French learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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Find out some key facts about the Euro. Who uses it? What type of banknotes do you get? Where is the head office? What is special about the euro coins?

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The euro ( symbol: ; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is known as the eurozone or euro area and includes about 343 million citizens as of 2019. The euro, which is divided into 100 cents, is the second-largest and second-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar.

The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the European Union, by four European microstates that are not EU members, the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo. Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. Additionally, over 200 million people worldwide use currencies pegged to the euro.

The euro is the second-largest reserve currency as well as the second-most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. As of December 2019, with more than €1.3 trillion in circulation, the euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world.

The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid. The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1 (US$1.1743). Physical euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members, and by March 2002 it had completely replaced the former currencies. While the euro dropped subsequently to US$0.83 within two years (26 October 2000), it has traded above the U.S. dollar since the end of 2002, peaking at US$1.60 on 18 July 2008 and since then returning near to its original issue rate. In late 2009, the euro became immersed in the European sovereign-debt crisis, which led to the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility as well as other reforms aimed at stabilising and strengthening the currency.

The euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurosystem (composed of the central banks of the eurozone countries). As an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy. The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins in all member states, and the operation of the eurozone payment systems.

The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, although not all states have done so. Denmark has negotiated exemptions, while Sweden (which joined the EU in 1995, after the Maastricht Treaty was signed) turned down the euro in a non-binding referendum in 2003, and has circumvented the obligation to adopt the euro by not meeting the monetary and budgetary requirements. All nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course.

Since 1 January 2002, the national central banks (NCBs) and the ECB have issued euro banknotes on a joint basis. Eurosystem NCBs are required to accept euro banknotes put into circulation by other Eurosystem members and these banknotes are not repatriated. The ECB issues 8% of the total value of banknotes issued by the Eurosystem. In practice, the ECB's banknotes are put into circulation by the NCBs, thereby incurring matching liabilities vis-à-vis the ECB. These liabilities carry interest at the main refinancing rate of the ECB. The other 92% of euro banknotes are issued by the NCBs in proportion to their respective shares of the ECB capital key, calculated using national share of European Union (EU) population and national share of EU GDP, equally weighted.

The euro is divided into 100 cents (also referred to as euro cents, especially when distinguishing them from other currencies, and referred to as such on the common side of all cent coins). In Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage. Otherwise, normal English plurals are used, with many local variations such as centime in France.

All circulating coins have a common side showing the denomination or value, and a map in the background. Due to the linguistic plurality in the European Union, the Latin alphabet version of euro is used (as opposed to the less common Greek or Cyrillic) and Arabic numerals (other text is used on national sides in national languages, but other text on the common side is avoided). For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, the map only showed the 15 member states which were members when the euro was introduced. Beginning in 2007 or 2008 (depending on the country), the old map was replaced by a map of Europe also showing countries outside the EU like Norway, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Turkey.[citation needed ] The 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, however, keep their old design, showing a geographical map of Europe with the 15 member states of 2002 raised somewhat above the rest of the map. All common sides were designed by Luc Luycx. The coins also have a national side showing an image specifically chosen by the country that issued the coin. Euro coins from any member state may be freely used in any nation that has adopted the euro.

The coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c. To avoid the use of the two smallest coins, some cash transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents in the Netherlands and Ireland (by voluntary agreement) and in Finland (by law). This practice is discouraged by the commission, as is the practice of certain shops of refusing to accept high-value euro notes.

Commemorative coins with €2 face value have been issued with changes to the design of the national side of the coin. These include both commonly issued coins, such as the €2 commemorative coin for the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, and nationally issued coins, such as the coin to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics issued by Greece. These coins are legal tender throughout the eurozone. Collector coins with various other denominations have been issued as well, but these are not intended for general circulation, and they are legal tender only in the member state that issued them.

The design for the euro banknotes has common designs on both sides. The design was created by the Austrian designer Robert Kalina. Notes are issued in €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, €5. Each banknote has its own colour and is dedicated to an artistic period of European architecture. The front of the note features windows or gateways while the back has bridges, symbolising links between states in the union and with the future. While the designs are supposed to be devoid of any identifiable characteristics, the initial designs by Robert Kalina were of specific bridges, including the Rialto and the Pont de Neuilly, and were subsequently rendered more generic; the final designs still bear very close similarities to their specific prototypes; thus they are not truly generic. The monuments looked similar enough to different national monuments to please everyone.

The Europa series, or second series, consists of six denominations and does no longer include the €500 with issuance discontinued as of 27 April 2019. However, both the first and the second series of euro banknotes, including the €500, remain legal tender throughout the euro area.

Payments clearing, electronic funds transfer

Capital within the EU may be transferred in any amount from one state to another. All intra-Union transfers in euro are treated as domestic transactions and bear the corresponding domestic transfer costs. This includes all member states of the EU, even those outside the eurozone providing the transactions are carried out in euro. Credit/debit card charging and ATM withdrawals within the eurozone are also treated as domestic transactions; however paper-based payment orders, like cheques, have not been standardised so these are still domestic-based. The ECB has also set up a clearing system, TARGET, for large euro transactions.

A special euro currency sign (€) was designed after a public survey had narrowed the original ten proposals down to two. The European Commission then chose the design created by the Belgian Alain Billiet. Of the symbol, the Commission stated

Inspiration for the € symbol itself came from the Greek epsilon (Є) - a reference to the cradle of European civilisation - and the first letter of the word Europe, crossed by two parallel lines to 'certify' the stability of the euro.

The European Commission also specified a euro logo with exact proportions and foreground and background colour tones. Placement of the currency sign relative to the numeric amount varies from state to state, but for texts in English the symbol (or the ISO-standard "EUR") should precede the amount.

The euro was established by the provisions in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty. To participate in the currency, member states are meant to meet strict criteria, such as a budget deficit of less than 3% of their GDP, a debt ratio of less than 60% of GDP (both of which were ultimately widely flouted after introduction), low inflation, and interest rates close to the EU average. In the Maastricht Treaty, the United Kingdom and Denmark were granted exemptions per their request from moving to the stage of monetary union which resulted in the introduction of the euro. (For macroeconomic theory, see below.)

The name "euro" was officially adopted in Madrid on 16 December 1995. Belgian Esperantist Germain Pirlot, a former teacher of French and history is credited with naming the new currency by sending a letter to then President of the European Commission, Jacques Santer, suggesting the name "euro" on 4 August 1995.

Due to differences in national conventions for rounding and significant digits, all conversion between the national currencies had to be carried out using the process of triangulation via the euro. The definitive values of one euro in terms of the exchange rates at which the currency entered the euro are shown on the right.

The rates were determined by the Council of the European Union, based on a recommendation from the European Commission based on the market rates on 31 December 1998. They were set so that one European Currency Unit (ECU) would equal one euro. The European Currency Unit was an accounting unit used by the EU, based on the currencies of the member states; it was not a currency in its own right. They could not be set earlier, because the ECU depended on the closing exchange rate of the non-euro currencies (principally the pound sterling) that day.

The procedure used to fix the conversion rate between the Greek drachma and the euro was different since the euro by then was already two years old. While the conversion rates for the initial eleven currencies were determined only hours before the euro was introduced, the conversion rate for the Greek drachma was fixed several months beforehand.

The currency was introduced in non-physical form ( traveller's cheques, electronic transfers, banking, etc.) at midnight on 1 January 1999, when the national currencies of participating countries (the eurozone) ceased to exist independently. Their exchange rates were locked at fixed rates against each other. The euro thus became the successor to the European Currency Unit (ECU). The notes and coins for the old currencies, however, continued to be used as legal tender until new euro notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002.

The changeover period during which the former currencies' notes and coins were exchanged for those of the euro lasted about two months, until 28 February 2002. The official date on which the national currencies ceased to be legal tender varied from member state to member state. The earliest date was in Germany, where the mark officially ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 2001, though the exchange period lasted for two months more. Even after the old currencies ceased to be legal tender, they continued to be accepted by national central banks for periods ranging from several years to indefinitely (the latter for Austria, Germany, Ireland, Estonia and Latvia in banknotes and coins, and for Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Slovakia in banknotes only). The earliest coins to become non-convertible were the Portuguese escudos, which ceased to have monetary value after 31 December 2002, although banknotes remain exchangeable until 2022.

Following the U.S. financial crisis in 2008, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed in 2009 among investors concerning some European states, with the situation becoming particularly tense in early 2010. Greece was most acutely affected, but fellow Eurozone members Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain were also significantly affected. All these countries utilized EU funds except Italy, which is a major donor to the EFSF. To be included in the eurozone, countries had to fulfil certain convergence criteria, but the meaningfulness of such criteria was diminished by the fact it was not enforced with the same level of strictness among countries.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2011, "[I]f the [euro area] is treated as a single entity, its [economic and fiscal] position looks no worse and in some respects, rather better than that of the US or the UK" and the budget deficit for the euro area as a whole is much lower and the euro area's government debt/GDP ratio of 86% in 2010 was about the same level as that of the United States. "Moreover", they write, "private-sector indebtedness across the euro area as a whole is markedly lower than in the highly leveraged Anglo-Saxon economies". The authors conclude that the crisis "is as much political as economic" and the result of the fact that the euro area lacks the support of "institutional paraphernalia (and mutual bonds of solidarity) of a state".

The crisis continued with S&P downgrading the credit rating of nine euro-area countries, including France, then downgrading the entire European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) fund.

A historical parallel - to 1931 when Germany was burdened with debt, unemployment and austerity while France and the United States were relatively strong creditors - gained attention in summer 2012 even as Germany received a debt-rating warning of its own. In the enduring of this scenario the euro serves as a mean of quantitative primitive accumulation.

The euro is the sole currency of 19 EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. These countries constitute the " eurozone", some 343 million people in total as of 2018.

With all but one (Denmark) of the remaining EU members obliged to join when economic conditions permit, together with future members of the EU, the enlargement of the eurozone is set to continue. Outside the EU, the euro is also the sole currency of Montenegro and Kosovo and several European microstates (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City) as well as in three overseas territories of France that are not themselves part of the EU, namely ( Saint Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. Together this direct usage of the euro outside the EU affects nearly 3 million people.

The euro has been used as a trading currency in Cuba since 1998, Syria since 2006, and Venezuela since 2018. There are also various currencies pegged to the euro (see below). In 2009, Zimbabwe abandoned its local currency and used major currencies instead, including the euro and the United States dollar.

Since its introduction, the euro has been the second most widely held international reserve currency after the U.S. dollar. The share of the euro as a reserve currency increased from 18% in 1999 to 27% in 2008. Over this period, the share held in U.S. dollar fell from 71% to 64% and that held in RMB fell from 6.4% to 3.3%. The euro inherited and built on the status of the Deutsche Mark as the second most important reserve currency. The euro remains underweight as a reserve currency in advanced economies while overweight in emerging and developing economies: according to the International Monetary Fund the total of euros held as a reserve in the world at the end of 2008 was equal to $1.1 trillion or €850 billion, with a share of 22% of all currency reserves in advanced economies, but a total of 31% of all currency reserves in emerging and developing economies.

The possibility of the euro becoming the first international reserve currency has been debated among economists. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave his opinion in September 2007 that it was "absolutely conceivable that the euro will replace the US dollar as reserve currency, or will be traded as an equally important reserve currency". In contrast to Greenspan's 2007 assessment, the euro's increase in the share of the worldwide currency reserve basket has slowed considerably since 2007 and since the beginning of the worldwide credit crunch related recession and European sovereign-debt crisis.

Outside the eurozone, a total of 22 countries and territories that do not belong to the EU have currencies that are directly pegged to the euro including 14 countries in mainland Africa ( CFA franc), two African island countries ( Comorian franc and Cape Verdean escudo), three French Pacific territories ( CFP franc) and three Balkan countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark), Bulgaria ( Bulgarian lev) and North Macedonia ( Macedonian denar). On 28 July 2009, São Tomé and Príncipe signed an agreement with Portugal which will eventually tie its currency to the euro. Additionally, the Moroccan dirham is tied to a basket of currencies, including the euro and the US dollar, with the euro given the highest weighting.

With the exception of Bosnia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia (which had pegged their currencies against the Deutsche Mark) and Cape Verde (formerly pegged to the Portuguese escudo), all of these non-EU countries had a currency peg to the French Franc before pegging their currencies to the euro. Pegging a country's currency to a major currency is regarded as a safety measure, especially for currencies of areas with weak economies, as the euro is seen as a stable currency, prevents runaway inflation and encourages foreign investment due to its stability.

Within the EU several currencies are pegged to the euro, mostly as a precondition to joining the eurozone. The Danish krone, Croatian kuna and Bulgarian lev are pegged due to their participation in the ERM II.

In total, as of 2013, 182 million people in Africa use a currency pegged to the euro, 27 million people outside the eurozone in Europe, and another 545,000 people on Pacific islands.

Since 2005, stamps issued by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta have been denominated in euros, although the Order's official currency remains the Maltese scudo. The Maltese scudo itself is pegged to the euro and is only recognised as legal tender within the Order.

In economics, an optimum currency area, or region (OCA or OCR), is a geographical region in which it would maximise economic efficiency to have the entire region share a single currency. There are two models, both proposed by Robert Mundell: the stationary expectations model and the international risk sharing model. Mundell himself advocates the international risk sharing model and thus concludes in favour of the euro. However, even before the creation of the single currency, there were concerns over diverging economies. Before the late-2000s recession it was considered unlikely that a state would leave the euro or the whole zone would collapse. However the Greek government-debt crisis led to former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw claiming the eurozone could not last in its current form. Part of the problem seems to be the rules that were created when the euro was set up. John Lanchester, writing for The New Yorker, explains it:

The guiding principle of the currency, which opened for business in 1999, were supposed to be a set of rules to limit a country's annual deficit to three per cent of gross domestic product, and the total accumulated debt to sixty per cent of G.D.P. It was a nice idea, but by 2004 the two biggest economies in the euro zone, Germany and France, had broken the rules for three years in a row.

The most obvious benefit of adopting a single currency is to remove the cost of exchanging currency, theoretically allowing businesses and individuals to consummate previously unprofitable trades. For consumers, banks in the eurozone must charge the same for intra-member cross-border transactions as purely domestic transactions for electronic payments (e.g., credit cards, debit cards and cash machine withdrawals).

Financial markets on the continent are expected to be far more liquid and flexible than they were in the past. The reduction in cross-border transaction costs will allow larger banking firms to provide a wider array of banking services that can compete across and beyond the eurozone. However, although transaction costs were reduced, some studies have shown that risk aversion has increased during the last 40 years in the Eurozone.

Another effect of the common European currency is that differences in prices-in particular in price levels-should decrease because of the law of one price. Differences in prices can trigger arbitrage, i.e., speculative trade in a commodity across borders purely to exploit the price differential. Therefore, prices on commonly traded goods are likely to converge, causing inflation in some regions and deflation in others during the transition. Some evidence of this has been observed in specific eurozone markets.

Before the introduction of the euro, some countries had successfully contained inflation, which was then seen as a major economic problem, by establishing largely independent central banks. One such bank was the Bundesbank in Germany; the European Central Bank was modelled on the Bundesbank.

The euro has come under criticism due to its regulation, lack of flexibility and rigidity towards sharing member States on issues such as nominal interest rates. Many national and corporate bonds denominated in euro are significantly more liquid and have lower interest rates than was historically the case when denominated in national currencies. While increased liquidity may lower the nominal interest rate on the bond, denominating the bond in a currency with low levels of inflation arguably plays a much larger role. A credible commitment to low levels of inflation and a stable debt reduces the risk that the value of the debt will be eroded by higher levels of inflation or default in the future, allowing debt to be issued at a lower nominal interest rate.

Unfortunately, there is also a cost in structurally keeping inflation lower than in the United States, UK, and China. The result is that seen from those countries, the euro has become expensive, making European products increasingly expensive for its largest importers; hence export from the eurozone becomes more difficult.

In general, those in Europe who own large amounts of euros are served by high stability and low inflation.

A monetary union means states in that union lose the main mechanism of recovery of their international competitiveness by weakening ( depreciating) their currency. When wages become too high compared to productivity in exports sector then these exports become more expensive and they are crowded out from the market within a country and abroad. This drive fall of employment and output in the exports sector and fall of trade and current account balances. Fall of output and employment in tradable goods sector may be offset by the growth of non-exports sectors, especially in construction and services. Increased purchases abroad and negative current account balance can be financed without a problem as long as credit is cheap. The need to finance trade deficit weakens currency making exports automatically more attractive in a country and abroad. A state in a monetary union cannot use weakening of currency to recover its international competitiveness. To achieve this a state has to reduce prices, including wages ( deflation). This could result in high unemployment and lower incomes as it was during European sovereign-debt crisis.

A 2009 consensus from the studies of the introduction of the euro concluded that it has increased trade within the eurozone by 5% to 10%, although one study suggested an increase of only 3% while another estimated 9 to 14%. However, a meta-analysis of all available studies suggests that the prevalence of positive estimates is caused by publication bias and that the underlying effect may be negligible. Although a more recent meta-analysis shows that publication bias decreases over time and that there are positive trade effects from the introduction of the euro, as long as results from before 2010 are taken into account. This may be because of the inclusion of the Financial crisis of 2007-2008 and ongoing integration within the EU. Furthermore, older studies accounting for time trend reflecting general cohesion policies in Europe that started before, and continue after implementing the common currency find no effect on trade. These results suggest that other policies aimed at European integration might be the source of observed increase in trade.

Physical investment seems to have increased by 5% in the eurozone due to the introduction. Regarding foreign direct investment, a study found that the intra-eurozone FDI stocks have increased by about 20% during the first four years of the EMU. Concerning the effect on corporate investment, there is evidence that the introduction of the euro has resulted in an increase in investment rates and that it has made it easier for firms to access financing in Europe. The euro has most specifically stimulated investment in companies that come from countries that previously had weak currencies. A study found that the introduction of the euro accounts for 22% of the investment rate after 1998 in countries that previously had a weak currency.

The introduction of the euro has led to extensive discussion about its possible effect on inflation. In the short term, there was a widespread impression in the population of the eurozone that the introduction of the euro had led to an increase in prices, but this impression was not confirmed by general indices of inflation and other studies. A study of this paradox found that this was due to an asymmetric effect of the introduction of the euro on prices: while it had no effect on most goods, it had an effect on cheap goods which have seen their price round up after the introduction of the euro. The study found that consumers based their beliefs on inflation of those cheap goods which are frequently purchased. It has also been suggested that the jump in small prices may be because prior to the introduction, retailers made fewer upward adjustments and waited for the introduction of the euro to do so.

One of the advantages of the adoption of a common currency is the reduction of the risk associated with changes in currency exchange rates. It has been found that the introduction of the euro created "significant reductions in market risk exposures for nonfinancial firms both in and outside Europe". These reductions in market risk "were concentrated in firms domiciled in the eurozone and in non-euro firms with a high fraction of foreign sales or assets in Europe".

The introduction of the euro seems to have had a strong effect on European financial integration. According to a study on this question, it has "significantly reshaped the European financial system, especially with respect to the securities markets [...] However, the real and policy barriers to integration in the retail and corporate banking sectors remain significant, even if the wholesale end of banking has been largely integrated." Specifically, the euro has significantly decreased the cost of trade in bonds, equity, and banking assets within the eurozone. On a global level, there is evidence that the introduction of the euro has led to an integration in terms of investment in bond portfolios, with eurozone countries lending and borrowing more between each other than with other countries.

As of January 2014, and since the introduction of the euro, interest rates of most member countries (particularly those with a weak currency) have decreased. Some of these countries had the most serious sovereign financing problems.

The effect of declining interest rates, combined with excess liquidity continually provided by the ECB, made it easier for banks within the countries in which interest rates fell the most, and their linked sovereigns, to borrow significant amounts (above the 3% of GDP budget deficit imposed on the eurozone initially) and significantly inflate their public and private debt levels. Following the financial crisis of 2007-2008, governments in these countries found it necessary to bail out or nationalise their privately held banks to prevent systemic failure of the banking system when underlying hard or financial asset values were found to be grossly inflated and sometimes so near worthless there was no liquid market for them. This further increased the already high levels of public debt to a level the markets began to consider unsustainable, via increasing government bond interest rates, producing the ongoing European sovereign-debt crisis.

The evidence on the convergence of prices in the eurozone with the introduction of the euro is mixed. Several studies failed to find any evidence of convergence following the introduction of the euro after a phase of convergence in the early 1990s. Other studies have found evidence of price convergence, in particular for cars. A possible reason for the divergence between the different studies is that the processes of convergence may not have been linear, slowing down substantially between 2000 and 2003, and resurfacing after 2003 as suggested by a recent study (2009).

A study suggests that the introduction of the euro has had a positive effect on the amount of tourist travel within the EMU, with an increase of 6.5%.

The ECB targets interest rates rather than exchange rates and in general, does not intervene on the foreign exchange rate markets. This is because of the implications of the Mundell-Fleming model, which implies a central bank cannot (without capital controls) maintain interest rate and exchange rate targets simultaneously, because increasing the money supply results in a depreciation of the currency. In the years following the Single European Act, the EU has liberalised its capital markets and, as the ECB has inflation targeting as its monetary policy, the exchange-rate regime of the euro is floating.

The euro is the second-most widely held reserve currency after the U.S. dollar. After its introduction on 4 January 1999 its exchange rate against the other major currencies fell reaching its lowest exchange rates in 2000 (3 May vs Pound sterling, 25 October vs the U.S. dollar, 26 October vs Japanese yen). Afterwards it regained and its exchange rate reached its historical highest point in 2008 (15 July vs U.S. dollar, 23 July vs Japanese yen, 29 December vs Pound sterling). With the advent of the global financial crisis the euro initially fell, to regain later. Despite pressure due to the European sovereign-debt crisis the euro remained stable. In November 2011 the euro's exchange rate index - measured against currencies of the bloc's major trading partners - was trading almost two percent higher on the year, approximately at the same level as it was before the crisis kicked off in 2007.

Current and historical exchange rates against 32 other currencies (European Central Bank): link

Besides the economic motivations to the introduction of the euro, its creation was also partly justified as a way to foster a closer sense of joint identity between European citizens. Statements about this goal were for instance made by Wim Duisenberg, European Central Bank Governor, in 1998, Laurent Fabius, French Finance Minister, in 2000, and Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, in 2002. However, 15 years after the introduction of the euro, a study found no evidence that it has had a positive influence on a shared sense of European identity (and no evidence that it had a negative effect either).

The formal titles of the currency are euro for the major unit and cent for the minor (one-hundredth) unit and for official use in most eurozone languages; according to the ECB, all languages should use the same spelling for the nominative singular. This may contradict normal rules for word formation in some languages, e.g., those in which there is no eu diphthong. Bulgaria has negotiated an exception; euro in the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet is spelled as eвро ( evro) and not eуро ( euro) in all official documents. In the Greek script the term ευρώ (evró) is used; the Greek "cent" coins are denominated in λεπτό/ά (leptó/á). Official practice for English-language EU legislation is to use the words euro and cent as both singular and plural, although the European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation states that the plural forms euros and cents should be used in English.

Bartram, Söhnke M.; Taylor, Stephen J.; Wang, Yaw-Huei (May 2007). "The Euro and European Financial Market Dependence". Journal of Banking and Finance. 51 (5): 1461-1481. doi:10.1016/j.jbankfin.2006.07.014. SSRN .

Bartram, Söhnke M.; Karolyi, G. Andrew (October 2006). "The Impact of the Introduction of the Euro on Foreign Exchange Rate Risk Exposures". Journal of Empirical Finance. 13 (4-5): 519-549. doi:10.1016/j.jempfin.2006.01.002. SSRN .

Baldwin, Richard; Wyplosz, Charles (2004). The Economics of European Integration. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-710394-1.

Buti, Marco; Deroose, Servaas; Gaspar, Vitor; Nogueira Martins, João (2010). The Euro. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-92-79-09842-0.

Jordan, Helmuth (2010). "Fehlschlag Euro". Dorrance Publishing. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010.

Simonazzi, A.; Vianello, F. (2001). "Financial Liberalization, the European Single Currency and the Problem of Unemployment". In Franzini, R.; Pizzuti, R.F. (eds.). Globalization, Institutions and Social Cohesion. Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-67741-3.

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The euro ( symbol: ; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is known as the eurozone or euro area and includes about 343 million citizens as of 2019.

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Toy Shop Money is a game for helping children understand Euros. There are two game modes; the first where children use coins to make up varying amounts to buy the toys and the second where they work out change.

This money game is suitable for children from 4 to 11 years of age as it has varying levels of difficulty. The easiest levels involve working out amounts with coins of the same denomination and the activities progress from counting out amounts with mixed coins to working out change from up to €10.

The game also supports other currencies including British, Australian and US money.

AGE

4-11 Years

SUBJECTS

Maths Money

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A shopping game where children work out which coins will buy toy shop items and where they can calculate change. Suitable for children 4 - 11 years and tablet-friendly. Different levels of difficulty and currencies - GBP, USD, AUD, EUR.

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There are eleven currencies of the European Union as of 2018 used officially by member states. The euro accounts for the majority of the member states.

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List of currencies in Europe - Wikipedia

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The pound sterling, used by the United Kingdom, is rated at fourth on Investopedia's list of the top 8 most tradable currencies, saying that it is a "little bit more volatile than the euro".

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Can't get enough geography? We're right there with you. The world is a big, beautiful, fascinating place. Here are a few interesting geography facts related to Europe.
1. Europe is home to two countries that are completely landlocked by Italy.

2. Vatican City is also the smallest country in the world.

3. Europe has some unique place names.

There are seven different villages in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway with the name Å, which means river in Scandinavian languages, making Europe home to some of the shortest named places in the world.

Conversely, a large village on the island of Anglesey in Wales is called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. The long form of the name was invented for promotional purposes in the 1860s, and with 58 characters, it is the longest place name in Europe

4. Rome was the first city in the world to reach a population of 1 million people.

5. Istanbul is the largest city in the world that is on two different continents.

6. Finland and North Korea are separated by just one country.

We mentioned that Russia is also part of Asia. Did you know Russia is also huge ? It spans a whopping 11 time zones! Due to its large size, Russia shares a border with Finland in the west, and shares a small land border with North Korea in the eastern part of the country.

7. Norway has a lot of fjords.

8. The Mediterranean Sea is home to many beautiful islands.

9. Monaco is the most densely populated nation in the world.

10. Spain means 'land of the rabbits'.
Like this article? Check out this post on North America and this one on South America to learn interesting geography facts about other continents.
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It is a region shrouded in mystery. For years, the Bermuda Triangle has captured the imaginations of many, largely due to a number of unexplained disappearances of ships and planes in the region. Explanations for [...]

This North American countries and capitals list is a good point of reference for those trying to master the Capitals of North America. Named after the explorer Americo Vespucci over 500 million people live in [...]

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Interesting Geography Facts - Europe | Sporcle Blog

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Can't get enough geography? We're right there with you. The world is a big, beautiful, fascinating place. Here are a few interesting geography facts related to Europe. There are seven different villages in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway with the name Å, which means river in Scandinavian languages, making Europe home to some of the shortest named places in the world.

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Kids learn about Europe and the countries of Europe. Facts such as geography, flags, maps, exports, natural resouces, and languages.

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Our Europe Facts for Kids share lots of interesting and fun facts on the European continent.

Europe is the second smallest continent in size but the third largest in population.

The European continent houses land area of 50 countries. However, of these 50 countries only 44 have their capital city on the European continent!

Of the European countries, 27 nations belong to the European Union (EU) which is a political and economic union. Read more about the EU on our special page here.

Now we share 20 facts about Europe everyone should know. Let's start!

Top 20 Europe Facts

1. The European continent is located completely in the northern hemisphere and mainly in the eastern hemisphere.

Europe borders onto the Arctic Ocean in the North, the Atlantic Ocean in the West and the Mediterranean Sea in the South.

2. There are 50 countries in Europe with a total of more than 742 million people living on the continent in 2023.

Click on the flags to learn more about these countries in Europe (further countries will follow!):

3. Largest country: The European part of Russia covers more area than any other country. The three largest countries completely located in Europe are: The Ukraine and France. Read our Ukraine facts here.

4. Largest capital city: Moscow. The Russian capital city houses more than 13 million inhabitants within the city limits. Saint Petersburg is Russia's second largest city with 5.3 million inhabitants. Moscow is the largest city that is entirely on the European continent!

5. Smallest country: Vatican City is the smallest country not only in Europe, but also in the world. The city state, an enclave within Italy, is the smallest country both by population and by size. Read more about Vatican City here.

6. Biggest island: The biggest island on the European continent is the isle of Great Britain/ UK. Greenland is the largest island which belongs to Europe as the island belongs to Denmark. Greenland is commonly referred to as the largest island in the world. Greenland, however, is located on the North American continent!

7. Smallest town: Hum in Croatia is the smallest town not only in Europe but in the world. The town has only 30 inhabitants. Read more about Croatia here.

8. Most populous city: Istanbul, the biggest city in Turkey is commonly referred to as Europe's largest city. However, Istanbul is located on two continents: the western part belongs to Europe while the eastern parts belongs to the Asian continent. Istanbul houses about 17 million people. Read about Turkey/Türkiye here.

However, the most populous city that is located entirely in Europe is Moscow!

9. Most densely populated country: Monaco. The principality bordering the Mediterranean is the most densely populated country in the world.

10. Europe is the continent with the highest population density, which means on the European continent live the biggest number of people per square kilometre or square mile.

11. Northernmost town: Ny-Ålesundon Svalbard in Norway. Only about 35 people live there all year round, but in summer, there are about 120 people staying in the town. The town is used as a base for explorations and research.

12. Northernmost capital city: Reykjavík in Iceland is Europe's and the world's most northern capital city. Read more about Iceland here.

13. Largest landlocked country: Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in Europe and in the world. 18 million people live in Kazakhstan which is among the ten biggest countries in the world. However, only about one fifth of the country's land area is located on the European continent. The largest landlocked country located entirely on the European continent is the Czech Republic.

Landlocked countries in Europe: Many countries in Europe, mainly in central Europe, do not have access to an Ocean and share national borders only with other countries. These are landlocked countries in Europe:

Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Slovakia, Serbia, Moldova, Macedonia, San Marino and Vatican City.

San Marino and Vatican City are landlocked inside Italy, and Liechtenstein is double landlocked as it is landlocked also by countries Austria and Switzerland that are also landlocked by other countries.

14. Highest mountain: Mount Elbrus in Russia (5,642 m/ 18,510 ft) is the highest mountain in Europe. The mountain is part of the Caucasus mountain range.

The highest peak in the European Alps is Mont Blanc. The mountain which is 4,810 m/ 15,781 ft high sits on the border of Italy and France. The Alps are also the longest and highest mountain range that is located entirely in Europe!

15. Longest river: The Volga River in Russia is Europe's longest river. It is 3,692 km/ 2,295 miles long.

16. Most important commercial waterway: Danube. The river that flows through ten countries is the second longest river in Europe with 2,860 km/ 1,777 miles.

17. Largest port: The port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands is the largest and busiest container port in Europe.

18. Longest Coastline: Norway has the longest coastline in Europe with over 100,000 km/ 62,000 miles; and it is the second longest in the world. Read more about Norway.

19. Biggest Lake: Lake Ladoga near Saint Petersburg in Russia is Europe's biggest lake and one of the world's largest freshwater lakes. The lake is slightly smaller than Lake Ontario, which borders the USA and Canada.

20. Largest waterfalls: The Rhine Falls in Switzerland is the largest plain waterfall in Europe. They are 150 m/ 492 ft wide and 23 m/ 75 ft high.

More Facts about Europe

Europe Facts | People: About 10% of the world's population lives in Europe. In Russia, about 78% of the population, that is more than 110 million people live in the European part of the the world's largest country. Most of the European population groups, almost 90%, belong to one of the three Indo-European language groups of the Slavic, Romance and Germanic language groups.

According to the World Happiness Report from 2018 - 2020, the World's happiest people live in Finland - and they won for the last three years in a row!

Europe Facts | Languages: Most European languages belong to either the Romance languages (such as French, Italian, Spanish), the Germanic languages (among them are German, English) or the Slavic languages (among them Russian, Bulgarian, Polish). Russian is the language with most native speakers (about 100 million), while English as the ' lingua franca' is the language spoken by most people as first and second language (about 270 million people). The five most spoken native languages in Europe are Russian, German, French English, Turkish and Italian.

Europe Facts | Religion: Most of the European people are Christians (76%) and there are smaller numbers of Muslims (6%) and Jews and other beliefs. About 18% of all Europeans consider themselves as atheist or not religious.

Europe Facts | Animals: In Europe, there are 270 species of mammals, such as boar, bat, deer, hare and otter. Of all mammal species 15% are endangered among them the wolf, bear and the lynx. There are 75 species of amphibians in Europe, most of them are endemic species in Southern Europe such as newts and salamanders. Slightly more than half of the 800 European bird species breed in Europe, all others migrate to warmer regions during the cold winter months.

Europe Facts | Natural resources: Metals such as zinc and silver and minerals such as copper, iron ore and coal are found in Europe. Some areas in northern Europe have deposits of natural gas and oil. Common agricultural produce that are farmed in Europe are wheat, potatoes, olives, grapes, oranges.

Europe Facts | Agriculture: About 39% of the land area in Europe is grassland or used for growing crops. The most common crops are cereals such as wheat, maize and barley as well as sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables and fruits and wine. France is Europe's biggest producer of agricultural products.

Europe Facts | History: The first humans appeared on the continent about 35,000 BC. The Minoan civilisation in the Bronze Age is seen as the first culture establishing trade and 'technology' from 2700BC. Among the many ethnic groups of the continent, the Greek tribes and the Germanic and the Italic people (later also the Roman Empire) had vast influences on the whole region as had the Celts. Later during the Middle Ages, the population increased due to the Vikings, Mongols, Huns, Magyars, Tartars and many other peoples that arrived and settled in the area. Europe's modern history is largely influenced by wars, such as the 30-Year-War (1618-1648), the French Revolution (1789) and the two World Wars in the 20th century. During World War I (1914-1918) more than 8 million people lost their lives and in World War II (1939-1945) over 18 million people died on the battlefields, during bombardment of the towns and cities and in Nazi concentration camps. In 1993, the European Union was established which today includes 28 countries.

Europe Facts | Landmarks: Five out of the top ten tourist destinations in the world are located in Europe. France is the number 1 tourist destination in the world with about 90 million international tourist arrivals per year.

Among the most visited tourist sites and landmarks in Europe are:

Tower of London in the UK

Eiffel Tower in France

Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany

Alhambra in Spain

Kremlin in Russia

Acropolis in Greece

Foro Romano in Italy

Read about the world's top landmarks you really should know. Click here.
Now test your Europe Geo Knowledge with our Europe Quiz

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Europe Facts | Kids World Travel Guide | Geography | Landmarks

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Read here our Europe facts for kids with interesting and fun facts about the countries in Europe

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Test your learning

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Seterra is an entertaining and educational geography game that lets you explore the world and learn about its countries, capitals, flags, oceans, lakes and more! You can access the Seterra online quiz site using your computer, phone, or tablet running the latest version of most web browsers, including Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer.

There's also a Seterra app that runs on iOS and Android phones and tablets! The Seterra app offers two game modes, plus high score lists to keep track of your progress. Also, with the app, you can play offline!

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This flag quiz game tests you on 38 of the most recognizable flags in Europe, but they're not exactly what you'd call unique. You'll see a lot of different colored crosses on either a red, white or blue field. Not sure which double-headed eagle is Albanian, and which is Montenegrin?

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From geography to history to languages.

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Europe: a beautiful continent with a fascinating history. It has produced many of the world's famous scientists, inventors, artists and composers, as well as popular entertainers and successful sports people. For centuries Europe was plagued by wars and divisions.

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* European Union Facts
* Countries, flags and capitals
* European Landmarks
* European Geography
* European History
* Money of Europe
* Languages (French, German, Spanish, Italian)
* Facts on European countries not in the EU?

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Scottish European Educational Trust - Euroquiz Resources

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Copyright © Scottish European Educational Trust.

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Facts about the European Union

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Kids learn about the Geography of European Union. The history, capital, flag, climate, terrain, people, economy, and population.