Western Europe is a region of special history, culture, politics and economy. It is the core and foundation of the modern European Union. The destinies of hundreds of millions of people are intertwined here, representatives of several dozen different nationalities, who, however, get along in a single economic and political space.
Territory
Western Europe is a region distinguished by geographical, linguistic, cultural, political and national features. Historically, the Western European region includes 11 countries: Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco. However, there are many disputes about the ownership of countries from this list. So, some scientists single out Great Britain and Ireland as a separate region, while others attribute Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Central Europe. There is also no agreement on the status of their neighbors. There is a theory of "great Western Europe", where Spain, Portugal, Andorra, San Marino, the Vatican, Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are added to the group of countries mentioned above. At the moment, the opinion of the UN prevails, whichplaces 9 out of 11 states in this region, excluding the UK and Ireland.
Western Europe stretches for a little over 1,231,000 kilometers, which is approximately 12-13% of the total area of the Old World.
Population
The population of nine countries in the Western European region is approximately 202 million people. It is here that the largest countries in terms of population, located entirely in Europe - Germany and France are located. Together, these two countries are home to 16% of the total population of the Old World.
Western Europe is multilingual, although there are only eight main languages: French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Luxembourgish and Monegasque. Flemish is the official language of Belgium, spoken by 58% of the country's population. Monegasque and Luxembourgish are the main languages of Monaco and Luxembourg respectively. Almost every country in Western Europe, with the exception of Germany and France, speaks two or more languages. For example, Switzerland has three official languages - German, French and Italian.
The main religion is Christianity, represented by all major denominations.
An interesting fact is that most of the Western European population lives in cities.
A brief history of the region
Modern Western Europe was formed on the ruins of the Roman Empire: the beginning of the formation of nation-states followed immediately after its collapse. The first such state can be considered the Frankish Kingdom,formed in the 5th century AD and considered the forerunner of modern France. The last to form modern Germany, it happened at the end of the 19th century.
Despite the Muslim conquests in Southern Europe, the western part of the continent has always remained Christian. It was the local knights who went on crusades, it was here that Protestantism, a new Christian movement, arose in the 16th century. In the 20th century, almost in full force (excluding Switzerland), the countries of Western Europe joined NATO, one of the two world military-political blocs.
Western Europe and Russia
The history of relations between Western Europe and Russia is a history of alternating friendship and rivalry. It is known for certain that contacts between Western European states and our country existed as early as the 11th century: Anna, the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, was married to the French king Henry I. However, economic and political ties became widespread after the “great embassy” of Peter I. Since then Since then, the relationship between countries has been a series of wars and participation in allied blocs, economic support and embargoes, cultural exchange and conscious military isolation. Russia fought against the Western European states in both world wars, in the Seven Years' War, in the Patriotic War of 1812, in the Crimean War and many others. Cultural exchange reached its peak in the 19th century, when almost the entire Russian nobility spoke French and German. Unfortunately, this interest waned in the 20th century and has only just begun to revive in the last two decades.
Culture
The culture of Western Europe is permeated with Christian influence, the echoes of which are still felt today. Some of the main attractions of European cities are the majestic Gothic cathedrals, for example: the cathedral in Cologne and Notre Dame de Paris in the French capital.
Western Europe has always been the flagship of current trends in culture and art: in the 18th century it was classicism, in the 19th - romanticism, modernism and postmodernism in the 20th. At the moment, Western Europe, like the rest of the world, is dominated by pop culture that has been taking shape since the 1960s.
Even earlier, the great French architect Le Corbusier formulated the “five starting points of architecture”, which, to one degree or another, shaped the appearance of many modern Western European cities. Here are the rules: poles, flat roof terraces, open floor plan, ribbon windows, and free façade.
Economy
Western Europe is one of the main driving forces of the global economy. Today, the share of Western European countries accounts for 24% of the total GDP of the planet, or a little less than 40 thousand euros per inhabitant. The highest figure in Luxembourg is 73 thousand per capita. The lowest figure in France is 29.3 thousand.
The development of Western Europe directly depends on the development of its main driving forces - Germany, France and the Netherlands, which are a kind of "donor" of the European Union. Thus, Germany gives 12 million euros more thanreceives.
The main trading partners of Western European countries are China, Japan, the US and Russia. The main export items are machinery, equipment and computers, which indicates the orientation of the economy towards the development of high technologies. Imports are directly related to the availability of natural resources.
Overall, the economy of Western Europe is marked by low unemployment, low inflation and sustainable development.
Germany
United Germany is a young state that was formed in 1990 by combining two parts - western (FRG) and eastern (GDR). Germany ranks 62nd in the world in terms of area and 16th in terms of population. More than 82 million people live on its territory. Germany is in 5th place in the world in terms of GDP and 4th in the Human Development Index (very high).
Despite the fact that Germany is a secular country, 65% of Germans profess Christianity. This is a very high figure. The migration balance is skewed towards immigration: in 2013, 1.2 million people arrived in Germany, and 700 thousand left.
The capital and largest city is Berlin, with a population of over 3.5 million. The official language of the state is German. Germany is divided into 16 federal states.
France
France is the largest country in Western Europe by area, ranking 48th in the world by this indicator. The population of the country is just over 66 million, including 2 million living in overseas territories. By GDP and HDI Franceconcedes to Germany, nevertheless occupying leading positions in these indicators - 8th and 21st places in the world, respectively.
18 regions and 101 departments form the administrative-territorial division of France. Most of the population professes Catholicism. The capital and largest city is Paris - its population is about 2.2 million people. French is recognized as the official language. It is spoken by most of the country's population.
In the French economy, industry, agriculture, energy, mining, trade and tourism play a significant role. The latter annually brings to the treasury more than 40 billion dollars.
