Human Geography of Europe
Human Geography
48 countries and micro-states
 732 million people
 One of the most densely populated
realms in the world.
 The core of Western civilization:
Greek and Roman
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Population Dilemma
-0.2 natural increase (Stage 5)
 9% drop by 2050
 Aging or graying population
 More people over 60 in some countries
than under 20
 Immigration from North Africa and
Middle East is complicated and
divisive.
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Population Density
 Netherlands
over 1000 ppsm
 United Kingdom 630 ppsm
 Germany 599 ppsm
 France 282 ppsm
 United States 80 ppsm
The European Union
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27 countries
Brought together primarily as an economic
and political venture.
Capitals – Brussels and Strasbourg
Seemingly borderless continent
Dropping of tariffs but increasingly
legalistic with rules and controls
Cultural nation-state issues are still very
important.
The EURO
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22 European countries use the currency
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16 EU countries plus several smaller non-EU
countries use it.
Which major EU countries chose not to use it?
 UK,
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Denmark, Sweden
Established in1999
Banknotes an coins began in 2002
Paper money looks the same throughout,
coins have national symbols on them.
The EURO
Nation-States
Related to the ethnic and cultural
aspects that have evolved throughout
history.
 Directly tied to a piece of territory.
 Conflict and war have been associated
with boundary systems of the nationstate.
 Dates to the Peace of Westphalia in
1648
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Multi-Lingual Region
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Language families:
Latin (Romance)
 Germanic
 Slavic
 Celtic
 Finno-Urgic
 Baltic
 Hellenic
 Thracian-Illyrian
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Latin – Italian, Spanish, French,
Portuguese, Romanian
Germanic – German, English, Norwegian,
Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic
Slavic – Russian, Polish, Czech,
Ukrainian, Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian
 Celtic – Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic,
Welsh, Breton
 Finno-Urgic – Finnish, Estonian,
Hungarian
 Baltic – Lithuanian, Latvian
 Hellenic – Greek
 Thraco-Illyrian - Albanian
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Religion dominated by Christianity
Religion’s Geographic Division
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Division of Europe is essentially a
North/South divide.
Southern Europe remains largely Catholic
as a result of the influence of the Roman
Empire and the Vatican City’s primacy.
Northern Europe developed into a
Protestant realm after the Protestant
Reformation beginning with Luther in 1519.
The Catholic South
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Focal point is the Vatican within Rome.
Countries that are pre-dominantly Catholic
are: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Croatia,
Ireland, Poland, Slovenia, Czech and Slovak
Republics, Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, and
Latvia.
Also, southern Germany, southeastern
Switzerland, southern Netherlands, eastern
Belgium, and a sizable minority in England.
The Protestant North
 Pre-dominantly
Protestant nations
are: United Kingdom, Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia,
and Iceland.
 Also, northern half of Germany,
northern Netherlands, western
Belgium, and western Switzerland.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Primarily found in Eastern Europe.
 Countries such as: Greece, Russia,
Serbia, Ukraine, Montenegro,
Macedonia, Bulgaria, Belarus,
Romania, and Moldova.
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Islam in Europe
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Islam is on the rise with over 30 million in
Europe today.
Primarily coming from North Africa,
Middle East, and South Asia.
Significant numbers in France, United
Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany,
Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark.
Pre-dominant Muslim countries include:
Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Malta.
Clash of Cultures
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France and the headscarf issue
Train bombing in Spain – post 9/11
Subway and bus bombings in the UK
Murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van
Gogh
Danish cartoon controversy
Minaret ban in Switzerland
The Jews of Europe
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Jews once numbered over 9.5 million.
The Holocaust cost 6 million Jews their lives.
Only 1.2 million Jews remain in Europe
(excluding Russia).
Largest concentrations in cities such as
London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and
Antwerp.
Recent Conflict and Resolution
 The
Cold War and the Fall of the
Iron Curtain
 The Balkanization of Yugoslavia
 The “Troubles” of Northern
Ireland
The Iron Curtain and it’s Fall
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Communist Soviet Union sets up satellite
governments in Eastern Europe after
WWII
The Berlin Wall
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Erected in 1961 in an attempt by the East
German government to prevent people
from fleeing to the West.
The Fall of the Wall
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After the failure of communism becomes
evident, East German police no longer
stop people as they begin to tear down
the wall.
This began on the night of November 9,
1989
The Chain Effect
 From
1989 – 1991 a domino
effect across Eastern Europe and
the Soviet Union led to the
dissolution of communist
governments.
 Subsequently, new (old) nations
emerged, boundaries changed,
and new maps were created.
On the Map
15 independent countries came from
the 1 former Soviet Union
 Germany was re-unified as one
country
 Czechoslovakia would become two
nations
 Yugoslavia would violently become 6
independent nations (7 if Kosovo is
included)
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The Balkanization of
Yugoslavia
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10 years after the death of Yugoslavia’s
dictator Marshal Joseph Tito, and as the
Iron Curtain fell, Yugoslavia would begin a
violent implosion.
Several former independent nations
starting with Slovenia and Croatia in 1991,
begin to declare their independence.
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Yugoslav President and Serbian nationalist
Slobodan Milosevic reacts with military force.
The Bosnian War
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After the central region of BosniaHerzogovina declares its independence,
Serb militias, with backing from Milosevic
begin an attack on ethnic Bosnian Muslims
that becomes a modern day genocide.
From 1992-95 over 250,000 people would
be killed and the beautiful capital city of
Sarajevo would be nearly destroyed.
Sarajevo – 1984 Winter Olympics
Kosovo (90% ethnic Albanian)
Northern Ireland
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Part of the United
Kingdom
Northern 6 counties of
Ireland
Only part of the UK in 1921
1960’s began to see
violence in Northern
Ireland between
Catholic/Irish and
Protestant/British.
3,400 people have been
killed in fighting over the
years.
Future?
Currently approximately 55%
British/Protestant
 44% Irish/Catholic
 Birthrates suggest a more balanced
and possible Irish majority in the
years to come.
 Will it lead to Ulster becoming part of
the Republic of Ireland?
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