Western Europe is a region of special history, culture, politics and economics. This is the core and foundation of the modern European Union. Here the fate of hundreds of millions of people, representatives of several tens of different nationalities, which, however, coexist in a single economic and political space, is intertwined.
Territory
Western Europe is a region distinguished by geographical, linguistic, cultural, political and national characteristics. Historically, 11 countries belong to the Western European region: Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco. However, there is much debate about the countries belonging to this list. So, some scientists distinguish Great Britain and Ireland in a separate region, while others attribute Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Central Europe. There is no agreement on the status of their neighbors. There is a theory of “Greater Western Europe”, where Spain, Portugal, Andorra, San Marino, Vatican, Italy, Czech Republic and Slovakia are added to the group of countries mentioned above. At the moment, the UN is dominant, which places 9 out of 11 states in this region, excluding the UK and Ireland.
Western Europe extends over a little more than 1, 231, 000 kilometers, which is about 12-13% of the total area of the Old World.
Population
The population of nine countries of the Western European region is approximately 202 million people. It is here that the largest population countries are located, located entirely in Europe - Germany and France. Together in these two countries live 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 Monaco. Flemish is the official language of Belgium, spoken by 58% of the country's population. Monaco and Luxembourgish are the main languages of Monaco and Luxembourg, respectively. Almost every state in Western Europe, with the exception of Germany and France, speaks two or more languages. For example, Switzerland uses three official languages - German, French and Italian.
The main religion is Christianity, represented by all major faiths.
An interesting fact is that most of the West 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 immediately followed its collapse. The first such state can be considered the Frankish Kingdom, which was formed in the 5th century AD and is considered the forerunner of modern France. The last formed 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 local knights who went on crusades, it was here in the 16th century that Protestantism arose - a new Christian movement. 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 alternations of friendship and rivalry. It is known for certain that contacts between Western European states and our country existed as far back as the 11th century: Anna, 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. Ever since Since then, relations between countries are a series of wars and participation in allied blocs, economic support and embargoes, cultural exchange and deliberate military isolation. Russia fought against the West 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 peaked in the 19th century, when almost all of the Russian nobility spoke French and German. Unfortunately, in the 20th century this interest has weakened and has only just begun to revive in the last two decades.
Culture
The culture of Western Europe is permeated by Christian influence, the echoes of which are still felt. One of the main attractions of European cities is the majestic Gothic cathedrals, for example: the cathedral in Cologne and Notre Dame de Paris in the capital of France.
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, which has been forming since the 1960s.
Even earlier, the great French architect Le Corbusier formulated the "five starting points of architecture", to one degree or another, shaped the face of many modern Western European cities. These rules: pillars, flat roofs, terraces, free layout, ribbon windows and a free facade.
Economy
Western Europe is one of the main driving forces of the global economy. Today, Western European countries account for 24% of the total GDP of the planet or slightly less than 40 thousand euros per inhabitant. The highest rate in Luxembourg is 73 thousand per capita. The lowest rate 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 than it receives.
The main trading partners of Western European countries include China, Japan, the United States and Russia. The main export items: machines, equipment and computers, which indicates the orientation of the economy on the development of high technologies. Import is directly related to the availability of natural resources.
In general, 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 - the western (Germany) and the eastern (GDR). Germany ranks 62nd in the world in area and 16th in population. Over 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 rate. The migration balance is skewed towards immigration: in 2013, 1.2 million people came to Germany, and 700 thousand left.
The capital and largest city is Berlin, whose population is more than 3.5 million people. The official language of the state is German. Germany is divided into 16 federal states.
