Southern Europe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Southern Europe is the southern region of the European continent. Most definitions of Southern Europe,
also known as Mediterranean Europe, include the countries of the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal),
the Italian peninsula, Southern France, Greece and Malta.[1] Other definitions sometimes include the
Balkan countries of Southeast Europe, which are geographically technically in the southern part of
Europe, but which have different historical, political, economic, and cultural backgrounds that commonly
places them in the category of Eastern Europe.

Different methods can be used to define Southern Europe,

including its political, economic, and cultural attributes.
Southern Europe can also be defined by its natural features
its geography, climate, and flora.

Contents
1 Geography
2 Climate
3 Flora
4 Population Geographic features of Southern European
countries surrounding the Mediterranean
4.1 Largest urban areas
Sea
5 History
5.1 Early history
5.2 Post-Middle Ages
5.3 20th century
6 Languages
6.1 Romance languages
6.2 Other languages
7 Transport
8 Religion
9 Other classifications
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References

European sub-regions according to EuroVoc

(the thesaurus of the European Union).
Geography Southern Europe is marked yellow on this
map.
Geographically, Southern Europe is the southern half of the
landmass of Europe. This definition is relative, with no clear limits.

Countries geographically considered part of Southern Europe include:

Southwestern Europe

Countries whose borders lie within Southwestern Europe:

Countries whose borders lie within Southwestern Europe:

Andorra
France (only southern France)
Gibraltar
Monaco
Portugal
Spain

South-Central Europe

Countries whose borders lie within South-Central Europe:

Italy (sometimes excluding northern Italy)[2]

San Marino
Vatican City

Southeastern Europe

Countries whose borders lie within Southeastern Europe (Balkan peninsula):

Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Greece
Kosovo[a]
Macedonia
Montenegro
Romania
Serbia
Slovenia
Turkey (only East Thrace)[3][4][5]

Island countries

Cyprus
Malta

Major islands

Sardinia and Sicily

Corsica
Crete
Balearic islands

Climate

Southern Europe's most emblematic climate is that of the

Southern Europe's most emblematic climate is that of the
Mediterranean climate, which has become a typically known
characteristic of the area. The Mediterranean climate covers
much of Portugal, Spain, Southeast France, Italy, Croatia,
Albania, Montenegro, Greece, the Western and Southern
coastal regions of Turkey as well as the Mediterranean
islands. Those areas of Mediterranean climate present
similar vegetations and landscapes throughout, including dry
hills, small plains, pine forests and olive trees.

Cooler climates can be found in certain parts of Southern

Climates in Southern Europe according to
European countries, for example within the mountain ranges
the Kppen climate classification:
of Spain and Italy. Additionally, the north coast of Spain
Csa: Subtropical mediterranean climate
experiences a wetter Atlantic climate.
Csb: Temperate mediterranean climate

Flora Cfa: Humid subtropical climate

Cfb: Temperate oceanic climate
Southern Europe's flora is that of the Mediterranean Region, Dfb: Humid continental climate
one of the phytochoria recognized by Armen Takhtajan. The
Mediterranean and Submediterranean climate regions in
Europe are found in much of Southern Europe, mainly in Southern
Portugal, most of Spain, the southern coast of France, Italy, the
Croatian coast, much of Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia,
Albania, Macedonia, Greece, and the Mediterranean islands.[6]

Population

The European floristic regions

Mediterranean agriculture in
coastal and peri-coastal regions
 Population
Area Population
Country density Capital
(km) (2010 est.)
(per km)
Albania 28,748 2,821,977 111.1 Tirana
Andorra 468 84,082 179.8 Andorra la Vella
Bosnia and Herzegovina 51,129 4,613,414 90.2 Sarajevo
Bulgaria 110,994 7,364,570 77 Sofia
Croatia 56,594 4,489,409 81 Zagreb
Gibraltar (UK) 6.8 29,431 4,328 Gibraltar
Greece 131,990 11,295,002 85.3 Athens
Italy 301,338 60,418,711 200.5 Rome
Kosovo 10,908 1,859,203 170.4 Prishtina
Macedonia 25,713 2,114,550 82.2 Skopje
Malta 316 412,966 1,306.8 Valletta
Montenegro 13,812 672,181 50 Podgorica
Portugal 92,090 11,317,192 114 Lisbon
San Marino 61 31,716 501 City of San Marino
Serbia 77,474 7,120,666 102.46 Belgrade
Slovenia 20,273 2,054,199 99.6 Ljubljana
Spain 504,030 46,030,109 93 Madrid
Turkey (East Thrace) 23,764 10,620,739 446.9 Ankara
Vatican City 0.44 826 1877 Vatican City
Total 1,338,694 164,127,170 122.60

Largest urban areas

 Density
Rank Urban Area State Population[7]
(per km)
1 stanbul (European part) Turkey 8,963,431 2,620
2 Madrid Spain 6,171,000 4,600
3 Milan Italy 5,257,000 2,800
4 Barcelona Spain 4,693,000 4,300
5 Rome Italy 3,906,000 3,400
6 Naples Italy 3,706,000 3,600
7 Athens Greece 3,484,000 5,000
8 Lisbon Portugal 2,666,000 2,800
9 Belgrade Serbia 1,700,000 3,300
10 Valencia Spain 1,561,000 5,700

History
Early history

The period known as classical antiquity began with the rise of the
city-states of Ancient Greece. Greek influence reached its zenith
under the expansive empire of Alexander the Great, spreading
throughout Asia.

The Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean basin

in a vast empire based on Roman law and Roman legions. It promoted
trade, tolerance, and Greek culture. By 300AD the Roman Empire
was divided into the Western Roman Empire based in Rome, and the
Eastern Roman Empire based in Constantinople. The attacks of the Partition of the Roman Empire.
Germanic peoples of Northern Europe led to the Fall of the Western
Roman Empire in AD 476, a date which traditionally marks the end of
the classical period and the start of the Middle Ages.

During the Middle Ages, the Eastern Roman Empire survived, though modern historians refer to this state
as the Byzantine Empire. In Western Europe, Germanic peoples moved into positions of power in the
remnants of the former Western Roman Empire and established kingdoms and empires of their own.

The period known as the Crusades, a series of religiously motivated military expeditions originally
intended to bring the Levant back into Christian rule, began. Several Crusader states were founded in the
eastern Mediterranean. These were all short-lived. The Crusaders would have a profound impact on many
parts of Europe. Their Sack of Constantinople in 1204 brought an abrupt end to the Byzantine Empire.
Though it would later be re-established, it would never recover its former glory. The Crusaders would
establish trade routes that would develop into the Silk Road and open the way for the merchant republics
of Genoa and Venice to become major economic powers. The Reconquista, a related movement, worked
to reconquer Iberia for Christendom.

The Late Middle Ages represented a period of upheaval in Europe. The epidemic known as the Black
The Late Middle Ages represented a period of upheaval in Europe. The epidemic known as the Black
Death and an associated famine caused demographic catastrophe in Europe as the population plummeted.
Dynastic struggles and wars of conquest kept many of the states of Europe at war for much of the period.
In the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire, a Turkish state originating in Anatolia, encroached steadily on former
Byzantine lands, culminating in the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Post-Middle Ages
Beginning roughly in the 14th century in Florence, and later spreading through Europe with the
development of the printing press, a Renaissance of knowledge challenged traditional doctrines in science
and theology, with the Arabic texts and thought[8] bringing about rediscovery of classical Greek and
Roman knowledge.

The Reconquista of Portugal and Spain led to a series of oceanic explorations resulting in the Age of
Discovery that established direct links with Africa, the Americas, and Asia, while religious wars continued
to be fought in Europe, which ended in 1648 with the 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 indeed the world in the period between 1610 and 1700. Observers at the time, and many
historians since, have argued that wars caused the revolutions.[9] Galileo Galilei, invented the telescope
and the thermometer which allowed him to observe and describe the solar system. Leonardo da Vinci
painted the most famous work in the world.[10] Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio.[11]

European overseas expansion led to the rise of colonial empires, producing the Columbian Exchange.[12]
The combination of resource inflows from the New World and the Industrial Revolution of Great Britain,
allowed a new economy based on manufacturing instead of subsistence agriculture.[13]

The period between 1815 and 1871 saw a large number of revolutionary attempts and independence
wars. Balkan nations began to regain independence from the Ottoman Empire. Italy unified into a nation
state. The capture of Rome in 1870 ended the Papal temporal power. Rivalry in a scramble for empires
spread in what is known as The Age of Empire.

20th century

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 was precipitated by the rise of nationalism in Southeastern Europe
as the Great Powers took up sides. The Allies defeated the Central Powers in 1918. During the Paris
Peace Conference the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, especially the Treaty of
Versailles.

The Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, and along with Mussolini's Italy sought to gain
control of the continent by the Second World War. Following the Allied victory in the Second World War,
Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain. The countries in Southeastern Europe were dominated by the
Soviet Union and became communist states. The major non-communist Southern European countries
joined a US-led military alliance (NATO) and formed the European Economic Community amongst
themselves. The countries in the Soviet sphere of influence joined the military alliance known as the
Warsaw Pact and the economic bloc called Comecon. Yugoslavia was neutral.

Italy became a major industrialized country again, due to its post-war economic miracle. The European
Italy became a major industrialized country again, due to its post-war economic miracle. The European
Union (EU) involved the division of powers, with taxation, health and education handled by the nation
states, while the EU had charge of market rules, competition, legal standards and environmentalism. The
Soviet economic and political system collapsed, leading to the end of communism in the satellite
countries in 1989, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself in 1991. As a consequence, Europe's
integration deepened, the continent became depolarised, and the European Union expanded to
subsequently include many of the formerly communist European countries Romania and Bulgaria (2007)
and Croatia (2013).

Languages
The following table shows the languages in Southern Europe that are spoken by at least five million
people in the region:

Principal Southern
Language Speakers[b] European
country / countries
Italian 59,400,000 [14] Italy
Spanish 46,000,000+ [15] Spain
Serbia
Croatia
Serbo-Croatian 20,000,000+ [16] Bosnia
Montenegro
Kosovo
Greece
Greek 13,432,490 [17]
Cyprus
Bulgarian- Bulgaria
11 500 000 [18]
Macedonian Macedonia
10,934,365 Turkey
Turkish [19][20] Northern Cyprus
Portuguese 10,000,000 [21] Portugal
10,000,000 Spain
Catalan [22][23] Andorra
Albania
Kosovo
Albanian 7,600,000 Macedonia
Montenegro
Greece

Romance languages
The most widely spoken family of languages in Southern Europe are the Romance languages, the heirs of
Latin, which have spread from the Italian peninsula, and are emblematic of Southwestern Europe. (See the
Latin Arch.) By far the most common Romance languages in Southern Europe are Italian (spoken by over

50 million people in Italy, San Marino, and the Vatican) and Spanish, which is spoken by over 40 million
50 million people in Italy, San Marino, and the Vatican) and Spanish, which is spoken by over 40 million
people in Spain and Gibraltar. Other common Romance languages include Romanian (spoken in Romania
and Moldova), Portuguese (spoken in Portugal), Catalan (spoken in eastern Spain), Galician (spoken in
northwestern Spain) and Occitan, which is spoken in the Val d'Aran in Catalonia, in the Occitan Valleys in
Italy and finally in southern France.

Other languages
The Hellenic languages or Greek language are widely spoken in Greece and in the Greek part of Cyprus.
Additionally, other varieties of Greek are spoken in small communities in parts of other European
counties.

Several South Slavic languages are spoken by millions of people in Southern Europe. Serbian is spoken in
Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Croatia; Bulgarian is spoken in Bulgaria; Croatian is spoken in Croatia and
Bosnia; Bosnian is spoken in Bosnia; Slovene is spoken in Slovenia; and Macedonian is spoken in
Macedonia.

English is used as a second language in parts of Southern Europe. As a primary language, however,
English has only a small presence in Southern Europe, only in Gibraltar (alongside Spanish) and Malta
(secondary to Maltese).

There are other language groupings in Southern Europe. Albanian is spoken in Albania, Kosovo,
Macedoonia, and parts of Greece. Maltese is a Semitic language that is the official language of Malta,
descended from Siculo-Arabic, but written in Latin script with heavy Latin and Italian influences. The
Basque language is spoken in the Basque Country, a region in northern Spain and southwestern France.

Transport
The following table shows the busiest airports in Southern Europe in 2013.
 Change
Passengers Passengers
Rank Country Airport City 2012-
(2012) (2013)
2013

1 Turkey stanbul Atatrk Airport stanbul 44,998,508 51,320,875

14.0%

2 Spain Barajas Airport Madrid 45,190,528[24] 39,735,618[24]

12.1%
Leonardo da Vinci
3 Italy Rome 36,980,911[25] 36,166,345[25] 2.2%
Fiumicino Airport
4 Spain Barcelona El Prat Airport Barcelona 35,144,503[24] 35,216,828[24] 0.2%
Palma de
5 Spain Palma de Mallorca Airport 22,666,858[24] 22,768,032[24] 0.4%
Mallorca
6 Italy Malpensa Airport Milan 18,537,301[25] 17,955,075[25] 3.1%
7 Portugal Lisbon Portela Airport Lisbon 15,301,176[26] 16,008,848[26] 4.6%
8 Spain Mlaga Airport Mlaga 12,581,944[24] 12,925,186[24] 2.7%
9 Greece Athens International Airport Athens 12,944,041[27] 12,536,057[27] 3.2%
10 France Nice Cte d'Azur Airport Nice 11,189,896[28] 11,554,195[28] 3.2%

Religion
The predominant religion in Southern Europe is Christianity.
Christianity spread throughout Southern Europe during the
Roman Empire, and Christianity was adopted as the official
religion of the Roman Empire in the year 380 AD. Due to the
historical break of the Christian Church into the western half
based in Rome and the eastern half based in Constantinople,
different branches of Christianity are prodominent in different
parts of Europe. Christians in the western half of Southern
Europe e.g., Portugal, Spain, Italy are generally Roman
Catholic. Christians in the eastern half of Southern Europe
e.g., Greece, Macedonia are generally Greek Orthodox.

Additionally, there are countries in the eastern part of Southern

Europe (e.g., Bosnia, Albania, Turkey), where Islam is widely
practiced.
The religious distribution in 1054[29]
Other classifications
European Travel Commission classification

European Travel Commission divides the European region on the basis of Tourism Decision Metrics (TDM)
model. Countries which belong to the Southern/Mediterranean Europe are:[30]

Albania
 Bulgaria
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Cyprus
Italy
Greece
Macedonia
Malta
Montenegro
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain
Turkey

See also
Mediterranean Basin Wikimedia Commons has
Southeast Europe media related to Southern
Northern Europe Europe.
Western Europe
EU Med Group

Notes
a. Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The
Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as
part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the
Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has received recognition as an independent state from 110 out of 193 United
Nations member states.
b. Both native and second language speakers residing in Southern Europe only.

References
1. Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology (https://books.google.com/books?id=1t2CAgAAQBAJ&lpg=P
A210), Dr Alan Barnard and Jonathan Spence. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
2. In strict geographic terms Central Europe include Germany, Switzerland, Northern Italy, Austria,Poland, the
Czech Republic,Slovakia, Hungary... (https://books.google.it/books?id=ATzXAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&d
q=NORTHERN+ITALY+MITTELEUROPA&source=bl&ots=56I0Dd9422&sig=yr3YZO5JF-rc1KMMH-QdKeRHbK
o&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0CEIQ6AEwCjgKahUKEwjH3NGFs7fIAhWKwBQKHeVOB8o)
3. Article in Britannica (http://www.britannica.com/place/Balkans)
4. BBC (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20970684)
5. Library of Congress. Cataloging Policy and Support Office, Library of Congress Subject Headings (https://book
s.google.com.tr/books?id=Toa8jD80K7kC&dq=thrace%20turkey&hl=tr&pg=PA7876&ci=640%2C394%2C22
4%2C103&source=bookclip)
6. Wolfgang Frey and Rainer Lsch; Lehrbuch der Geobotanik. Pflanze und Vegetation in Raum und Zeit. Spektrum
Akademischer Verlag, Mnchen 2004
7. United Nations: World Urbanization Prospects (http://esa.un.org/unup/p2k0data.asp)
 8. e.g. Averroes#Commentaries on Aristotle and Plato written in the 12th century, which was mentioned in Divine
Comedy IV:144 (http://www.divinecomedy.org/divine_comedy.php3?display?Italian?Inferno?4?121?151?45?
1?????1?) around 1320 AD
9. Geoffrey Parker, "States Make War But Wars Also Break States,"Journal of Military History (2010) 74#1 pp 11
34
10. John Lichfield, The Moving of the Mona Lisa (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-moving-of-th
e-mona-lisa-6149165.html), The Independent, 2005-04-02 (accessed 2012-03-09)
11. Sungook Hong, Wireless: From Marconi's Black-box to the Audion, MIT Press - 2001, page 1
12. Richard J. Mayne. "history of Europe:: The Middle Ages". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
13. Steven Kreis (11 October 2006). "The Origins of the Industrial Revolution in England". Historyguide.org.
Retrieved 31 January 2010.
14. Italian (http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/ita) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
15. Spanish (http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/spa) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
16. Mikael Parkvall, "Vrldens 100 strsta sprk 2007" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007), in
Nationalencyklopedin
17. Greek (http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/ell) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
18. Bulgarian (http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/bg) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
19. European Turkey Population
20. Northern Cyprus
21. Portuguese (http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/por) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
22. Catalan News Agency - Number of Catalan speakers rising despite adverse context (http://www.catalannewsag
ency.com/society-science/item/number-of-catalan-speakers-rising-despite-adverse-context)
23. Informe sobre la Situaci de la Llengua Catalana | Xarxa CRUSCAT. Coneixements, usos i representacions del
catal (http://blogs.iec.cat/cruscat/publicacions/informe/)
24. http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?pagename=Estadisticas/Home
25. http://www.assaeroporti.com/statistiche/
26. Portugal Airport Statistics (http://www.ana.pt/en-US/Topo/institucional/aboutANA/Publications/AnnualReports/
Pages/AnnualRerports.aspx)
27. http://www.aia.gr/company-and-business/the-company/facts-and-figures/
28. http://corporate.nice.aeroport.fr/About-us/NEWS-MEDIA/Statistics/Monthly-Statistics-Reports2
29. Dragan Bruji (2005). "Vodi kroz svet Vizantije (Guide to the Byzantine World)". Beograd. p.51.
30. European Tourism in 2014: Trends & Prospects (Q3/2014), page 15

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