Europe is the second smallest of the inhabited continents. It is a part of the Eurasian land mass that includes Europe, Asia, Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula. As many large islands east and south of Asia are usually included in Asia, the Eurasian land mass extends from Iceland to New Guinea, from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Arctic to the Indian Oceans.
Europe defies easy categorization, with its compact size and complex history. The following are five (loosely defined) regions in Europe:
Western Europe - Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France;
Northern Europe - Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark;
Central Europe - Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland;
Eastern Europe - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Russia and Ukraine;
Mediterranean Europe - Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus (Greek part), Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Northern Cyprus (Turkish part), Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Spain, Turkey and Vatican City.
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