Countries of Europe. List of western european countries and their capitals Composition of western europe list

Western European countries are considered the most developed region in the world. These states have always been associated among residents of other countries with beauty, wealth, serenity and thriving capitalism. Which countries are included in the Western group, what are their features and prospects, we will consider further.

The phenomenon of the emergence of European civilization has been causing conflicting opinions for many centuries. There are several theories. According to one of them, the ancient Greeks became the ancestors of Western European civilization. According to another opinion, its origin took place in the 15th and 16th centuries during the period of major geographical discoveries and the emergence of capitalist reformations.

European countries have gone through a series turning points.For many centuries this territory passed through numerous stages of development. She changed a lot of moral principles and goals. For modern man it is the most developed region on the planet.

The main list of Western countries includes powers that are conditionally divided into four groups:

• large;
• small;
• smaller ones;
• dwarf.

In total, about 300 million people live on the territory of all countries. Many of them are immigrants who came to the West in search of good jobs. The share of labor migrants accounts for about 20 million people.

Most of the Western European powers are members of the European Union. This is the largest association of states, which is the leader in terms of industrial and small-scale production. The countries are economically developed, so the region is considered financially secure.

Important! Western states have a very rich culture. World famous musicians, artists, writers, athletes were born on this territory.

Differences from other regions of the planet

The states of Western Europe have a number of features that distinguish them from other countries of the world:

1. Language. Almost every nation in Western Europe uses languages ​​that are Germanic and Romance for communication and writing. The most common is English. This language is considered native to almost 400 million people. Even non-Germanic languages ​​were once heavily Germanized. These include Hungarian, Slovak and Czech.
2. Alphabet. The indigenous inhabitants of the western region, as well as their colonies that were once under their control, use the Latin alphabet, which appeared in the 7th century BC.
3. Religion. Most of the peoples of Europe are covered by Protestantism and Catholicism. Among the population there is a huge percentage of atheists who do not welcome any of the religions. Catholicism in the 10th century became an independent part of Orthodoxy. After 400 years, Catholics began to abuse their religious views, so Protestantism arose to counter them.

List of Western European countries

According to geographical location The list of Western countries includes the following states:

• Austria;
• Belgium;
• Great Britain;
• Germany;
• Ireland;
• Liechtenstein;
• Luxembourg;
• Monaco;
• Netherlands;
• France;
• Switzerland.

The powers belonging to the West are also located on the territory of Northern and Central Europe. Therefore, the list can be supplemented:

• Greece;
• Denmark;
• Iceland;
• Cyprus;
• Malta;
• Norway;
• Portugal;
• Finland.

These countries are part of the European Union.

Many people also include the USA in the Western Euroregion, New Zealand, South Korea, Australia, Canada and Japan. However, not all states meet the criteria by which they can be considered representatives of the Western territories.

Western civilization

Western civilization is usually called a complex of cultural, economic and political aspects. It is characterized by constant development and the unrestrained desire of a person for new achievements. It is distinguished by expanded democracy, market relations, and developing production.

The West is characterized by such features as prosperity, cultural wealth, and developed infrastructure. Residents of the region live in conditions of freedom, high wages and a decent standard of living.

The most advanced West in the field of economics. 25 European countries are located on the leading positions in the world economy. The history of economic development began after the approval in 1957 of the Rome Agreement establishing the European Economic Community. Since this historic moment, these countries have experienced rapid economic growth.

Today's Western Europe adheres to one economic mechanism. The share of these states in world GDP is 24%. There are four most developed in the region economic terms powers. They own 70% of GDP. This major countries inhabited by a large number of people.

Germany is the first of the four. Each inhabitant accounts for more than 47 thousand dollars of GDP. The German economy is the largest in Europe. It exports the largest number of machines, machinery and chemicals.

The UK is a leader in the service sector. Almost 75% of the population work in the field of insurance, banking and other services. The share of the industry is decreasing every year. Today, manufacturing and mining remain the most developed industries in the UK. Agriculture provides only 1% of GDP.

In third place is France. It is also represented by the service sector, as well as transport and oil and gas production.

Rounding out the top four is Italy. But gradually the country is plunging into a state of crisis, and it remains to be seen whether it will be able to restore its positions. According to many experts, Italy is the weak link in the European Union, as both economic and demographic indicators are declining. In the event of a default, the state will be the main cause of the collapse of the global economy.

Other countries

The rest of the powers from the list are low-industrial. The share of GDP in these countries is much lower than that of the top four:

• Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium - 20%;
• residents of Norway, Austria, Finland, Denmark and Greece get 8%;
• for Malta, Portugal, Iceland, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Ireland, GDP is only 2%.

The vector of economic development of Western European countries is not uniform. It is characterized by leaps, rapid growth and equally rapid decline.

Today, the region has plunged into a state of crisis, which arose due to a decrease in production and trade in the field of ferrous metal, coal mining and the textile industry.

The Western states have a good scientific and technical potential, which opens up great prospects for them. Europe is accustomed to investing large amounts of money in science, the amount of which often reaches 2% of GDP. By the way, the US invests up to 16%, while Japan is less than the West.

Important! Today, the Eurozone is actively increasing the number of nuclear power plants, produces large volumes of medicines, and is a leader in certain branches of engineering and communication technology.

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The agricultural sector accounts for 8%. But the number of people who are involved in cultivating the land and raising livestock has been rapidly declining over the years, although the volume of production is growing. Germany, the United Kingdom and France remain the leaders in agricultural production.

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Among the small developed countries Western Europe includes 20 states. They are usually divided geographically into:

1) countries of Central Europe: Austria, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland;

2) Nordic countries: Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden;

3) countries of Southern Europe: Greece, Spain and Portugal.

In addition, the so-called "dwarf states" (Andorra, the Vatican, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco and San Marino) are distinguished into a separate group.

common feature economic development of the small countries of Western Europe is that due to their small size, the relative scarcity of available natural resources, these states, as a rule, cannot develop the diversified specialization of their national economy, as the G7 countries do. The small countries of Western Europe participate in the system of world economic relations, specializing in the production of a fairly small range of high-quality goods and services.

Now let's look at each of these groups in more detail.

Central European countries.

The most developed among these five countries are the Netherlands and Belgium, the middle peasants are Switzerland and Austria, and Ireland is less developed.

If we talk about the general characteristics of these countries, it should be noted that they are endowed with little natural resources. Of the more or less significant minerals, one should recognize the presence of oil and gas reserves in the Netherlands (the fifth largest natural gas producer in the world), Belgium and Ireland, metal deposits (lead, copper and zinc) in Austria and Ireland. Austria and Switzerland, where there are also good conditions for the development of alpine animal husbandry (alpine meadows), are more endowed with hydropower, allowing the production of electricity.

Four of these states are members of the EU, and Switzerland is part of the EFTA.

These five states account for 3.9% of the world product or 1254.7 billion dollars. Describing the structure of the economies of these states, it should be noted that in agriculture highest value have cereals, potatoes, fruits, sugar beets. Developed meat and dairy farming. In addition, the Netherlands specializes in the cultivation of flowers, a significant part of which is then exported.

Industry sectors include:

– metallurgy (Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria);

– mechanical engineering, v.t. machine tool and watch industry (Switzerland), automotive industry (Belgium, the Netherlands);

– textile industry (all countries of the group);

– electrical industry (Netherlands, Ireland);

– food industry, incl. brewing (Ireland), cheese and chocolate production (Switzerland);

- glass industry (Belgium).

The most important components services traditionally are financial services and tourism. The world's largest financial markets are Amsterdam and Zurich. Banking services (especially in Switzerland and the Netherlands), insurance, financial holdings and real estate trading are developed in all countries of the group.

Nordic countries

The Nordic countries include the Scandinavian states (Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), as well as Finland.

These states have quite significant natural resources with a relatively small population. Norway and Denmark extract oil and natural gas, Iceland and Norway - fish.

There are also reserves of metals (iron, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminum) in Northern Europe, rich in forest resources(Sweden, Finland, Norway), geothermal resources (Iceland) and hydropower resources (Norway, Iceland).

The model of economic development of the Nordic countries is the so-called. "Scandinavian socialism". This model is one of the variants of the social market economy, i.e. implies a fairly significant role of the state in the economy, especially in terms of social protection of the population.

The foundations of the social market economy were laid in the 1930s, when the Social Democrats came to power in these states. They pursued an economic policy that combined the market orientation of the national economy and a high degree of social protection of the population.

Scandinavian socialism is market economy mixed type with the dominance of private property, parliamentarism in politics (pluralism and democracy), the maturity of the social infrastructure.

The main Scandinavian economy remains private property, individual entrepreneurship. The share of the private sector in the economy is about 85%, and the share of the state, respectively, is less than 15%. The main task of the state in the Scandinavian model of the economy is not the nationalization of private capital and not direct intervention in the economy, but the redistribution of the total social product created by a strong and efficient private sector.

The financial basis of the Scandinavian social democracy is the state budget, which implies a fairly high level of government spending, to finance which a fairly high level of taxation is established. In 2001, the state redistributed from 43.4% of GDP in Iceland to 55.3% in Denmark and 57.2% in Sweden (the highest figure among developed countries). The level of taxation in the Nordic countries in 2000 ranged from 37.3% of GDP in Iceland to 48.8% in Denmark and 54.2% in Sweden (the highest among developed countries).

Thus, the main goal of the public sector in the Scandinavian countries is the redistribution of GDP by the state through the tax system in order to achieve the principle of social justice.

The main economic functions of the state in the Scandinavian economy are the development of a long-term strategy for the development of the economy (development of priorities for the development of the national economy, investment policy, stimulation of R&D, foreign economic strategy) and legislative regulation of entrepreneurship.

The social orientation of the Scandinavian model is:

- the redistributive role of the state in the economy;

– activity of society in socio-economic processes;

– the economic policy of the authorities;

– high work ethic and entrepreneurial culture.

However, as we have already said, the social market economy sooner or later leads the economy of a state that professes such a development model to certain problems or even a crisis. Similar problems arose in the countries of Northern Europe. In the 1980s, the Scandinavian countries (primarily Sweden) began to experience the same difficulties as Germany and France. The high level of taxes hindered the development of entrepreneurship, and the strong social protection of the population undermined the incentives for employees to work.

In this regard, changes took place in the economic policy of the Nordic countries, which concerned the rejection of the excessive role of the state in the economy. The positions of the public sector of the economy were somewhat modified: corporate and income taxes were reduced, some state-owned enterprises were privatized, government spending was cut (primarily on social protection). The accession of Sweden and Finland to the EU in 1995 also had a positive impact on the activation of market mechanisms - the economic policies of the states were brought into line with the requirements of a united Europe.

Thus, despite some problems, the Scandinavian economic model is unique in its own way and is most suitable for the countries of Northern Europe - all countries of the region have the necessary culture, politics and economy to maintain such high standards of socio-economic development.

The main distinguishing features of the economies of the Nordic countries are:

1) a high degree of integration into the system of world economic relations;

2) a high share of state participation in the economy through the mechanism of GDP redistribution;

3) the presence of powerful international companies and financial and industrial groups;

4) high qualification work force;

5) social orientation of the economic policy of the government;

Three of these states are members of the EU, while Iceland and Norway are members of the EFTA.

These five states account for 2.3% of the world product or 742.1 billion dollars. Describing the structure of the economies of these states, it should be noted that in agriculture grain crops, potatoes are of the greatest importance; developed meat and dairy farming. The most favorable conditions for agricultural production exist in Denmark, where 64% of all land can be used in agricultural production, while in Iceland only about 1% of all land is allocated for agricultural production. For the national economy of Iceland, fishing is of exceptional importance, because. about 65% of the country's exports are seafood.

Among industries industry The study area includes the following:

– oil and gas (Denmark and Norway);

– metallurgical (Norway, Sweden, Iceland);

– pulp and paper and printing (Finland, Sweden, Norway);

– mechanical engineering (Sweden, Denmark, Finland);

– shipbuilding (Finland, Sweden, Norway);

– electronic and electrical industry (Sweden and Finland);

– chemical (Norway and Finland);

– woodworking (Finland, Sweden, Norway);

– textile (Denmark, Finland);

– food (all countries of the group).

Characterizing service industry In the Nordic countries, it should be said that many social services (such as health care or education) are fully provided by the state. Private service companies in these countries provide financial and tourism services.

Southern European countries

Three developed European countries are located in this geographical region - Greece, Spain and Portugal.

The group of these states is considered to be comparatively less developed in comparison with other countries of Western Europe.

One of the reasons for the poor development of these states is the scarcity mineral and predominant specialization in agricultural production. Of the minerals in this region, it is worth mentioning the reserves of coal and oil (Greece), uranium and iron ores (Spain and Portugal), lead, copper and zinc (Spain), which are still small in size. Agriculture, on the contrary, is developing quite successfully thanks to good climatic conditions and a sufficient amount of land suitable for farming (about 30% of the territory of these countries).

Insignificant rates of economic growth, constant lagging behind other developed countries forced the countries of this region to take special measures. One of the main such measures was the entry into the European Economic Community in 1981 of Greece and in 1986 of Spain and Portugal. Joining the EEC was primarily due to:

1) the need for structural restructuring of national economies, modernization of industry, creation of new highly efficient sectors of the economy and its own technological base in cooperation and with the support of Western European countries;

2) the possibility of receiving subsidies from the EEC budget to support its agricultural production;

3) the need to stimulate the competitiveness of national economies.

The positive consequences of the accession of these states to the EEC are access to advanced European technologies and scientific achievements, the restructuring of the economy with a reorientation to high-tech production, and an increase in the degree of competitiveness of their products.

However, there were also negative consequences of membership in the EEC: the abolition of customs duties on imported goods led to the displacement of less competitive local goods from the market; condition deteriorated accordingly. trade balance and, as a result, the balance of payments of these countries; common European economic policy forces southern countries reduce their agricultural production, which significantly affects the incomes of these states and, as a result, increases the deficit of state budgets.

Thus, the integration of Greece, Spain and Portugal into the EEC gave its positive results, but also contributed to the deepening of some serious economic problems. Therefore, these countries are still considered less developed in the EU.

More low level development of these countries is confirmed and structure of their economy . Thus, the share of agricultural production in the creation of GDP is 4% in Spain and Portugal and 7% in Greece, while the service sector accounts for 66% in Spain and Portugal and 71% in Greece.

IN agricultural the main crops are grain, potatoes, Mediterranean fruits.

From industries industry stand out:

– textile;

- food;

– shoe (Spain and Portugal);

– metallurgy (Greece, Spain);

– pulp and paper (Portugal);

– mechanical engineering and metalworking (Spain);

- chemical.

IN service industry tourism is of fundamental importance.

Further development countries of this region should be associated with external factors to a greater extent than internal ones. In other words, Greece, Spain and Portugal will not be able to exist in the world economy without the support of other developed states integrated into a single bloc, which is currently the EU.

"Dwarf countries" of Western Europe

The “dwarf countries” of Western Europe are states that are small in size and population. These include: Andorra, Vatican City, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco and San Marino.

Among these states, the city-state of the Vatican stands apart, which is the official center of the Roman Catholic Church and the residence of the Pope, located in Italy in the city of Rome on an area of ​​440 square meters. meters and with a permanent population of about 1 thousand people, most of whom are employees of the Vatican institutions. Thus, it is not possible to characterize the economy of the Vatican due to its actual absence. Therefore, we will consider only the six remaining "dwarf countries" of Western Europe.

The total volume of GDP produced by these countries is 25.8 billion dollars (of which almost 72% of this amount falls on Luxembourg), which is approximately 0.08% of the world's total product.

The main indicators of the development of the "dwarf countries" of Western Europe in 2001

Common features of the economy of the "dwarf countries" is the predominant development of the service sector (70-80% of GDP) and, above all, tourism (10-55% of exports of services in the service sector), which is the main source of income. Famous resorts are located here, both sea (Malta, Monaco) and ski resorts (Andorra).

In addition, almost all countries of the group are tax havens, offshore financial centers of Western Europe. The liberal tax climate, the almost complete absence of taxation of offshore operations attracts numerous foreign capitals to the "dwarf countries". Thus, only Luxembourg attracted 87.6 billion foreign direct investments in 2003 (15.6% of the global flow of direct investments in 2003 and, accordingly, the first place in the world. China is in second place - 53.5 billion dollars). .). Among the developed countries, this share is 23.9%, in second place is France -47.0 billion dollars in 2003.

Here in Luxembourg there are more than 200 largest banks in the world. More than 50 major world-class TNBs are located in Monaco.

Liechtenstein and Luxembourg are the headquarters of many financial holdings that control the largest TNCs. In addition, there are numerous trust companies, funds for the management of property located abroad.

Due to the absence of individual income taxes for foreign citizens who are residents of these tax jurisdictions, Andorra and Monaco also attract personalized carriers of capital (famous athletes, artists, etc.) for long-term residence.

In addition to tourism and finance, in the "dwarf countries" such sectors of the economy as:

– agricultural production (1-3% of GDP);

– metallurgy, steel industry (Luxembourg and Monaco);

– chemical industry, including the production of new materials (Luxembourg), pharmaceuticals and perfumery (Monaco);

– precision engineering (Monaco, Liechtenstein);

– electronics, including microelectronics and manufacturing household appliances(Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco);

– textile industry (Malta, Andorra, Luxembourg);

– food industry (Luxembourg, San Marino, Malta);

– tobacco industry (Andorra).

However, it is quite obvious that independently, without communication with the world community, the "dwarf countries" will not be able to continue to develop effectively. The high standard of living achieved by them was obtained mainly due to the active participation of these states in the process of international trade in goods, technologies, services and international movement capitals. It should also be said that Luxembourg (since 1957) and Malta (since 2004) are members of the EU.

Western Europe- a region that includes in its composition in the main state of the Germans and the Celts. One of the most developed economic regions of the planet. The beginning of the formation of Western Europe is considered the collapse of the Roman Empire, dividing it into Eastern and Western.

List of Western European countries: Austria, Belgium, Andorra, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland and France. The last noticeable changes in the map of Western Europe took place around the 11th century; it is not for nothing that this part is considered the "old world". The states of Western Europe are divided into four groups (large, medium, small and dwarf states).

About 296 million people live in Western Europe. And of these, approximately 20 million foreign workers, Western Europe is a kind of immigration hotbed of the world. The population of Western Europe belongs to the Indo-European language family, Romanesque and Germanic group.

The largest country in Western Europe is France, its area is 549.2 thousand km2, while it is also the richest and oldest country in this part of Europe.

Western Europe is a region that ranks first in terms of the size of small-scale economic and industrial production, the export of goods, the reserves of gold and currency, and the development of international tourism. hallmark Western Europe is considered a high level of development of integration processes. The development of Western Europe as a region is determined by the contribution of all countries in the region, but mainly the most developed - France, Germany, and Great Britain.

The cultural heritage of Western Europe, it is a world treasure trove of extraordinarily beautiful and famous works art. In the history of Western Culture, one can trace many cultural events that have remained in the memory of the whole world, as well as thousands of names of famous artists, musicians, sculptors associated with the countries of Western Europe.

To the most the most beautiful cities Western Europe include: Paris, Amsterdam, London. Every year they attract millions of curious tourists. Tourist incomes of Western countries fill a large niche in the country's budget.

The small countries of Europe are a traditionally distinguished category, and if we talk about “privilege”, then it would be more correct to designate this group of countries not by formal ones (the size of the territory, population), but by more significant features - the nature of the economy and social indicators (see Table 9). Small countries include Austria in Central Europe; three Benelux countries; The Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Denmark, Finland, as well as Ireland, whose economy looks weaker against the general background of the group, but has the highest economic growth rates in Western Europe.

In the past, some of them played a leading role in world politics (Austria during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Netherlands, Sweden), some became “privileged” in robbing colonies (the Belgian Congo, the colonies of the Netherlands in different parts of the world).

But now their role is different. Smaller than in the countries of the "seven", the monopolies of these countries (highly specialized) have taken important places not occupied by the largest monopolies - they themselves have become TNCs - in their own, rather narrow sphere.

The Dutch "Univeliver" ranks first in the hierarchy of TNCs in the food industry of the world, "Royal-Dutch-Shell" (an Anglo-Dutch concern) - the second place among all oil giants, the Swedish "Volvo" - a manufacturer of cars of the highest class and reliability, the Swedish concern Tetra-Laval is in the top five in the pulp and paper industry.

Table 9
Main indicators of small European countries (EU members)

The small countries of Europe are united by high GDP per capita. It is clear that with very different scales, even in the category of “small countries”, the absolute values ​​of GDP are very different: from 14.0 billion dollars. In Luxembourg to 395.9 in the Netherlands. But in terms of GDP per capita, the gaps are small: from 20.5 thousand dollars. in Finland to 41.2 - in Luxembourg. At the same time, it is significant that all small countries are included in this indicator in the leading “elite” modern world, occupy places in the top twenty. This is a vivid indicator of the great “weight” of the small countries of Europe.

Social well-being is measured, in particular, by such an indicator as wages. In terms of hourly wages in the manufacturing industry, Belgium ranks fourth in the world, the Netherlands fifth, and Sweden sixth, ahead of the United States.

The financial strength of the country is determined by the stability of the currency, balance of payments, inflation rate and other indicators. If we reduce them to some synthesizing value (creditworthiness, reliability in financial plan), taking as 100 the absence of risk for investments, then the Netherlands in this “rank list” takes the fourth place with an indicator of 89, Austria - the sixth - 86, etc.

We can say that the origins of the phenomenon of small countries are as follows. First, it is a clearly specialized economy with a high proportion of knowledge-intensive industries. In the economy, the concept of "niche production" has arisen - not captured by TNCs of the leading industrial countries. The search for such “niches” was driven by the weakness of the resource base, as well as the existence of an exemplary education system that provides such personnel who are able to learn new things, work in the latest areas of production, with large funds allocated for R&D. It is no coincidence that many laboratories and scientific centers of TNCs of large states are being created in small countries. Secondly, it is an export orientation. A narrow domestic market would not provide opportunities for a clear specialization in the production of rare high-quality science-intensive products. The impetus for export orientation was given by the creation of the Common Market, the reduction of customs barriers in the EEC opened the Western European market two orders of magnitude larger than the domestic one.

At the same time, the key geopolitical position of some small countries provided additional opportunities; Thus, the Netherlands, lying at the “entrance to Europe”, created the most powerful node of oil refineries “Texas-Europe”, providing semi-products chemical industry Germany and Northern Europe.

The geopolitical position of the Benelux countries is extremely beneficial even now, because they are in the center of the megalopolis of Europe. This is the main belt of dynamic growth within the EU. In the 1990s the share of small European countries in world industrial production was approximately 10%, and in world exports about 20%. The share of exports in the GNP of Belgium reaches 35-40%, the Netherlands - about 35%, etc.

Thirdly, reliable positions in the world market in their “niche” industries. In terms of launching icebreakers, Finland ranked first in the world (up to 50% of all produced in the 80-90s), in terms of pulp and paper, Finland and Sweden each account for 10-15% of world exports, and sometimes these are unique products (At one of the Swedish factories, for example, special ultra-thin paper is produced for the European edition of The New York Times, which, with dozens of pages, can easily be put in your pocket). In terms of insulin, Denmark, with its well-known animal husbandry, which provides raw materials for this, has captured up to 1/3 of the world market, and it now dominates in the latest biotechnologies.

The positions of small countries in the latest science-intensive industries - robotics, the production of medical electronic equipment, equipment for wind farms, etc. are becoming more and more significant.

Of course, not everything comes down to “niche” production based on research and highly skilled labor in small countries. Some branches of their economy are also connected with the natural resource base, which has expanded in last years. Thus, Sweden retained its position as a major exporter of high-quality iron ore (in terms of iron content - 60-64%, it is not inferior to new exporters from developing countries - Liberia, Venezuela), the Netherlands came out on top in gas exports in Western Europe.

And yet, both in the structure of the industry and in the composition of the exports of almost all small countries, the manufacturing industry dominates, and within it, new high-tech industries.

Fourthly, the positions of several small countries are connected not only with industry, but also with the service sector, in particular, with banking. This is Luxembourg - a "tax haven", which has become even more attractive as one of the capitals of the EU. There are now more than 200 large banks in the dwarf state.

Luxembourg is a typical example of an international financial center of modern times. Although Luxembourg is many times inferior to London in terms of financial business, does not have a gold market, and the foreign exchange market and the market for short and medium-term loans are poorly developed, it is the world's largest market for long-term loans. This was facilitated by his favorable geographical position in close proximity to the headquarters of Western European concerns. It is considered the financial capital of the European Community. The European Investment Bank, the European Monetary Cooperation Fund, etc. are located here.

The rapid growth of the importance of Luxembourg as a world financial center in the 60s. the cheapness of credit and financial transactions, the absence of tax on dividends and interest received on securities, and similar financial benefits also contributed.

The international stock market in Luxembourg is one of the largest in the world. More than 60% of all issued Eurobonds pass through its stock exchange.

Fifthly, transport, tourism and tourist business are of the utmost importance for small countries.

Rotterdam with its "Europort" - the gateway of maritime trade for Western and Central Europe - retains its role as a world leader in terms of cargo turnover (more than 250 million tons) and container turnover. The airlines of the Scandinavian countries (“CAC”) and Belgium-Netherlands (“Sabena”, “KLM”) serve a number of European and international airlines.

The transport projects carried out in Denmark are unique: these are the longest “bridge tunnels” in the world across the straits. Denmark (especially after the completion of construction) is a great "bridge" from Central Europe to the Scandinavian countries.

The scale of tourism to quiet, economically and environmentally prosperous, and in political life politically stable countries has been growing in recent years: Austria is visited by 18 million tourists and vacationers a year, the Netherlands - 5 million people. In Austria and Finland, the tourism business surpasses many important industries in terms of the number of people employed in it. Income from tourism in Austria exceeds 10-11 billion dollars. in year.

The Benelux countries stood at the origins of the Common Market. Three EU countries - Austria, Sweden, Finland - adhere to the policy of non-alignment. The neutrality of Sweden has continued since the Congress of Vienna in 1815, in Austria it is associated with the State Treaty of 1955, which restored its sovereignty after the Second World War, and in Finland “active neutrality” was proclaimed after the Second World War and is associated with the political “Paasikivi- Kekkonen” - the then presidents of the country.

All these features of small countries reflect their current positions in the world, but in no way speak of any problem-free, or even more so - complete well-being in the economic and social sphere. The current position of small countries has been achieved in a tough competition, when entire industries that previously provided employment to hundreds of thousands of people perished. Thus, the shipbuilding of the Scandinavian countries was practically “crushed” in the 70-80s. Japanese competition and South Korea. In 1994, Japan accounted for 45.6% of the tonnage of launched ships, South Korea for 21.8%, and Germany was relegated to third place with a share of only 5.4%.

The difficulty of restructuring the energy economy, the crisis and curtailment of the coal and metallurgical industries in Europe affected the entire “rusty belt” (northern France, Belgium and Luxembourg, Germany), turned the centers of these industries into crisis areas. There was a painful “washout” of old industries.

Small countries followed the Swiss path, which showed the advantage of combining their own and foreign labor resources, when “their” population concentrated on the most complex industries, and “guest workers” occupied places of medium and low qualification. This led to an increase in the non-indigenous population, to racial clashes, and the emergence of interethnic problems.

If in general in small countries the unemployment rate can be considered low (3-3%), then in Belgium with its “coal and metallurgical heritage” of the past it is more than 12% (1997), and in Finland even 16-17%.

A special place among the small EU countries is occupied by Ireland - in the recent past, one of the most backward countries in Western Europe. Now Ireland is the European leader in terms of economic growth (GDP growth in 1995 was 10%, and now it is about 7% per year), the standard of living of the Irish is practically no different from that in the UK.

The situation in the Irish economy in the 1990s. significantly improved due to three main factors:

• foreign direct investment;
• skilled workforce;
• social cohesion in the policy of establishing wages.

Foreign direct investment in the 1990s carried out mainly in the most progressive sectors of the national economy, in the industry high technology, information sector and semiconductor manufacturing. In the first half of the 90s. investment growth rates amounted to 45%, and in total about 7 billion dollars were attracted, which is equal to 12% of the country's GDP. The main investor in the Irish economy was the United States, which largely contributed to the creation of a modern high-tech sector of the national economy. On the basis of American investments in Ireland, the production of computers and processors for them, the production of semiconductors, office equipment, pharmaceutical products, electronics and electrical engineering was created.

The influx of foreign investment into the poor own capital the country was promoted by the competent economic policy of the Irish government, which encourages foreign investment. In particular, in Ireland there is preferential taxation for investors, special industrial zones have been created, in which income tax is only 10%. Particularly in the area international airport Shannon, where one of these zones operates, has created about 300 industrial enterprises that produce export products, and in international center financial services in Dublin, there are about 400 foreign banks engaged in offshore operations.

The availability of skilled labor also contributes to the rapid development of Ireland. Relatively small in population, Ireland ranks second in Europe in terms of the skill level of its human capital. Of particular value is the fact that the country's school and university education almost fully meets the needs of business. In particular, high qualifications and good adaptation to rapidly changing modern conditions have engineers trained by the Irish Higher School.

Social consensus in wage policy also played an important role. Unlike the well-to-do French or the Dutch, the Irish are willing to live with a small wage increase that guarantees low inflation, and there are practically no unions here demanding higher wages. All this gives good results: the country's public finances are balanced, and in the period from 1993 to 1996. real growth of incomes of the population was 12%. The growth in household incomes creates strong demand in the domestic market for real estate, durables and tourism services, which serves as an additional factor in the country's economic growth.

On the basis of these three factors, Ireland has made good progress in restructuring its economy. High-tech industries have come to the fore, which create 62% of all Irish exports, including 29% of exports are information technology. Labor productivity growth in high-tech industries is 10% per year. In view of the advancement of high-tech industries to the fore, the old traditional sectors of the country's national economy, such as agriculture and mining, are losing their former importance, which turns agro-industrial Ireland into the category of advanced post-industrial states.

The country's favorable investment climate is ensured by political stability, a skilled workforce, an advantageous geographical location, English speaking (there are no language barriers in relations with the main investors - the US and the UK) and favorable taxation conditions. A very important role is also played by the liberal market model of the country's economy, which has many common features with Great Britain and the USA, All this creates unique conditions for the further economic development of Ireland, which, moreover, also has a large internal growth potential in the form of filling the country's insufficiently sophisticated domestic market as real incomes of the population grow.

From EU countries to northern countries include Sweden, Denmark and Finland. “Scandinavian model” means a set of common features of the economic, social and political development of the Nordic countries, as well as concepts and trends in social development. This model assumes a fairly significant role of the state in the economy, especially in terms of social protection of the population.

The features of the Scandinavian model include such non-economic factors as:

• active participation of the Social Democrats and other parties of the left in the government and legislatures authorities;
• a high degree of “unionization” (the share of trade union members among those working in various sectors in the Scandinavian countries is 70-90%);
• high political and economic activity of women;
• special ecological mentality of all Scandinavians;
• specific Scandinavian work culture and business ethics.

The main economic functions of the state in the Scandinavian economy are the development of a long-term strategy for the development of the economy (development of priorities for the development of the national economy, investment policy, stimulation of R&D, foreign economic strategy) and legislative regulation of entrepreneurship.

The social orientation of the Scandinavian model is:

• the redistributive role of the state in the economy: the impact on the economy through the mechanism of taxation, the operation of the principle of “equalization of incomes” by transferring part of the income of entrepreneurs in favor of employed workers, social protection population;
• the activity of society in socio-economic processes: the principle of social partnership of workers, trade unions and entrepreneurs is embodied in practice;
• economic policy of the authorities, aimed at the priority solution social problems, in particular the reduction in the number of unemployed;
• high work ethics and entrepreneurial culture, the highest moral and ethical standards of behavior of the inhabitants of the Scandinavian countries.

The financial basis of Scandinavian social democracy is the state budget, which implies a fairly high level of public spending, for which a high level of tax burden is set for financing. In Sweden and Denmark, taxes are 52-63%, in Finland - 33-36% of GDP.

The sectoral structure of the national economy of the Scandinavian countries is fully consistent with the modern structure of the economy in other highly developed countries (share Agriculture and extractive industry in GDP is from 2 to 4%; manufacturing industry and construction - 25-30%; services - 65-75%). Thus, in the structure of the GDP of all Scandinavian countries over the past decades, there have been shifts similar to structural changes in the world economy, namely: an increase in the share of the service sector, a decrease in the share of agriculture, and the growing importance of the latest knowledge-intensive industries.

In the national economies of the Scandinavian countries, two large complexes of industries are leading: timber industry, including woodworking and pulp and paper production, and a metallurgical complex that combines metallurgy, metalworking and all branches of engineering, among which are the automotive industry, shipbuilding, the production of equipment for the entire complex of forestry and food industries, the production of communications, electrical and electronic equipment. The food industry has reached a particularly high level of development in Denmark.

The labor resources of the Nordic countries are traditionally of high quality, i.e. high level of education and vocational training. Accordingly, the cost of labor in Scandinavia is quite high.

One of the main factors contributing to the dynamic economic growth of the Scandinavian countries was the investment factor. The rate of accumulation in them is quite high - 25-30% in Finland, which shared with Japan the second and third places in this indicator among all developed countries of the world during the entire post-war period.

The Nordic countries have excellent transport infrastructure. All of them are maritime powers. The railway communication is also well developed, including high-speed lines. There are many airports, and bandwidth Scandinavian air harbors are constantly rising.

In the service sector, many social services (health care, education) are almost completely provided by the state. In the production of goods and services in Northern Europe, a large number of non-profit non-profit organizations are involved, creating socially useful products. The spheres of finance and tourism are traditionally developed. Sweden has the strongest monetary system.

Further prospects for the economic development of the Nordic countries are connected with the process of pan-European integration. The countries of the region that are not yet members of the EU (Norway and Iceland), along with certain advantages of their neutrality (the ability to dispose of significant revenues from the export of oil, gas, metals and fish at their own discretion), also suffer some losses. In particular, the EU is erecting anti-dumping barriers to the supply of relatively cheap Norwegian and Icelandic fish to the EU countries. Waiting positions regarding the introduction of the euro are still occupied by Denmark and Sweden. Traditional Scandinavian neutrality is still the main psychological obstacle to a more active integration of the region into the EU, although according to most socio-economic indicators, the Nordic countries are ready to play a leading role in the process of building a common European home.

Europe- part of the Eurasian continent, washed by two oceans at once - the Arctic, as well as the Atlantic.

The area of ​​the EU is approximately 10 million square meters. The population accounts for approximately 10% of the total population of the planet, which is approximately 740 million people.

General information

How many parts in Europe:

1. Northern Europe;
2. Southern Europe;
3. Eastern Europe;
4. Central Europe.

Depending on the opinions available, European countries can be assigned to one part of it or to another.

The highest point in Europe is Mount Elbrus, which reaches a height of 5642 m. The lowest point is the Caspian Sea, which at the moment is approximately 27 m high.

The main territory is dominated by flat terrain, and only 17% of all of Europe is mountains. The climate of most of Europe is temperate. But in the north of the territory there are glaciers, and in Caspian lowland- desert.

Europe is the region with the greatest cultural diversity despite its small territory.

Eastern Europe

The European part of Eurasia, located within the borders of Central and Eastern Europe, is commonly referred to as Eastern Europe.

This territory is home to a larger number of people than in other European regions, and occupies about 2/3 of Europe.

The bulk of the population is represented by people of Slavic appearance. In connection with political actions, the territory is constantly amenable to change.

Yes, in Soviet time, the countries of the USSR were included in Eastern Europe, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, some countries separated and began to be considered foreign.

The climate here is drier and less warm. However, the soils of this part of Europe are much more fertile than the soils of Western Europe. IN Eastern Europe the largest amount of chernozem soils in the world.

Eastern Europe is the closest in spirit and territory to Russia part of the Old World. The flight by plane will not take more than two hours. You can even go on vacation to the nearest countries while driving your own car.

The familiar climate and native language will be a pleasant bonus for those who decide to spend their holidays in Eastern Europe.

Western Europe is the territory where all Western countries Europe. Usually, this includes countries that are connected by cultural and geographical principles, and which were able to avoid Soviet influence during the Cold War.

The climate in Western Europe is mostly temperate, with mild winters and warm summers.

Western Europe is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Urbanization here is at the level of 80%.

The largest agglomerations here are London and Paris.

Western Europe is considered the most popular for tourism. About 65% of tourists flock here.

In this area you can see everything from sandy beaches to mountain landscapes. The mosaic of landscapes is striking in its beauty.

A large flow of tourists has led to the formation of special tourist zones that specialize in providing tourist services to guests.

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Everyone will be able to accurately indicate on the map where Europe is located. However, it is not so easy to set clear boundaries.

The geographical boundaries of Europe on the northern, western and southern sides are the line of the coast of the seas of the North Arctic Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean. These are the Baltic, Northern, Irish, Mediterranean, Black, Marmara and Azov seas.

The eastern border is usually drawn along the slope Ural mountains to the Caspian Sea. Some sources also include the territory of the Caucasus in Europe.

List of countries in Europe

The number of European countries is quite extensive.

Listed in alphabetical order, the list would look like this:

• Austria;
• Albania;
• Andorra.

• Belarus;
• Belgium;
• Bulgaria;
• Bosnia.

• Vatican;
• Great Britain;
• Hungary.

• Germany;
• Holland;
• Greece.

• Denmark.

• Ireland;
• Spain;
• Italy;
• Iceland.

• Latvia;
• Lithuania;
• Liechtenstein;
• Luxembourg.

• Malta;
• Moldova;
• Monaco.

• Norway.

• Poland;
• Portugal.

• Russia;
• Romania.

• San Morino;
• Serbia;
• Slovakia;
• Slovenia.

• Ukraine.

• Finland;

• Croatia.

• Montenegro;

• Switzerland;
• Sweden.

• Estonia.

This is a complete list of states that are European.

Number of European countries

The number of states that make up Europe today is 50 .

But based on the political and economic situations that are taking place in the world, it cannot be argued that this list will not change.

Can be taken as an example Soviet Union, which at one time broke up into 15 independent states. Whereas the GDR and the FRG, for example, on the contrary, united into a single whole, and today they are called Germany.

Currently, a difficult political situation is taking place in Spain. The Catalan part of it is trying to stand out as a state independent of Spain, and be called Catalonia.

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National symbols

As national symbols countries are their flags and coats of arms. As a rule, animalistic symbols are included in the basis of coats of arms. The image of a horse symbolizes speed, movement.

All European countries are familiar with the myths about the god of the sun, who moved in his carriage, which was drawn by horses.

And here, for example, the elephant represents reliability and strength. It is his image that can be found on the coat of arms of the city of Coventry in the UK.

The state symbols of England is the oldest of all European countries. The coat of arms, which is now official in Great Britain, originated in the 19th century.

looks like a shield

• Top left and bottom right corners there are three golden leopards on a red background.
• Top right- a fiery lion, located on a background of the color of gold - the Scottish coat of arms.
• In the bottom left- a harp of gold on a blue field - Irish symbols.

This shield is held by a golden lion with a crown in its mane and a snow-white unicorn.

The symbolism of the Scandinavian countries reveals the history of the countries of the European North. The coat of arms of Denmark has been formed over several centuries. It is a shield, on top of which there is a crown, and inside the shield, four blue leopards are arranged in a row from top to bottom.

Divided by a red and white cross, in the center of which is just her coat of arms.

On state emblem In Sweden, until the 13th century, three leopards in crowns were depicted standing one after another on the field, which very much resembled the coat of arms of Denmark.

Only at the beginning of the 14th century did coat of arms depicting three golden crowns, which later became the state symbol.

primordial coat of arms of Iceland was presented in the form of a white falcon. But in 1944, a new symbolism was chosen: a shield held by a bull, a dragon, an eagle and an old man.

chief The symbol of Albania is a black eagle with two heads., which is the Albanian coat of arms.

The symbol of Bulgaria is the golden lion., located on a red shield, which is a symbol of masculinity.

Polish coat of arms It looks like a white eagle, whose head is decorated with a gilded crown.

Symbol of Serbia was created during the unification of the lands of Serbia. It depicts an eagle with two heads and a crown.

Macedonia became independent only in the second half of the 20th century. Therefore, until this period, symbolism was represented only by territorial symbols.

Now the coat of arms of Macedonia flaunts a golden crowned lion.

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Population and area of ​​countries

The main giant by all criteria among European countries is Russia.

Its area is approximately equal to 17 million square meters, which is almost equal to the area of ​​South America, and the population is about 146 million.

However, the entry of Russia into Europe is considered controversial, because most of it is located in Asia, and only about 22% - in Europe.

The next in the list of the largest countries in Europe is Ukraine. It occupies an area of ​​almost 604 thousand square meters.

The population of Ukraine is about 42 million people.

France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Norway, Poland and Italy present a list of the 10 largest European countries. However, in terms of the number of inhabitants of these countries, Germany is after Russia, the number of inhabitants of which is about 81 million people .

The population of France is in third place in terms of number. Within it, there are about 66 million people .

by the most major cities Europe are considered London, with its population of 7 million people, Berlin - 3.5 million people, followed by Madrid, Rome, Kyiv and Paris with a population of 3 million.

Which countries are in the European Union?

The Union of Europe was organized during the collapse of the USSR. The EU is united together for economic reasons and political views of the state. Most of these countries use one type of currency - the euro.

union is international education, which includes the signs of the country and the signs of the international community, but in fact are neither one nor the second.

In some cases, decisions are made by supranational institutions, and in others through negotiations between countries that are members of the European Union.

At the very beginning of its inception, only six countries were part of the European Union.– Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France.

To date, thanks to the connection to the agreement, the number of countries within the European Union has increased to twenty-eight.

States give up their sovereignty, in return receive protection in various institutions of the union, which act for the common interests of all participants.

The Lisbon Treaty included rules for leaving the European Union. For the entire period of action, only Greenland left the European Union - in the late 1900s.

At the moment, five countries claim the opportunity to leave the Union. These are Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Montenegro.

List of EU countries:

1. Austria;
2. Belgium;
3. Bulgaria;
4. Hungary;
5. Great Britain;
6. Greece;
7. Germany;
8. Denmark;
9. Italy;
10. Ireland;
11. Spain;
12. Republic of Cyprus;
13. Luxembourg;
14. Latvia;
15. Lithuania;
16. Malta;
17. Netherlands;
18. Portugal;
19. Poland;
20. Romania;
21. Slovenia;
22. Slovakia;
23. Finland;
24. Croatia;
25. Sweden;
26. Estonia.

Liechtenstein, the Norwegian and Swiss states did not agree to become members of the European Union, but partly take part in the implementation of joint economic activities.

The population of the European Union as of 2009 exceeded five hundred million people.

All over the earth European Union people equally use twenty-four languages. But, as a rule, the most popular languages ​​in the European Union are English, German, and also French.

As for religious views, according to polls, about 18% of the population are atheists, 27% are not sure of their views, and 52% confidently believe in the existence of God.