Europe is one of the six continents that make up the surface area of the Earth. In reality Europe is an extension of Asia forming the well-known Eurasia, but due to its particular historical development, as well as its geographical differences, it is considered a separate continent.
It limits the North with the Arctic Ocean; to the East with Asia by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River and the Caspian Sea; to the south with the Caucasus range, the Black Sea, the Bosphorus Strait, the Marmara Sea, the Dardanelles Strait and the Mediterranean Sea; and to the West with the Atlantic Ocean. It is located between the meridians 66º 20´este and 25º west, and the parallels 36º and 71.6º north latitude.
European history is complex and millenary, since the settlement of its territory dates back to the most primitive times of humanity, hence its name as Old Continent. After a long period of migratory waves from Asia, the Greek and Roman civilizations flourished, whose dominance marked a milestone in world history.
Historically, Europe has been an important center of economic and cultural development, and today it is the most industrialized continent, in addition to having a great wealth of resources, both natural and human.
After Oceania, it is the least extensive continent, it has an area of 10,530,750 square kilometers, representing 7.1% of the emerged area. Its population density is very high, since its small territory inhabits more than 7% of the inhabitants of the Earth, thus occupying the third place in terms of population.
It presents a generally temperate climate due to the latitude, the development of the coasts, and the softening influence of the warm Gulf Marine Current.
Politically it is divided into 49 sovereign and independent states, which, as a whole, form a heterogeneous conglomerate of languages, religions and cultures; more than 50 different languages, and the majority religion is Christianity.
Most of the European population is white (Nordic, Slavic, Mediterranean), although there are some of the yellow race, such as the Lapps and the Magyars. Currently there is immigration among them Asians from the Far East and those from Africa and Latin America.
Europe's economy is the largest in the world, offers a high degree of diversification and reaches the highest levels of trade, much of it is due to the European Union, which has unified Western Europe economically and monetarily, being the euro the only currency for them.
