Jonathon,
UK : A company co-creates its products with many business partners
Europe is called a continent, by convention, that comprises
the western peninsula of Eurasia. It is generally divided from
Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains,
the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways
connecting the Black and Aegean Seas.
Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic
Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the
Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet the
borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are
arbitrary, as the primarily physiographic term "continent"
also incorporates cultural and political elements.
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface
area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000
sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land
area. Of Europe's approximately 50 countries, Russia is by far
the largest by both area and population, taking up 40% of the
continent (although the country has territory in both Europe
and Asia), while Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the
third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a
population of 739–743 million or about 11% of the world's population.
The most commonly used currency is the euro.
Europe, in particular ancient Greece, is the birthplace of
Western culture. It played a predominant role in global affairs
from the 15th century onwards, especially after the beginning
of colonialism. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European
nations controlled at various times the Americas, most of Africa,
Oceania, and the overwhelming majority of Asia. The Industrial
Revolution, which began in Great Britain around the end of the
18th century, gave rise to radical economic, cultural, and social
change in Western Europe, and eventually the wider world. Demographic
growth meant that, by 1900, Europe's share of the world's population
was 25%.
Both world wars were largely focused upon Europe, greatly contributing
to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs
by the mid-20th century as the United States and Soviet Union
took prominence. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along
the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact
in the east. European integration led to the formation of the
Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe,
both of which have been expanding eastward since the revolutions
of 1989 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European
Union nowadays has growing influence over its member countries.
Many European countries are members of the Schengen Area, which
abolishes border and immigration controls among its members.
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