Geography of the European Union
1653499
216094730
2008-05-31T01:27:30Z
Ann O'nyme
19028
/* Union geography */ Change image
[[Image:Comparison_Size_with_European_Union_map.GIF|thumb|right|Comparison Maps of the EU and other regional Blocks and States]]
The [[European Union]] primarily occupies a large portion of [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe|Central]] [[Europe]], covering 4,422,773 [[square kilometre]]s (1,707,642 [[square mile|sq mi]]).<ref name=Area.and.population.figure>Figure including the four [[overseas department|French overseas departments]] ([[French Guiana]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]], [[Réunion]]) which are an integral part of the European Union, but excluding the [[Overseas collectivity|French overseas collectivities]] and [[Overseas territory (France)|territories]], which are not part of the European Union.</ref> It extends northeast to [[Finland]], northwest to [[Ireland]], southeast to [[Cyprus]] and southwest to [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], it represents the [[List of countries by area|seventh largest territory in the world by area]].
==Member-state geography==
The Union's geography is composed of its [[List of European Union member states|27 member states]], see the geography of its member-states;
{|
|-
| valign=top |
* [[Image:Flag of Austria.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Austria|Austria]]
* [[Image:Flag of Belgium.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Belgium|Belgium]]
* [[Image:Flag of Bulgaria.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]]
* [[Image:Flag of Cyprus.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Cyprus|Cyprus]]
| valign=top |
* [[Image:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg|20px]] [[Geography of the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]]
* [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Denmark|Denmark]]
* [[Image:Flag of Estonia.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Estonia|Estonia]]
* [[Image:Flag of Finland.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Finland|Finland]]
| valign=top |
* [[Image:Flag of France.svg|20px]] [[Geography of France|France]]
* [[Image:Flag of Germany.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Germany|Germany]]
* [[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Greece|Greece]]
* [[Image:Flag of Hungary.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Hungary|Hungary]]
| valign=top |
* [[Image:Flag of Ireland.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Ireland|Ireland]]
* [[Image:Flag of Italy.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Italy|Italy]]
* [[Image:Flag of Latvia.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Latvia|Latvia]]
* [[Image:Flag of Lithuania.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Lithuania|Lithuania]]
| valign=top |
* [[Image:Flag of Luxembourg.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]]
* [[Image:Flag of Malta.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Malta|Malta]]
* [[Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg|20px]] [[Geography of the Netherlands|Netherlands]]
* [[Image:Flag of Poland.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Poland|Poland]]
| valign=top |
* [[Image:Flag of Portugal.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Portugal|Portugal]]
* [[Image:Flag of Romania.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Romania|Romania]]
* [[Image:Flag of Slovakia.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Slovakia|Slovakia]]
* [[Image:Flag of Slovenia.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Slovenia|Slovenia]]
| valign=top |
* [[Image:Flag of Spain.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Spain|Spain]]
* [[Image:Flag of Sweden.svg|20px]] [[Geography of Sweden|Sweden]]
* [[Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|20px]] [[Geography of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]]
|}
==Union geography==
[[Image:Vourvourou-Greece.jpg|thumb|200px|right|22 member countries are influenced by extensive coastlines and oceanic climate, ([[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], [[Greece]])]]
{{wikiatlas|the European Union}}
Although most of the European Union is on the European continent, ''see [[Geography of Europe]]'', the EU is not coterminous with Europe: significant parts of the continent (e.g. [[Switzerland]], [[Norway]], European [[Russia]]) are outside of the EU. The member states of the EU have [[countries bordering the European Union|land borders]] with 21 other nations.
It is estimated that the coastline of the European Union is over 150,000 km long, bordering the [[Atlantic Ocean]], [[Mediterranean Sea]], [[Black Sea]], [[Baltic Sea]] and [[Adriatic Sea]]. [[List of mountain ranges#Europe|European mountain ranges]] include the [[Alps]], [[Carpathian Mountains]], [[Balkan Mountains]] and [[Scandinavian Mountains]] with the tallest mountain in the Union being [[Mont Blanc]].
Several overseas territories and dependencies of various member states are also formally part of the EU (e.g. the [[Azores]], [[Madeira]], [[French Guiana]], [[Martinique]], [[Guadeloupe]] or the [[Canary Islands]]) while in other cases territories associated with member states are not part of the EU (e.g. [[Greenland]], the [[Faroe Islands]], most territories associated to the United Kingdom, [[Aruba]], the [[Netherlands Antilles]] or [[New Caledonia]]).
Including overseas territories of member states, the EU includes most [[Köppen climate classification|types of climate]] from [[Polar climate|Arctic]] to [[Tropical climate|tropical]]. Meteorological averages for the EU as a whole are therefore not meaningful. The majority of the population live in areas with a [[Mediterranean climate]] (southern Europe), a temperate [[maritime climate]] (western Europe), or a [[Hemiboreal|warm summer continental or hemiboreal]] climate (in eastern member states).
[[Image:Map-Europe-Outermost-regions.PNG|center|thumb|800px|
{{legend|#000a9f|European Union}}
{{legend|#000eff|Outermost regions <small>(part of the EU)</small>}}
{{legend|#078002|Overseas countries and territories <small>(not part of the EU)</small>}}]]
{{see also|Special member state territories and their relations with the EU}}
==Largest cities==
{{main|Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits|Largest urban areas of the European Union}}
The European Union is home to more [[Global_city|global cities]] than any other region in the world. Over 16 cities with populations over one million inhabitants, counted in its city proper. Densely populated regions that have no single core but have emerged from the connection of several cites and are now encompassing large metropolitan areas are [[Rhine-Ruhr]] having approximately 10.5 million inhabitants ([[Cologne]], [[Dortmund]], et al.), [[Randstad]] approx. 7 million ([[Amsterdam]], [[Rotterdam]], [[The Hague]] et al.), the [[Flemish Diamond]] approx. 5.5 million, [[Frankfurt Rhine Main Area]] approx. 4 million ([[Frankfurt]], [[Wiesbaden]] et al.) and the [[Upper Silesian Industry Area]] approx. 3.5 million. ([[Katowice]], [[Sosnowiec]] et al.).<ref>[http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1996,45323734&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&screen=welcomeref&open=/&product=EU_MASTER_urban_audit&depth=2 Indicators for larger urban zones 1999 - 2003], Eurostat. Accessed January 25, 2007</ref>
{| style="background-color:transparent"
|[[Image:BCN02.jpg|thumb|left|100px|[[Barcelona]]]]
|[[Image:Berlin at nightCROPPED.JPG|thumb|left|100px|[[Berlin]]]]
|[[Image:London-skyline.jpg|thumb|left|100px|[[London]]]]
|-
|[[Image:Gran Vía al anochecer.jpg|thumb|left|100px|[[Madrid]]]]
|[[Image:Milano galleria piazza duomo.jpg|thumb|left|100px|[[Milan]]]]
|[[Image:Paris-tours.jpg|thumb|left|100px|[[Paris]]]]
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; margin-right:50px; font-size:100%"
|-
! align=center |City proper
! Population<small><br>City limits</small><br><small>in millions</small>
! Density<small><br><br><small>per km²</small>
! align=center |Urban area
! Population<br><small>Urban area</small><br><small>in millions</small>
! align=center |Metro area
! Population<br><small>Metro area</small><br><small>in millions</small>
|-
| align=left | '''[[London]]''', [[United Kingdom|UK]] || 7.5 || 4,761 ||align=left | '''[[Paris]]''', [[France]]|| 10.1 ||align=left | '''[[London]]''', [[United Kingdom|UK]] || 12-14
|-
| align=left | '''[[Berlin]]''', [[Germany]] || 3.4 || 3,815 ||align=left | '''[[London]]''', [[United Kingdom|UK]] || 8.5 ||align=left | '''[[Paris]]''', [[France]] || 11.7
|-
| align=left | '''[[Madrid]]''', [[Spain]] || 3.1 || 1,985 || align=left | '''[[Madrid]]''', [[Spain]] || 5.5 || align=left | '''[[Rhine-Ruhr]]''', [[Germany]] ||10.2
|-
| align=left | '''[[Rome]]''', [[Italy]] || 2.5 || 5,198 || align=left | '''[[Ruhr Area|Ruhr]]''', [[Germany]] || 5.3 || align=left | '''[[Randstad]]''', [[Netherlands]] || 7.0
|-
| align=left | '''[[Paris]]''', [[France]] || 2.2 || 24,672 || align=left | '''[[Barcelona]]''', [[Spain]] || 4.5 || align=left | '''[[Madrid]]''', [[Spain]] || 5.8
|-
| align=left | '''[[Bucharest]]''', [[Romania]] || 1.9 || 9,131 || align=left | '''[[Milan]]''', [[Italy]] || 3.8 || align=left | '''[[Barcelona]]''', [[Spain]] || 5.3
|-
| align=left | '''[[Hamburg]]''', [[Germany]] || 1.8 || 2,310 || align=left | '''[[Berlin]]''', [[Germany]] || 3.7 || align=left | '''[[Milan]]''', [[Italy]] || 4.3
|-
| align=left | '''[[Warsaw]]''', [[Poland]] || 1.7 || 3,258 || align=left | '''[[Rotterdam]]'''–'''[[The Hague]]''', [[Netherlands]] || 3.3 || align=left | '''[[Berlin]]''', [[Germany]] || 4.3
|-
| align=left | '''[[Budapest]]''', [[Hungary]] || 1,7 || 3,570 || align=left | '''[[Athens]]''', [[Greece]] || 3.2 || align=left | '''[[Frankfurt]] [[Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region|Rhine-Main]]''', [[Germany]] || 4.1
|-
| align=left | '''[[Vienna]]''', [[Austria]] || 1.7 || 3,931 || align=left | '''[[Naples]]''', [[Italy]] || 2.9 || align=left | '''[[Athens]]''', [[Greece]] ||3.9
|}
==References==
<references/>
==See also==
*[[Region (Europe)|Regions of the European Union]]
*[[Countries bordering the European Union]]
*[[Extreme points of the European Union]]
{{European Union topics}}
[[Category:Geography of the European Union| ]]
[[es:Entorno natural de la Unión Europea]]
[[pl:Geografia Unii Europejskiej]]
[[pt:Geografia da União Europeia]]
[[sr:Географија Европске уније]]
[[vi:Địa lý Liên minh châu Âu]]