Groupings by compass directions are the hardest to define in Europe, since there are a few calculations of the midpoint of Europe (among other issues), and the pure geographical criteria of "east" and "west" are often confused with the political meaning these words acquired during the Cold War Era.
Central Europe
Eastern Europe
Northern Europe
Southern Europe
Western Europe
There are also physical geographic regions, such as the central up-lands and the European plain.
The geographic scheme in use by the United Nations created for internal use by the statistics division includes all of the above divisions, save Central Europe.
Europe can be divided along many differing historical lines, normally corresponding to those parts that were inside or outside a particular cultural phenomenon, empire or political division. The areas varied at different times, and so it is arguable as to which were part of some common historical entity (e.g., were Germany or Britain part of Roman Europe as they were only partly and relatively briefly part of the Empire—or were the countries of the former communist Yugoslavia part of the Eastern Bloc, since it was not in the Warsaw Pact).
Roman and Non-Roman Europe: those parts that were inside or outside the Roman Empire.
Greek Europe and Latin Europe: those parts that fell into the eastern (Byzantine) and western Roman Empires.
Monotheistic Christian and polytheistic Pagan Europe: those lands that did and did not observe Christianity in the Middle Ages.
Catholic and Orthodox Europe: those parts on either side of the Great Schism.
After Reformation: countries of Western Christianity (Catholic and Protestant Churches) and Eastern Christianity (Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Oriental Orthodox churches and the Eastern Catholic Churches)
Protestant and Catholic Europe: those parts that, in the main, left the Catholic Church during the Reformation contrasted with those that did not.
Communist Europe (Eastern Bloc), Capitalist Europe (Western Bloc) - those parts on either side of the Iron Curtain and third world countries (neutral and non-aligned during the Cold War).
Economic and political
European Union and non-EU countries
EU countries and European countries outside or not in close partnership with the organisation
European Union member states
countries that are a part of the political and economic bloc.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
Eurozone countries
Countries that have adopted the Euro as their currency.
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
EFTA countries
a free trade organisation that operates in parallel with – and is linked to – the European Union (EU).
Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
CEFTA countries
a free trade agreement in the Balkans linked to the EU.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia.
European Economic Area
Schengen Area
a borderless zone created by the Schengen Agreements.
Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, which by separate agreements fully apply the provisions of the Schengen
acquis.
European Union Customs Union
A customs union of all the member states of the European Union (EU) and some neighbouring countries
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK.
Eurasian Economic Union
is a political and economic union of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia
CISFTA
is free trade agreement among 8 countires: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Armenia.
OECD Europe countries
European countries that are a part of the OECD
Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom
Central European Initiative
A forum of regional cooperation.
Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine
Visegrád Group
A group of former Soviet occupied countries in Central Europe.
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary
Centrope
an Interreg IIIA project to establish a multinational region in the Central Europe encompassing four European countries: Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Middleeuropean Initiative
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkan peninsula is located in southeast Europe and is generally considered to comprise the following countries:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania (some parts), Serbia, Slovenia (depending on the definition) and Turkey (European part)
Iberian Peninsula
Located in southwestern Europe this peninsula contains Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, and Andorra
Apennine or Italian Peninsula
Located in the south of Europe, the Italian peninsula contains the states of Italy, San Marino and the Vatican City
Scandinavian Peninsula
Located in the north of Europe, Norway, Sweden and part of Finland.
Fennoscandian Peninsula
Located in the north of Europe, Norway, Sweden, Finland and part of Russia.
Baltic states
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
Benelux, or the Low Countries
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg
British Isles
the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Republic of Ireland
Caucasus
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the North Caucasus
Channel Islands
Guernsey, Jersey
Nordic countries
Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland
Scandinavia: Sweden, Norway, Denmark
Fennoscandia: Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Karelia; a geological region defined by the Fennoscandian shield
Alpine countries
States that include the Alps as a prominent part of their geography
Austria, Switzerland (Swiss Alps), Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Germany (Bavaria), France, and Italy.
Danubian countries
States that lie along the River Danube
Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine
Southeastern Europe
Overlaps with the Balkans.=
Mediterranean countries
Mediterranean nations are the European countries on the Mediterranean Basin:
Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Malta and the British territory of Gibraltar
Catholic Europe
Catholic majority countries, including Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, South and Western Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, parts of Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Southern Netherlands Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain.
Orthodox Europe
Orthodox majority countries, including Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine.
Protestant Europe
Protestant majority countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, North and Eastern Germany, Iceland, parts of Latvia, Northern Netherlands, Norway, Sweden
Muslim Europe
Muslim majority countries, including Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Turkey
Northwestern Europe
List of active separatist movements in Europe
Sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe
Germanic-speaking Europe
Romance-speaking Europe
Slavic Europe
Celtic Europe
Civil Code and Common Law Europe: Those parts that adopted a Napoleonic Code style system and those that retained a Common Law system.
Blue Banana
Describing the concentration of the wealth/economic productivity of Europe in a banana-shaped band running from north west England, London, through Benelux, eastern France, western Germany to northern Italy.
