Europe: Land and People

Imagine you are an astronaut looking down at Earth from space. You can see a large landmass — a huge area of land — connecting many countries together. That is Europe! Can you think of any countries that might be in Europe? Perhaps you have heard of France, Germany, or Spain? Hold that thought as we explore this fascinating continent together.

Europe is one of the seven continents — that means it is one of the seven great landmasses on Earth. It sits in the northern half of the world and is joined to Asia on its eastern side. Europe has around 44 countries. Some well-known ones are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Sweden. Each country has its own capital city. For example, the capital of France is Paris, and the capital of Italy is Rome. The land in Europe is very varied. In the south, you find the Alps, a large mountain range shared by countries like Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. Mount Blanc, in the Alps, is the highest peak in western Europe, standing about 4,807 metres tall. In the north, countries like Norway have deep valleys called fjords carved by ancient ice. Europe also has important rivers. The Rhine flows through Germany and the Netherlands, and the Danube passes through ten countries, making it one of Europe's longest rivers. Around 748 million people live in Europe. The people of Europe speak many different languages — over 200 languages are spoken across the continent. Russian is the most widely spoken language in Europe by number of speakers. Many countries also have their own traditions, food, and culture, making Europe a very diverse place. Diverse means having many different types of people, languages, and ways of life.