Regions of Europe
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Europe is often divided into regions due to geographical, cultural or historical criteria. Some common divisions are as follows.
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Directional divisions
Groupings by compass directions are the hardest to define in Europe, since (among other issues) the pure geographical criteria of "east" and "west" are often confused with the political meaning these words acquired during the Cold War era. For more details on this matter, see the articles on the following:
Peninsulas
- The Balkan peninsula is located in southeast Europe and contains the following countries:
- Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania, Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, (Part of) Turkey
- Located in the south of Europe, the Italian peninsula contains the states of Italy, San Marino and Vatican City
Other groupings
- Benelux, or the Low Countries
- Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg
- United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland
- The states which have the Alps as a prominent part of their geography.
- Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia
- A central European group representing an historical alliance.
- Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary
- Mediterranean nations
- Mediterranean nations are called those nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Excluding African countries these are the following:
- Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta
- Golden banana
- Describing the concentration of the wealth/economic productivity of Europe in a banana-shaped band running from London, through Benelux, eastern France, western Germany to northern Italy.