Europe is the second-smallest continent by land area but one of the most densely populated and historically influential regions on Earth. It contains 44 countries (or 50, depending on how you count the borders with Asia and the Caucasus), and although it represents just 7% of the world's land, it has had an outsize impact on world history, science, art and language.
From the Atlantic to the Urals
Europe stretches from the Atlantic islands of Iceland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, all the way to the Ural Mountains in Russia, which form its traditional eastern border. To the north it reaches into the Arctic Circle (Norway, Sweden, Finland), and to the south it dips into the warm Mediterranean (Greece, Italy, Spain). Despite being relatively small, Europe contains an incredible variety of landscapes — from the fjords of Norway to the volcanic islands of Sicily, the snowy Alps to the rolling green countryside of Ireland.
A continent of (very) old cities
Almost every European country has a capital city with at least a thousand years of history. Rome was founded around 753 BC; Paris, London, Athens and Lisbon all date back two thousand years or more. Walking through European capitals is like walking through history books — Roman ruins, medieval castles, Renaissance palaces and modern skyscrapers often stand on the same street. This dense layering is one of the things that makes Europe such a popular travel destination, and a particularly fun region to learn about because every country has stories to tell.
Languages, the European Union and the Euro
Europe has roughly 200 languages and dialects, but most can be grouped into three big families: Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian) descended from Latin, Germanic languages (English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian) and Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, Bulgarian). Twenty-seven European countries are members of the European Union, and twenty of them share a single currency, the Euro. Children often find it fascinating that you can drive across half the continent without changing your money or your phone plan.
What you'll find in this region
Here are facts and an interactive map for every European country, plus quizzes for countries, capitals, flags and landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Colosseum and the Brandenburg Gate. There is also a guide to the lesser-known deserts of Europe — yes, Europe really does have deserts, just not many. The European capitals quiz is one of the most popular on the site, and a good place to start if your child already knows a handful of country names.