The sixth largest of the seven continents, Europe is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the North and West and the Mediterranean Sea to the South. Europe is separated from the land-mass of Asia by the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains to the South-East, and by the Ural Mountains to the East and North-East. The border between Europe and Asia is the Ural Mountains, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

Geographically speaking, Europe is not a continent but is part of a peninsula that is connected to Asia. The name for the entire landmass of Europe and Asia is Euroasia.http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/eu.htm

There are currently 47 countries in Europe.http://www.worldatlas.com/cntycont.htm The exact number is difficult to pin-point due to the ongoing process of nation-building and to the fact that Europe has a number of small territories that sometimes dwell under the official umbrella of another country.

These official countries are considered countries by the United Nations and do not include dependencies or territories that currently fall under another country. For instance, although Ireland is considered a country, it is part of the United Kingdom as such is not counted separately.

The largest country by landmass in Europe and the world is Russia. The Vatican which is the smallest country in the world is also located in Europe.http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/index.html

A hub of discoveries and inventions in ancient Greece and Roman times, Europe lagged behind other parts of the world, notably Arabia, during the Middle Ages. The Renaissance signaled a renewal of scientific thought and technological know-how, culminating in the industrial era.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/528771/history-of-science/29326/Medieval-European-science However, in the 20th century, stripped of their colonies, even the richest European countries were unable to keep pace in the fields that required enormous concentration of capital, like space travel.http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/3053

Taken individually, of all the European countries only post-communist Russia has the potential in man-power and in natural resources to complete with United States and other rising economic powers.http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Technology/story?id=3550741&page=1 Only the pooling together of resources through the EU has enabled Europe to embark on projects of bigger magnitude.

The numerous European ethnic groups, later nations, have been jostling for space or dominance on a relatively small area ever since the fall of the Roman Empire.http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his101/TIMELINE/T-WAR.HTM

In the first half of the 20th century, Europe went through two devastating world wars, while the end of the same century saw a 10-year civil war in the Balkans. Europe is now going through its longest time of peace in history.http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-6911212.html