随着欧盟的发展，欧洲经济一体化程度越来越高，1979年3月13日开始在欧洲共同体内部使用欧洲货币单位作为计价结算的一种货币单位。现在欧元（€ ISO 4217码EUR）是目前欧盟25个会员国中的16国（也有这16国以外的国家，已经是31个国家和地区的官方货币）所使用的货币。欧盟各国对于是否加入欧元区皆有自身利益的考量，目前有一半以上的欧盟会员国仍发行自己国家的货币，并未加入欧元区的行列，例如：英镑等。欧元区是目前世界主要经济体之一，欧元区经济的荣枯深深地影响着全世界的景气。
* 印欧语系
o 波罗的语族：拉脱维亚语、立陶宛语
o 罗曼语族：法语、加泰罗尼亚语、罗马尼亚语、罗曼什语、葡萄牙语、西班牙语、意大利语
o 日尔曼语族：冰岛语、丹麦语、德语、荷兰语、卢森堡语、挪威语、瑞典语、英语
o 斯拉夫语族：白俄罗斯语、波兰语、波斯尼亚语、俄罗斯语、捷克语、克罗地亚语、马其顿语、塞尔维亚语、斯洛伐克语、斯洛文尼亚语、乌克兰语
o 凯尔特语族：爱尔兰语、苏格兰语、威尔士语
o 孤立语言：阿尔巴尼亚语、希腊语
* 乌拉尔语系：
o 芬兰乌戈尔语族：爱沙尼亚语、芬兰语、匈牙利语
Europe (pronounced /ˈjɜrəp/ or /ˈjʊərəp/) is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains, the Kuma-Manych Depression, and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and other bodies of water, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the southeast by the Black Sea and the waterways connecting it to the Mediterranean. Yet the borders for Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat arbitrary, as the term continent can refer to a cultural and political distinction or a physiographic one.
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by both area and population, while the Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 731 million or about 11% of the world's population; however, according to the United Nations (medium estimate), Europe's share may fall to about 7% in 2050. In 1900, Europe's share of the world's population was 25%.
Europe, in particular Ancient Greece, is the birthplace of Western culture. It played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century onwards, especially after the beginning of colonialism. Between the 17th and 20th centuries, European nations controlled at various times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and large portions of Asia. Both World Wars were ignited in Central Europe, greatly contributing to a decline in European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the United States and Soviet Union took prominence. During the Cold War Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East. European integration led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
西欧