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{{Refimprove|date=September 2007}}
].<ref name="National Geographic">{{cite web|url=http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/regions/region_westeurope.html|title=Western Europe|date=2009|work=]|publisher=NationalGeographic.com|accessdate=2009-09-28}}</ref>]]
'''Western Europe''' is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of ], though this definition is ] and carries ] and ] connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of ]. Another definition was created during the ] and used to describe the non-Communist states of Europe; as a result, geographically central and eastern countries that steered clear of ] during the ] are usually included, while Western members of the former ] are excluded.

In addition, the term has ], ] and ] aspects. Since the end of ], the term has been used to describe the ] ] of western Europe, characterized by ] political systems, ] combining the ] with aspects of the ], ], and membership in ]. However, the political definition is becoming outdated as these characteristics are not special to Western Europe any more.

==Classical antiquity and medieval origins==
As ] domain expanded a cultural and linguistic division appeared between the mainly ]-speaking eastern provinces which had formed the highly urbanized ]. In contrast, the western territories largely adopted the ]. This cultural and linguistic division was eventually reinforced by the later political east-west division of the ]

The division between these two was enhanced during ] and the ] by a number of events. The ] collapsed starting the ]. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as Greek or ], managed to survive and even to thrive for another 1000 years. The rise of the ] in the west, and in particular the ] that formally divided ] and ], enhanced the cultural and religious distinctiveness between Eastern and Western Europe.

The conquest of the Byzantine Empire, center of the ], by the ] ] in the 15th century, and the gradual fragmentation of the ] (which had replaced the ]) led to a change of the importance of ]/] vs. ] concept in Europe.

Western Europe's significant historical events include the ], the ] by ] and the ] of the ], the ], the ] and the ]. During the final stages of World War II the future of Europe was decided between the ] in the 1945 ], between the ] ], ] ], and the Premier of the ], ].

Post-war Europe would be divided into two major spheres: ], influenced by the United States, and the ], dominated by the Soviet Union. With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the ].

This term had been used during ] by German ] ] and later Count ] in the last days of the war; however, its use was hugely popularised by Winston Churchill, who used it in his famous "Sinews of Peace" address March 5, 1946 at ] in ]:

{{cquote|From ] in the ] to ] in the ] an ''iron curtain'' has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of ] and ]. ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from ].}}

Although some countries were officially ], they were classified according to the nature of their political and economical systems. This division has largely defined the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe and its borders with Eastern Europe till this day.

===Eastern Europe===
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2010}}
] member states are marked in blue, ] &ndash; green, and ] &ndash; red.]]
Eastern Europe, in the view accepted after the ], was mainly composed of all the European countries occupied by the Soviet army. It included the ], widely known as East Germany, formed by the ] of Germany. All the countries in Eastern Europe had Communist regimes imposed upon them. Most of these countries were officially independent from the Soviet Union, but the practical extent of this independence was quite limited. In some matters many of them were little more than ]s of the Soviet Union.

Currently, the borders of ] are a topic of debate, especially because of the countries and people of ],<ref>O. Halecki, The Limits and Divisions of European History, Sheed & Ward, London and New York 1950, Chapter VII</ref> identifying themselves with ].

*Most of these countries were members of the military ] and its economic twin ]. First and foremost was the Soviet Union (which by itself included ], ], ], ], ], ]). Other countries dominated by the Soviet Union were the ], ], ], ], ], and ].

*The ] (formed after World War II and before its later dismemberment) was not a member of the ]. It was a founding member of the ], an organization created in an attempt to avoid being assigned to any of the two blocs. It was demonstratively independent from the Soviet Union for most of the Cold War period, but because of its communist regime it was widely regarded part of the ''Eastern/communist bloc''.

*] broke with the Soviet Union in the early 1960s as a result of the ], aligning itself instead with China. Despite this, it had a communist regime and thus was considered part of the ''Eastern/communist bloc''.

===Western Europe===
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2010}}
At the end of ] almost all the countries of Western Europe received economic assistance from the United States through the ]. Later, most joined ] and/or the ] or its rival, the ].

Western Europe is composed of:
*The ] and ], two of the victors in the war.
*The ], ], and ], countries which had been occupied by ] and subsequently liberated by the ].
*The ], widely known as West Germany, which had been formed by the ] controlled by the ''Western Allies'' (USA, UK, and France). The whole of Germany is now regarded as part of Western Europe.
*], a former ] which had surrendered and been occupied by the ''Western Allies''.
*] gained its ] from the United Kingdom in 1922. It remained neutral during the war. It never joined NATO but it joined the European Union in 1973.
*The ] were special cases. ] and ] had been conquered by Nazi Germany but were not liberated by the allies. During the war ], then still united with Denmark under the kingdom of Denmark, had been ] by the United Kingdom and the United States without any casualties of any nationality. Iceland proclaimed its ] during the war.
*] had remained neutral throughout the war.
*] had been invaded by the Soviet Union twice (in the ] and the ]) but the Soviets could not defeat them. After the Winter War on 12 March 1940 the Moscow Peace Treaty was signed and after the Continuation War an armistice between the Soviet Union and Finland was signed on 19 September. (see also: ], ], ]).
*] and ] were also special cases. Austria had been incorporated into Nazi Germany through the ] before the war, while Switzerland had remained neutral throughout the war. After the war both of them remained neutral, in the case of Austria through the ]. Austria eventually joined the European Union but not NATO. Switzerland declined membership of NATO and the European Union but did join ].

*], ], and ], formerly under authoritarian regimes, became parliamentarian democracies in the mid-1970s. They subsequently joined the ]. Spain and Greece joined NATO at around that time, but Portugal had been a founding member of ] (1949) and ] (1960), during the ] regime (1932-1974).
*The ] of ], ], ], ] and ] are also considered part of ''Western Europe''. Many of these states have special agreements and treaties with the European Union.
*The legal status of many of the ] in Europe (including ], the ] and the ]) vary from case to case, but they are also considered part of ''Western Europe''.
*] is generally considered part of ''Western Europe''.<ref>United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: </ref>

==Later political developments==
{{Infobox Geopolitical organization
|name = Western European Union<br />Union de l'Europe occidentale
|linking_name = the Western European Union
|image_flag = Western European Union Flag.svg
|image_map = WEU Map.svg
|map_caption =
<span style="color:#e82020;">'''Members'''</span>&nbsp;• <span style="color:#40a800;">'''Associate members'''</span>&nbsp;• <span style="color:#5874a8;">'''Observers'''</span>&nbsp;• <span style="color:#a080a8;">'''Associate partners'''</span>
|org_type =
|membership_type = Membership
|membership = 10 member states <br />6 associate member states<br/>5 observer countries<br/>7 associate partner countries
|admin_center_type =
|admin_center =
|languages_type =
|languages =
|leader_title1 =
|leader_name1 =
|established = ]
|established_event1 = Signed
|established_date1 = 17 March 1948
|established_event2 =
|established_date2 =
}}
The world changed dramatically with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the Democratic Republic of Germany, leading to the ]. COMECON and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had been part of the Soviet Union regained their full independence.

Although the term ''Western Europe'' was largely defined of the Cold War, it still remains much in use. The term is commonly used in the media and in everyday use both in "western" and other regions of Europe.

''Western Europe'' has increasingly less to do with the European Union.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} The 1995, 2004, and 2007 ] saw many post-communist countries joining the EU, and a view that Europe is divided strictly into the West and the East is sometimes considered patronising or pejorative by many in the countries of ]{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}.

==Present time==
===Definition used by the United Nations Statistics Division===
] (Western Europe marked light blue):
{{legend|#4080FF|]}}
{{legend|#00FFFF|Western Europe}}
{{legend|#FF8080|]}}
{{legend|#00FF00|]}}]]
The ] Statistics Division considers Western Europe to consist of the following nine countries,<ref></ref> except in the case of ], in which the term also includes northern and southern Europe:
*{{flagcountry|Austria}}
*{{flagcountry|Belgium}}
*{{flagcountry|France}}
*{{flagcountry|Germany}}
*{{flagcountry|Liechtenstein}}
*{{flagcountry|Luxembourg}}
*{{flagcountry|Monaco}}
*{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
*{{flagcountry|Switzerland}}

However, it should be noticed that this statistical division was designed during the ] period. According to the UN Statistics Division, ''the assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories by the United Nations''.<ref>http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm</ref>

==Population of Western Europe==
{{Update|type=section|date=January 2010}}
<!-- The table is missing Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City -->
Countries of Western Europe as defined by the ].<ref name="National Geographic" />
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="references-small sortable" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse"
|- bgcolor="#ECECEC"
! Name of country, with ]
! Population <br/>(2009 est.)
! Population <br/> (2000 est.)
! -/+ of Population
! Percent change
! ]
|-
|{{flagicon|Austria}} ]
| align="right" | 8,355,260
| align="right" | 8,002,186
| align="right" | 353,074
| align="right" | 4.33%
| ]
|-
|{{flagicon|Belgium}} ]
| align="right" | 10,665,867
| align="right" | 10,296,350
| align="right" | 369,517
| align="right" | 3.46%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Denmark}} ]
| align="right" | 5,511,451
| align="right" | 5,330,020
| align="right" | 181,431
| align="right" | 3.30%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Finland}} ]
| align="right" | 5,244,749
| align="right" | 5,167,486
| align="right" | 77,263
| align="right" | 1.58%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|France}} ]
| align="right" | 64,351,000
| align="right" | 60,537,977
| align="right" | 3,813,023
| align="right" | 6.03%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Germany}} ]
| align="right" | 82,002,356
| align="right" | 82,163,475
| align="right" | -161,119
| align="right" | -0.11%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Iceland}} ]
| align="right" | 319,368
| align="right" | 279,049
| align="right" | 40,319
| align="right" | 12.73%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Ireland}} ]
| align="right" | 4,465,540
| align="right" | 3,777,763
| align="right" | 687,777
| align="right" | 15.51%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Italy}} ]
| align="right" | 60,053,442
| align="right" | 56,923,524
| align="right" | 3,129,918
| align="right" | 5.32%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Luxembourg}} ]
| align="right" | 493,500
| align="right" | 433,600
| align="right" | 59,900
| align="right" | 12.24%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} ]
| align="right" | 16,486,587
| align="right" | 15,863,950
| align="right" | 622,637
| align="right" | 3.88%
| ]
|-
|{{flagicon|Norway}} ]
| align="right" | 4,799,252
| align="right" | 4,478,497
| align="right" | 320,755
| align="right" | 6.79%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Portugal}} ]
| align="right" | 10,627,250
| align="right" | 10,195,014
| align="right" | 432,236
| align="right" | 4.17%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Spain}} ]
| align="right" | 46,661,950
| align="right" | 40,049,708
| align="right" | 6,612,242
| align="right" | 12.71%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Sweden}} ]
| align="right" | 9,256,347
| align="right" | 8,861,426
| align="right" | 394,921
| align="right" | 4.37%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} ]
| align="right" | 7,700,202
| align="right" | 7,164,444
| align="right" | 535,758
| align="right" | 7.06%
| ]
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} ]
| align="right" | 61,634,599
| align="right" | 58,785,246
| align="right" | 2,849,353
| align="right" | 4.73%
| ]
|-
|- style=" font-weight:bold; "
| Total
| align="right" | 397,475,574
| align="right" | 378,309,715
| align="right" | 19,519,387
| align="right" | 4.82%
| align="right" |
|}

==See also==
*]
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==References and notes==
{{Reflist}}
*''The Making of Europe'', ISBN 0-14-015409-4, by Robert Bartlett
*''Crescent and Cross'', ISBN 1-84212-753-5, by ]
*''The Normans'', ISBN 0-7524-2881-0, by Trevor Rowley
*''1066 The Year of the Three Battles'', ISBN 0-7126-6672-9, by Frank McLynn

==External links==
*
*
*

{{Regions of the world}}
{{Europe topics (small)}}

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Revision as of 19:52, 21 January 2010

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