Southern Europe
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The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical geographical, phytogeographic or climatic approach. Most southern European countries border the Mediterranean Sea.
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[edit] Geographical definition
Geographically, southern Europe is the southern half of the landmass of Europe. This definition is relative, with no clear limits. The Alps and Massif Central mountains constitute a physical barrier between Italy and France and the rest of Europe.[clarification needed]
Countries geographically considered part of Southern Europe include:
[edit] Iberian Peninsula
Andorra
Gibraltar
Portugal (including: Madeira and Azores[citation needed])
Spain (including: Balearic Islands)
[edit] Southern France
[edit] Italian Peninsula
Italy (including: Sardinia and Sicily)
San Marino
Vatican City
[edit] Balkan Peninsula
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Greece (including: Aegean Islands, Crete, and Ionian Islands)
Republic of Macedonia
Montenegro
Serbia (below Sava and Danube)
Kosovo (disputed region)
Turkey (3% of the country lies in Europe, the rest in Asia)
[edit] Other
Cyprus (geographically part of Asia but considered European for historic and cultural reasons)
Malta (including: Gozo)
Romania (Northern Dobruja and sometimes Wallachia)
Slovenia
[edit] Political definition
For its official works and publications, the United Nations Organization groups countries under a classification of regions. Southern Europe, as defined by the United Nations (the sub-regions according to the UN), comprises the following countries and territories:
Albania
Andorra
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Gibraltar (can be included in Western Europe politically as it is a territory of the
United Kingdom)
Greece
Italy (including: Sardinia and Sicily)
Republic of Macedonia
Malta (including: Gozo)
Montenegro
Portugal (including: Madeira and Azores)
San Marino
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain (including: Balearic Islands)
Vatican City
[edit] Climatical definition
Southern Europe's climate is that of the Mediterranean climate, which has become a typically known characteristic of the area.
The Medium area presents similar landscapes throughout, including:
- dry hills
- small plains
- pine forests
- olive trees
The area which is considered climatically Southern Europe is:
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina (coasts)
Croatia (coasts)
Cyprus
France (southeast coast, and the island of Corsica)
Gibraltar
Greece
Italy (except the Po River plain and Alps region)
Malta
Monaco
Montenegro
Portugal (northeast and southern two-thirds)
Serbia (south)[1]
Spain (southern half and eastern coast)
[edit] Phytogeographical definition
Southern Europe's flora is that of the Mediterranean and Submediterranean, which is typical for this area. The Mediterranean and Submediterranean climate regions in Europe comprise the following countries and territories:[2]
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Greece
France (the southern and southeastern part, and the island of Corsica)
Hungary (the southwestern part till the Balaton lake)
Italy
Macedonia
Malta
Montenegro
Portugal (the southern half)
Romania (only the southern part along the Danube river)
Serbia
Kosovo (disputed region)
Slovenia
Spain (except for the northwestern part)
Switzerland (only Ticino)
Ukraine (only the southern part of Crimea)
[edit] Linguistic Southern Europe
Countries of Southern Europe by main national language(s):
[edit] Romance languages
Andorra: Catalan
France: French
Italy: Italian
Moldova: Romanian
Monaco: French
Portugal: Portuguese
Romania: Romanian
San Marino: Italian
Spain: Spanish
Switzerland: French, Italian and Romansh
Vatican City: Italian
[edit] South Slavic languages
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnian (also in Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo*)
Bulgaria: Bulgarian
Croatia: Croatian
Republic of Macedonia: Macedonian
Montenegro: Montenegrin
Serbia: Serbian (also in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo*)
Slovenia: Slovene
[edit] Greek language
[edit] Germanic languages
Gibraltar: English
Malta: English
Switzerland: German
[edit] Albanian language
[edit] Semitic languages
[edit] Turkic languages
[edit] Notes
- ^ World Factbook
- ^ Wolfgang Frey and Rainer Lösch; Lehrbuch der Geobotanik. Pflanze und Vegetation in Raum und Zeit. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, München 2004
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