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===Arable land===
===Arable land===
==People==
==People==
It is conjectured that the first humans migrated into Europe in several waves, either from Asia Minor across the Bosporus and into the Balkan region, or from Asia by way of the steppes. River barriers, mountains, and forested lands help to divide early Europeans into distinct groups, and by about 4000 B.C. humans were well-established.
===Ethnic groups===
===Ethnic groups===
In addition to Turkey, Islam has established itself as the dominant religion in the Balkan countries of Albania and Kosovo.
In addition to Turkey, Islam has established itself as the dominant religion in the Balkan countries of Albania and Kosovo.
===Education===
===Culture and Education===
The arts has a long period of tradition in Europe, which produced many outstanding works in painting, sculpture, architecture, dance, music, and literature; among the great masters are Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Vincent Van Gogh, Mozart, Brahms, Alexander Dumas, Charles Dickens, and many others. Paris, Vienna, London, Rome, Madrid, Florence, and other European capitals became havens where art flourished and expanded. Institutions of learning also grew, with several, such as Oxford and Cambridge, becoming well-known world-wide.
===Health===
===Health===
===Demography===
===Demography===
Migration and differential birth and death rates have resulted in a shifting in population distribution over periods of time. By 400 A.D. the bulk of the population was along the Mediterranean coastline; today the interior and north-central Europe has the majority of population density. The average life expectancy for Europeans is 75 years, despite a population decrease attributed to a low birth rate of 10.2 births per 1,000 people (2005)
==Economy and Commerce==
==Economy and Commerce==
===Industry===
===Industry===
The Industrial Revolution began in Europe during the late 18th century, and since then Europe has become a leading exporter of manufactured goods. Textiles and clothing, ships, motor vehicles, aircraft, railroads, are among the items produced, and since World War II high-technology and electronic items were added. Manufacturing is particularly concentrated in the United Kingdom, central Europe, and in European Russia and Ukraine.
===Agriculture===
===Agriculture===
European farmers produce a mixed variety of crops yearly, with wheat producing the largest yield, especially within the Ukraine. Other crops include barley, oats, rye, corn, potatoes, beets, beans, peas, and sugar beets. Southern Europe is noted for the production of grapes for the wine industry, olives, pistachio nuts, and citrus fruits; the first two (grapes and olives) have become important to the identity as well as the economy of the countries which produce them. Animal production includes beef (especially in Spain), pigs, goats, and poultry.
European farmers produce a mixed variety of crops yearly, with wheat producing the largest yield, especially within the Ukraine. Other crops include barley, oats, rye, corn, potatoes, beets, beans, peas, and sugar beets. Southern Europe is noted for the production of grapes for the wine industry, olives, pistachio nuts, and citrus fruits; the first two (grapes and olives) have become important to the identity as well as the economy of the countries which produce them. Animal production includes beef (especially in Spain), pigs, goats, and poultry.
===Forestry===
===Forestry===
The main sources of wood for construction and other products come from the northern European forests of Scandinavia, Finland, and Russia; southern Europe, with less forested acreage, is known primarily as a producer of cork.
===Fishing===
===Fishing===
Fishing is very important to northern European countries; access to the cold waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans enable a large harvest of cod, char, herring and flatfish yearly. All coastal countries engage in commercial fishing to some degree, and two, Italy and Greece, have fishing traditions which date to ancient times.
===Transportation===
===Transportation===
The first means of transportation were by water; the Vikings have traded extensively via the waterways and river systems of northern Europe, while in the south the Danube and Mediterranean was used. Today, large fleets of ships are maintained by several countries which import and export a great deal of goods, and have transformed many coastal cities into major sea ports.
Highways and roads are well-established and maintained; Germany's famous Autobahns providing the example, and in addition to trade via trucks a large number of Europeans own automobiles. Railways carrying passengers and freight crisscross the continent; France's TGV is among the fastest trains in the world, and the "Orient Express", mad famous by an Agatha Christy novel, still makes its fabled run from Paris to Istanbul.
All European countries have a national airline (KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways, etc) that maintain routes world-wide. In addition, the Airbus Corporation competes with Boeing in the manufacture of large-bodied passenger aircraft
===Trade===
===Trade===
International and intercontinental trade on a large scale is conducted by nearly all European countries, with the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom among the largest trading nations in the world.
International and intercontinental trade on a large scale is conducted by nearly all European countries, with the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom among the largest trading nations in the world.