What does southern Europe export. Agriculture of southern europe. Materials on the Internet

In recent years, in the large countries of southern Europe, there has been an intensified process of urbanization, although in this respect the region has lagged behind the industrial countries of Western Europe. On the greatest scale, the formation of continuous urbanized areas is characteristic of the Padan Plain in Italy, the most economically developed of the countries of Southern Europe.

Along with the growth of cities, there is a decrease in the rural population, which is moving in large numbers to cities.

Southern European countries are the least economically developed region of Foreign Europe. Average per capita income in Southern Europe is almost half that of the European average. Parts of southern Europe are very unevenly developed. The industrially developed areas are in stark contrast to the backward agricultural areas.

The trends in the economic development of all southern European countries have been similar in recent years. As a result of the acute economic crisis of 1974-1975. here, as in other capitalist countries, there are a number of socio-economic complications - a slowdown in economic growth, a deepening monetary and financial crisis, and they have a heavy impact on the economy. Inflationary price increases have led to a sharp rise in the cost of living. In the tangle of acute social contradictions that southern European countries (as well as other capitalist ones, by the way) are facing, the problem of unemployment has come to the fore.

The difficult economic situation is aggravated by the increase in expenditures on armaments, each year making up an increasing part of the state budget of the southern European countries.

One of the important economic problems is the relative agrarian overpopulation and the intensive overflow of labor from agriculture to industry and services. In the countries of Southern Europe (excluding the "dwarf" states), on average, over 36% of the economically active population is employed in industry, 23% in agriculture, fishing, etc., and more than 40% in the service sector. Despite the decline in the labor force in agriculture, employed in much higher than in the most highly developed capitalist countries. the percentage of those employed in the service sector is primarily associated with the intensive development of international tourism in the region.

The economies of large southern European countries are characterized by a relatively high concentration of production and centralization of capital, especially in the leading industries - metallurgy, chemistry, transport engineering. In all branches of the economy, the large monopoly dominates. However, along with a few major concerns, there is a huge number of small entrepreneurs. Monopoly capital began to penetrate into agriculture as well.

Southern European countries are characterized by active intervention of state capital in the economy. The level of development of state-monopoly capitalism in Italy is especially high. Without the participation of the state, it would be difficult to create such industries as, for example, metallurgy and energy.

South European countries are heavily dependent on foreign capital, in particular American. Many sectors of the economy of Italy and Greece are very much influenced by the European Economic, of which they are members. This is especially true for agriculture. Italy and Greece are forced to rebuild the traditional structure of their economies by influence. The economic development of the region is negatively affected by the limited mineral, in particular energy, resources. The almost complete absence of its own oil, the most important source of energy and raw materials for modern industry, is especially sensitive to the economy of the region. However, with a lack of some mineral resources, which are very important for the development of modern economy, there is a fairly large amount of minerals in Southern Europe. In the extraction of mercury ore (cinnabar), asbestos, pyrites, natural corundum (emery), marble and some other minerals, Southern Europe is ahead of many regions of the world. The extraction of bauxite, polymetals, uranium ore, antimony, etc. is also of great importance.

Rough mountain rivers, mainly the Alps and Pyrenees, are an important source of energy in southern European countries.

One of the southern European countries, Italy, was the first in the world to use geothermal energy to generate electricity. In the future, in all the largest southern European countries, a large role is assigned to nuclear power plants, but so far they are available only in Spain and Italy. At present, in general, in southern European countries, the main source of electricity is thermal power plants operating on fuel oil or natural gas. Insignificant own oil reserves did not prevent the creation in Southern Europe, primarily in Italy, of an oil refining industry based on imported oil and taking first place in capitalist Europe, as well as a powerful petrochemistry.

Like oil refining, the southern European black oil depends on imported raw materials and fuel. It is characterized by the predominance of steel smelting by the production of pig iron and the share of electrometallurgy. Italy together with Spain gives about 8% produced in the capitalist countries of steel.

Southern Europe is one of the world's oldest non-ferrous smelting regions. Smelting bronze, for example, played a huge role in the formation of the ancient civilizations of the Northern Mediterranean. In general, this industry is relatively well provided with local raw materials and is developing rapidly in our time.

Of the engineering industries, transport is of the greatest importance: Italy and give 6- 1% world production of automobiles and ships. Relatively new branches of mechanical engineering, which do not require a large consumption of metal, but are sensitive to its quality, are acquiring an increasing role: precision instrument making, the production of office equipment, and radio electronics.

In connection with the large number of cheap labor in recent years, traditional industries for the countries of the region have been intensively developing: textile, leather, footwear.

Rich reserves of various building stone and raw materials for the cement industry contribute to the development of the production of building materials; in particular, southern European countries provide 15% of the cement produced in the capitalist world.

South Europe is also known for such industries as garment, footwear, cork, canning, wine industry; film production is well developed, especially in Italy and Spain.

For the location of the industry of Southern Europe, it is typical to the sea coasts, to port centers as points of import of raw materials and fuel and export of finished products. The development of industry on the coasts is in conflict with the needs of the tourism industry.

The agriculture of Southern Europe in terms of its development lags far behind the agriculture of the most developed capitalist countries of Europe, although in terms of the scale of production of some products (olive oil, citrus fruits) it holds the world leadership.

The structure of agricultural production in southern European countries is characterized by a sharp predominance of crop production over livestock production, and in crop production the greatest role is played by food crops intended directly for consumption by the population; a significant proportion of tree crops.

South European countries, later than their northern neighbors, embarked on the path of equipping agriculture with new equipment and technology. to industrial forms of farming was possible to implement only in a few large landholdings. Small large capitalist farms stand out against the background of a huge mass of small and smallest peasant holdings, either independent or included in the system of large land holdings as leased plots (often on the terms of shareholding). Such land ownership is one of the main reasons for the comparative economic backwardness and low living standards of the countries of southern Europe. However, in recent years, capitalist relations in the region's agriculture have deepened and expanded.

The population density is on average 115 people / km2.

The region is located on the Mediterranean peninsulas - Iberian, Apennine and Balkan. EGP features:

1) the countries are located on the main sea routes from Europe to Asia, Africa and Australia, and Spain and Portugal - also to Central and South America, which affected the development of the region.

2) Location between Central Europe and the Arab countries of North Africa, which have multilateral ties with Europe.

All countries (except the Vatican) are members of the UN, OECD, and the largest are members of NATO and the European Union. Malta is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations led by Great Britain.

Natural conditions and resources. The Mediterranean Sea has largely determined the similarity of the natural conditions of the region.

Lack of fuel p.i. There is almost no oil here, very little natural gas and coal. Non-ferrous metals: Al (Greece belongs to the three European leaders), mercury, Cu, polymetals (Spain, Italy), tungsten (Portugal). Huge reserves of building materials - marble, tuff, granite, cement raw materials, clays.

In southern European countries, the river network is underdeveloped.

Large tracts of forests have survived only in the Pyrenees and the Alps. Average forest cover of the region is 32%.

Natural and recreational resources: warm seas, many kilometers of sandy beaches, lush vegetation, picturesque landscapes, numerous sea and mountain resorts, as well as areas favorable for mountaineering and skiing, etc. Population. Traditionally, Southern Europe is characterized by a high birth rate, but natural population growth is low: from 0.1% per year in Italy to 0.4-0.5% in Greece, Portugal and 0.8% in Malta. Women account for 51% of the region's population.

Peoples: belonging to the Romance group of the Indo-European language family - Portuguese, Spaniards, Galicians, Catalans, Italians, Sardinians, Romans; Greeks (Greek group of the Indo-European family); Albanians (Albanian group of the Indo-European family); Maltese (Semitic group of the Semitic-Hamitic language family); Turks (Turkic group of the Altai language family); Basques (in the rank of a separate family). The composition of the population in the countries of the region is predominantly homogeneous. High rates of mono-ethnicity are characteristic of Portugal (99.5% - Portuguese), Italy and Greece (98% of Italians and Greeks, respectively), and only in Spain a significant weight (almost 30%) of national minorities: Catalans (18%), Galicians ( 8%), Basques (2.5%), etc.

Religion: Christian Catholics (Z and C), Orthodoxy (B).

Accommodation of the population. The highest density - in fertile valleys and coastal lowlands, the lowest - in the mountains (Alps, Pyrenees), in some areas is up to 1 person / km2.

The level of urbanization in the region is much lower than in other parts of Europe: in Spain and Malta alone, up to 90% of the population lives in cities, and, for example, in Greece and Italy - more than 60%, in Portugal - 36%.

The ecologically active population is about 51 million people. In general, 30% of the active population is employed in industry, 15% in agriculture, 53% in the service sector.

Features of economic development and. The countries of the region are still lagging economically behind the highly developed states of Europe. Although Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy are members of the EU, all of them, except Italy, lag behind the leaders in many socio-economic indicators. Italy is the economic leader of the region, belongs to the highly developed industrial-agrarian countries, with a clear tendency to form a post-industrial type of economy. At the same time, contrasts in the development of many industries and production, in the social sphere, in the socio-economic conditions of the North and South are still significant in the country. Italy lags behind many highly developed countries in terms of scientific and technological development. Leading some Western European countries in terms of net income from tourism, it is inferior to them in terms of the scale and intensity of international trade and credit and financial transactions. Spain. It is the second country in the region in terms of socio-economic development. The public sector plays a significant role in the Spanish economy, accounting for up to 30% of the country's GDP. The state carries out economic programming, controls the railways, the coal industry, a significant part of shipbuilding and ferrous metallurgy. In the second half of the 80s. XX century Portugal experienced a significant economic recovery. The average GDP growth during this period was one of the highest in the EU and amounted to 4.5-4.8% per year; in 2000, the GNP was 159 billion dollars.Greece has a larger GNP than Portugal (181.9 billion . in 2000). The country's industry is significantly monopolized by large local and foreign capital (mainly the USA, Germany, France and Switzerland). Up to 200 companies receive over 50% of all profits. Greece has quite high inflation rates for the EU countries (3.4% per year). Government measures to reduce it (cutting government subsidies, freezing wages, etc.) predetermine social instability.

Household.

- mechanical engineering (production of cars, household appliances, technological equipment for the light and food industries)

- furniture industry

- production of construction products and equipment

- light industry (fruit and vegetable canning, oilseed - olive oil production, winemaking, pasta, etc.)

- agricultural: agriculture - growing a variety of subtropical crops: citrus, wood oils, grapes, vegetables, fruits, essential oil plants, etc.

- livestock - sheep and small-scale beef cattle

- merchant shipping and ship repair

Table 4 - Nordic countries

Northern Europe has a favorable economic and geographical position, which is determined by the following features : delimitation of the countries of the region into Western and Eastern Europe; access to the seas of the Atlantic Ocean: the Baltic, the North, the Norwegian and two seas of the Arctic Ocean - the Greenland and the Barents; location at the intersection of important sea and air routes from Europe to North America; overland proximity with Russia, which gives the prospect of close contacts and a huge sales market, as well as sea proximity with the Baltic countries affect their political and economic situation; neighborhood on the southern borders with highly developed EU countries (three countries of the region - Denmark, Sweden and Finland - are EU members).

There are many similar features in the historical development, geographical location, language and culture of the peoples of the Nordic countries. All countries are members UN : Denmark, Iceland, Norway - NATO members; Since 1814, Sweden has adhered to the principle of non-participation (neutrality) in military-political blocs and military conflicts in foreign policy.

Natural conditions and resources... The most characteristic peculiarity of the geographical position of the Nordic countries is their location near the sea, which greatly influenced both the nature and economy of the region. Most of Finno-Scandinavia (the territory that covers the Scandinavian Peninsula and Finland) is located within the Baltic Shield, therefore fossil fuels there is no. Stocks oil on the shelf of the North Sea (Norwegian sector) - 1.2 billion tons, natural gas - 1995 billion m 3. Finland has significant reserves of peat (25 million tons). Sweden is among the richest of its own uranium raw materials countries in Europe. Crystalline rocks of the Baltic Shield are rich in iron ore with an iron content of 25 to 40% (Sweden), copper and lead (Finland).

Mountain rivers are the source hydropower resources ... The countries of the region are sufficiently supplied with fresh water. A huge wealth, which is called "green gold" here, is forest. Natural and recreational resources very peculiar, especially in Iceland - the country of geysers and active volcanoes, located near the Arctic Circle. Features of the natural resource potential of the Nordic countriesdetermined the development of industries of international specialization in them, in particular those associated with the use of marine (shipbuilding, fish processing), forestry (timber processing, pulp and paper industry), mineral resources (fuel and energy, metallurgical industries).

Population.

By peculiarities of population reproduction the countries of the region belong to the 1st type. Growth rate the population is positive, but minimal: from 0.2% (in Denmark) and 0.3% (in Finland) to 1.1% (in Iceland). The region has one of the highest in the world lifespan : in Sweden - 73 years (men) and 79 years (women), in Iceland - 76 years (men) and 81 years (women). The share of children in the total population is constantly decreasing (19%), while the share of elderly people is increasing (16%). In terms of number, women prevail over men (51 and 49%, respectively). The peoples of Northern Europe for the most part belong to the northern group of large caucasian race ... In the north of Scandinavia, in Lapland, Sami live, who are classified as transitional laponoid race, which has absorbed the elements of Caucasian and mongoloidraces.

Ethnic composition is largely homogeneous. The inhabitants of the region belong to two large language families - Indo-European and Uralic. By religious grounds all countries belong to the Protestant branch of Christianity, dominated by lutheranism ... Traditionally, religion significantly affects social and political life, since the countries of Northern Europe belong to the clerical countries, and only citizens of the Protestant faith have the right to hold public office in them.

Population placement extremely uneven, which is primarily due to the natural conditions of the region. The average population density is the lowest in Europe - from 10 to 5 people / km 2. Northern Europe - urbanized region , the proportion of the urban population ranges from 63% in Finland to 92% in Iceland. Labor resources make over 13 million people. The labor resources of the Nordic countries are traditionally characterized by a high level of education and vocational qualifications. Accordingly, the cost of labor is quite high.

Features of economic development and general characteristics of the economy.

The Nordic countries are one of the most economically developed in the world. They formed a special socio-economic development model ("Society of general welfare", the so-called "Scandinavian socialism"), defined by the following features : high standard of living, lack of sharp contrasts between rich and poor; significant level of taxes (55% of profits); the average area of \u200b\u200bhousing is 400 m 2, Sweden ranks 1st in the world in terms of housing per capita (there are 445 apartments for every 1000 people); there are 504 cars per 1000 inhabitants (2 cars per family), up to 500 TVs and 681 telephones; high social security: officially, the working week is 40 hours, in practice, on average - 37 hours, paid leave is 5 weeks, expenses for children under 16 are paid, loans for apartments are provided.

Highly developed healthcare system: 10 thousand people have an average of 25 doctors. Low unemployment rate, which averages 5.3% for the region. The Nordic countries account for about 1% of the population and 3% of the GDP and industrial production of developed countries, but in terms of GDP per capita they belong to the 15 most developed countries in the world. All countries in the region have a positive growth in production (from 4.8% per year in Finland to 0.7% in Norway) and insignificant indicators of average annual inflation. The Scandinavian countries have a very high standard of living of the population.

Having a relatively small population, the Nordic countries are distinguished by a high level of industrial development and intensive agriculture. The sectoral structure of their national economies fully corresponds to the modern structure of the economy of other highly developed states (the share of agriculture and the extractive industry in the structure of GNP is from 2 to 4%, only in Iceland it reaches 15% due to the intensive development of fishing and sheep breeding); the manufacturing industry and construction on average in the region account for 28% of the GNP; the service sector - 67%, as there was a shift in the structure of the GNP of the Nordic countries, similar to the structural changes in the world economy in general: the share of the service sector in the GNP increased, the share of agriculture decreased, and the importance of the newest high-tech industries increased. The share of R&D expenditures in the structure of GDP is constantly growing and amounts to 3.3% in Sweden, 2.4% in Finland, 1.8% in Denmark and Norway, and 1.4% in Iceland. In recent years, Sweden has become the world leader in terms of the share of R&D expenditures in GDP, ahead of the United States (2.5%) and Japan (2.7%), while Finland ranked fifth.

IN MGRTcountries of the region represented by certain branches of the fuel and energy complex (oil and hydropower), non-ferrous metallurgy; aluminum, copper, mechanical engineering (production of ships, cars, electrical products and communications), a highly developed forestry complex (production of lumber, cellulose, paper), food industries (fish processing, meat processing, dairy and butter-making).

IN agriculture intensive animal husbandry prevails (dairy and beef cattle breeding and pig breeding). Reindeer are bred in areas beyond the Arctic Circle, and sheep are bred in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Agriculture (mainly in the southern regions of the region) is represented by fodder crops, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, barley and rye are grown. Fisheries and merchant shipping have long been of great importance in the life of countries.

Industry.

Countries in the region are dominated by manufacturing industry with a significant share of power generation, mining and forestry (excluding Denmark and Iceland). In the world division of labor, the main branches of specialization are energy, metallurgy, timber processing industry, mechanical engineering.

Agriculture - one of the most productive sectors of the economy of the region. Agricultural labor productivity high in all countries. According to statistics, one Danish farmer can feed 150 people (American and English - 60, German and French - up to 40 people). Agriculture in the region is clearly livestock direction, which accounts for 70-80% of agricultural products. Plant growing is of secondary importance.

Transport.

The countries of the region and their areas are interconnected (except Iceland) by all modes of transport, which form a complex transport network. Sea transport - the main one in the region. Railway transport it takes the 2nd place in terms of freight turnover and plays a major role in domestic long-distance transport in Sweden and Finland.

Lake transport developed in Sweden and Finland, where the lakes are connected by canals and have access to the sea. Road transport creates significant competition for railway transport. Air Transport developed, SAS plays an important role in international air transportation - the association of the airlines of the Scandinavian countries. Directly from offshore platforms in the North Sea subsea pipelines oil is transported to the UK and natural gas to Germany.

The countries of the region are quite active actors foreign economic relations... They generate 2 % industrial products of developed countries and account for 5% of their exports. The main trading partners are the countries of the European Union and the USA. The foreign economic interests of the countries of the region also reach Ukraine: significant volumes of its exports go to Finland and Sweden. Norway and Denmark, and the largest number of imports to Ukraine are from Finland, Denmark, Sweden. Nordic countries have significant development resources tourist and recreational activities .

8 countries and one dependent territory - Gibraltar (owned by Great Britain) belong to Southern Europe (tab.). Feature the region is the location here of the smallest state-city of the Vatican, whose territory is 44 hectares, and the oldest republic in the world - San Marino

Table 5 - Countries of Southern Europe

An important the peculiarity of the economic and geographical position of the countries of Southern Europe located on the peninsulas and islands of the Mediterranean Sea, is that they are all on the main sea routes from Europe to Asia, Africa and Australia, and Spain and Portugal - also to Central and South America. All this, since the time of the great geographical discoveries, has affected the development of the region, the life of the countries of which is closely connected with the sea. No less significant is the fact that the region is located between Central Europe and the Arab countries of North Africa, which have multilateral ties with Europe. The former metropolises Portugal, Italy and Spain still retain influence in some African countries. All countries (except the Vatican) are members of the UN, OECD, and the largest are members of NATO and the European Union. Malta is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations led by Great Britain.

Natural conditions and resources.

The region is located on the Mediterranean peninsulas - Iberian, Apennine and Balkan. Only Italy is part of mainland Europe. The Mediterranean Sea has largely determined the similarity of the natural conditions of the region. There is an acute shortage of fuel in the region. usefulfossils. There is almost no oil here, very little natural gas and coal. However, the rich are deposits of various metals, especially colored: bauxite (Greece belongs to the top three European leaders), mercury, copper, polymetals (Spain, Italy), tungsten(Portugal). Huge reserves building materials - marble, tuff, granite, cement raw materials, clays.

Underdeveloped in southern European countries river network.Large arrays forestssurvived only in the Pyrenees and the Alps. Average forest cover of the region is 32%. Natural and recreational resources are extremely rich. These are warm seas, many kilometers of sandy beaches, lush vegetation, picturesque landscapes, numerous sea and mountain resorts, as well as areas favorable for mountaineering and skiing, etc. There are 14 national parks in the region. The unique natural resource potential of the region has contributed to the significant development of the agricultural sector and tourism and recreation activities in its countries.

Population.

Traditionally, southern Europe is characterized by a high birth rate, but natural population growth is low: from 0.1% per year in Italy to 0.4-0.5% in Greece, Portugal and 0.8% in Malta. Women account for 51% of the region's population. The majority of the population belongs to the southern (Mediterranean) branch of e european race... During the era of the Roman Empire, most of them were Romanized, and now they are dominated by peoples belonging to the Romanesque group. indo-European language family (Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Italians, Sardinians, Romans). An exceptionmake up: greeks (Greek group of the Indo-European family); albanians (an Albanian group of the Indo-European family) represented in Italy; Gibraltar (Germanic group of the Indo-European family); maltese (Semitic group of the Semitic-Hamitic language family).

Thinkthat Maltese is a dialectal form of Arabic; turks (Turkic group of the Altai language family) - there are many of them in Greece; basques (in the rank of a separate family) - live in the historical region of the Basque Country in northern Spain. Population composition in the countries of the region it is predominantly homogeneous. High indicators of mono-nationality typical for Portugal (99.5% - Portuguese), Italy and Greece (98% of Italians and Greeks, respectively), and only in Spain a significant weight (almost 30%) of national minorities: catalans (18%), Galicians (8%), Basques (2.5%), etc. The majority of the population is christians ... Christianity is represented by two branches: catholicism (west and center of the region); orthodoxy (region east, Greece). In southern Europe, there is the spiritual and administrative center of the Roman Catholic Church - the Vatican, which exists in the IV century. Part of the Turks, Albanians, Greeks - muslims.

Population postedunevenly. Highest density - in fertile valleys and coastal lowlands, the smallest - in the mountains (Alps, Pyrenees), in some territories is up to 1 person / km 2. Level urbanization in the region is much lower than in other parts of Europe: in Spain and Malta alone, up to 90% of the population lives in cities, and, for example, in Greece and Italy - more than 60%, in Portugal - 36%. Labor resources make up about 51 million people. In general, 30% of the active population is employed in industry, 15% - in agriculture, 53% - in service sector... Recently, many employees from Eastern and Southeastern Europe have been arriving in Southern Europe for the fruit and vegetable harvest season, who cannot find work in their own countries.

Features of economic development and general characteristics of the economy.

The countries of the region are still lagging economically behind the highly developed states of Europe. Although Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy are members of the EU, all of them, except Italy, lag behind the leaders in many socio-economic indicators. Italyis the economic leader of the region, belongs to highly developed industrial-agrarian countries, with a clear tendency to form a post-industrial type of economy. At the same time, contrasts in the development of many industries and production, in the social sphere, in the socio-economic conditions of the North and South are still significant in the country.

Italy lags behind many highly developed countries in terms of scientific and technological development. It is ahead of some Western European countries in terms of net profits from tourism, but is inferior to them in terms of the scale and intensity of international trade and credit and financial transactions. Spain. This is the second country in the region in terms of socio-economic development. The public sector plays a significant role in the Spanish economy, accounting for up to 30% of the country's GDP. The state carries out economic programming, controls the railways, the coal industry, a significant part of shipbuilding and ferrous metallurgy.

In the second half of the 80s. XX century. Portugal experienced a significant economic recovery. The average GDP growth during this period was one of the highest in the EU and amounted to 4.5-4.8% per year, in 2000 the GNP was equal to 159 billion dollars. Greece has a larger than in Portugal, GNP (181.9 billion in 2000). The country's industry is significantly monopolized by large local and foreign capital (mainly the USA, Germany, France and Switzerland). Up to 200 companies receive over 50% of all profits. Greece has quite high inflation rates for the EU countries (3.4% per year). Government measures to reduce it (cutting government subsidies, freezing wages, etc.) predetermine social instability.

IN MGRT countries in the region are represented certain branches of mechanical engineering (production of cars, household appliances, technological equipment for light and food industries), furniture industry, production of construction products and equipment, branches of light industry (fruit and vegetable canning, oilseed production of olive oil, winemaking, pasta, etc.) ... Agriculture is dominated by the branches of agriculture - the cultivation of various subtropical crops: citrus fruits, wood oils, grapes, vegetables, fruits, essential oil plants, etc.

Due to insufficient fodder base, sheep breeding and beef cattle breeding prevail in animal husbandry. The countries of the region are actively developing commercial shipping and ship repair. They are the undisputed leaders in the development of international tourism. Warm sea, Mediterranean climate, rich subtropical vegetation, numerous monuments of ancient culture and architecture are the main factors, thanks to which Southern Europe is a favorite place for recreation and entertainment of many recreationalists in the world, the largest tourist center.

5. General characteristics of the countries of Eastern (Central) Europe

The countries of Eastern (Central) Europe as a socio-political and economic integrity began to be identified in the 90s of the XX century. This is due to the collapse of the former USSR and the socialist system, the formation of independent states. The region covers 10 countries (Table 6).

The economic and geographical position of Eastern Europe is distinguished by the following features:

Land surveying in the west with highly developed countries, and in the east and south-east - with Russia and the countries of South-Eastern Europe - potential sales markets for Eastern Europe;

Passage through the region of the trans-European transport highways of the meridian and latitudinal directions.

Over the past 10 years in EGP (economic and geographical position) of the region, the following changes:

The collapse of the USSR, the formation of the CIS and new countries;

Unification of Germany;

The collapse of Czechoslovakia, as a result of which two independent states were formed: the Czech Republic and Slovakia;

The appearance on the southern borders of neighbors “unstable” in relation to the military-political state - the Balkan countries, Yugoslavia.

If we do not take into account dependent regions and not fully recognized states, then Europe for 2017 covers 44 powers. Each of them has a capital in which not only its administration is located, but also the highest authority, that is, the government of the state.

In contact with

European states

The territory of Europe stretches from east to west for more than 3 thousand kilometers, and from south to north (from Crete to Spitsbergen) for 5 thousand kilometers. The majority of European powers are relatively small. With such small territories and good transport cross-country ability, these states either closely border each other, or are separated by very short distances.

The European continent is divided geographically into parts:

• western;
• eastern;
• northern;
• southern.

All powerslocated on the European continent belong to one of these territories.

• There are 11 countries in the western region.
• In the east - 10 (including Russia).
• In the north - 8.
• In the south - 15.

We list all European countries and their capitals. We will divide the list of countries and capitals of Europe into four parts according to the territorial and geographical position of the powers on the world map.

Western

List of states belonging to western Europe, with a list of major cities:

The states of western Europe are washed mainly by the currents of the Atlantic Ocean and only in the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula border on the waters of the Arctic Ocean. In general, these are highly developed and prosperous powers. But they stand out for their unfavorable demographic situation. This is a low birth rate and a low rate of natural population growth. There is even a population decline in Germany. All this led to the fact that developed Western Europe began to play the role of a sub-region in the global population migration system, it turned into the main focus of labor immigration.

Eastern

List of states located in the eastern zone of the European continent and their capital:

The states of eastern Europe have a lower level of economic development than their western neighbors. But, they better retained their cultural and ethnic identity... Eastern Europe is more of a cultural and historical region than a geographical one. The Russian expanses can be attributed to the eastern territory of Europe. And the geographic center of Eastern Europe is located approximately within Ukraine.

North

The list of states that make up northern Europe, including capitals, looks like this:

The territories of the states of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jutland, the Baltic states, the islands of Svalbard and Iceland are included in the northern part of Europe. The population of these regions is only 4% of the entire European composition. The largest country in the G8 is Sweden, and the smallest is Iceland. The population density in these lands is lower in Europe - 22 people / m2, and in Iceland - only 3 people / m2. This is due to the harsh conditions of the climatic zone. But the economic indicators of development distinguish precisely northern Europe as the leader of the entire world economy.

South

And, finally, the most numerous list of territories located in the southern part and the capitals of European states:

The Balkan and Iberian Peninsulas are occupied by these southern European powers. Industry is well developed here, especially ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy. The countries are rich in mineral resources. In agriculture, the main efforts aimed at growing food products such as:

• grapes;
• olives;
• garnet;
• dates.

It is known that Spain is the world's leading olive harvesting country. This is where 45% of the world's olive oil is produced. Spain is also famous for its most famous artists - Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró.

European Union

The idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a single community of European powers appeared in the middle of the twentieth century, or rather, after the Second World War. The official unification of the countries of the European Union (EU) took place only in 1992, when this union was sealed by the legal consent of the parties. Over time, the number of members of the European Union has expanded, and now it includes 28 allies. And states wishing to join these prosperous countries will have to prove their compliance with the European foundations and principles of the EU, such as:

• protection of citizens' rights;
• democracy;
• freedom of trade in a developed economy.

EU members

The European Union for 2017 includes the following states:

There are also candidate countries today to join this foreign community. These include:

1. Albania.
2. Serbia.
3. Macedonia.
4. Montenegro.
5. Turkey.

On the map of the European Union, you can clearly see its geography, European countries and their capitals.

Positions and prerogatives of the EU partners

The EU has a customs policy under which its members can trade with each other without duties and without restrictions. And in relation to the rest of the powers, the adopted customs tariff applies. Having common laws, the countries of the European Union created a single market and introduced a single monetary currency - the euro. Many EU member states are part of the so-called Schengen zone, which makes it possible for their citizens to move freely across the territory of all allies.

The European Union has common governing bodies for the member states, which include:

• European Court of Justice.
• European Parliament.
• European Commission.
• Audit community overseeing the EU budget.

Despite the unity, the European states that have joined the community have full independence and state sovereignty. Each country uses its own national language and has its own governing bodies. But for all participants there are certain criteria, and they must meet them. For example, the coordination of all important political decisions with the European Parliament.

It should be noted that since its foundation, only one power has left the European community. It was the Danish autonomy - Greenland. In 1985, she resented the lowered quotas imposed by the European Union for fishing. And you can also recall the sensational events in 2016 referendum in the UK, when the population voted to leave the country from the European Union. This suggests that even in such an influential and seemingly stable community, serious problems are brewing.

Southern Europe is an agrarian region with ancient traditions. Agriculture in most countries in the region is not efficient enough by EU standards. Farms are small in size, usually no more than 5 hectares. Small farms are unproductive, little marketable.

The reasons for the backwardness of agriculture are varied: the predominance of extensive forms of management, the presence of feudal remnants in some places; low level of mechanization, chemicalization and power supply of peasant labor; age fragmentation of land allotments. Crops are grown according to tradition, without taking into account market conditions, soil conditions.

Plant growing. In all countries of the region, it prevails over livestock. In terms of cultivation, "Mediterranean crops" dominate. Cereals are also cultivated: wheat (mainly in the central and southern regions of the region), corn (in the northern regions), rye and oats (in the territories adjacent to the Alps and Pyrenees). Durum wheat (for the pasta industry) is grown in southern Italy. Considerable areas are occupied by rice (Spain has the highest yield in Europe - 60-70 centners per hectare, and Italy ranks first in Europe in its collection). Parts for cereals use rainfed lands.

Among the industrial crops, the most important are: in the group of oilseeds - oils, the plantations of which are spread over significant areas of the countries of the region; in the group of sugar crops, the cultivation of sugar beets dominates (especially in the Padan lowlands in northern Italy and central regions of Spain), in the south of Spain is the only area in Europe where sugar cane is grown. Portugal and Spain produce more bark from cork oak in the world. Cotton is grown in small quantities in Spain and Italy, and Greece is Europe's leading producer of this crop. Essential oil crops (all in the Italian Riviera) are cultivated - rose, lavender, sage, etc.

Large areas are occupied by vegetables: tomatoes (Campania, Italy), cabbage, lettuce, onions. In San Marino the branch of agricultural specialization is the cultivation of green onions for export. The cultivation of melons and gourds is significant.

The Mediterranean warm climate is more conducive to the development of horticulture. In the north, apple trees, pears, cherries, plums are widespread, closer to the south - figs, apricots, peaches, pomegranates, almonds, walnuts. Citrus trees are grown for export: oranges (in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece), lemons (especially in Greece). Only in the southeast of Spain date palms bear fruit in Europe.

The countries of the region are among the largest producers of grapes. Thus, Italy ranks first in the world in grape harvest (8.6 million tons) and wine production (shares the lead with France - 5.1 million tons). Spain (4th in the world in grape harvest and 3rd in wine production) and Portugal are also leading producers of viticulture products.

Due to the prevalence of plant growing in the structure of agriculture, specializing in truck farming and horticulture, the region is often called the "garden" and "city" of Europe.

Livestock raising. It is traditionally a secondary branch of agriculture (Mediterranean conditions are not favorable for it), but it is gaining in importance. Mainly goats (9.7 million heads), cattle (15 million), pigs (37.8 million), sheep (45.2 million) and poultry are bred. Dairy cattle are fed mainly on alpine pastures. A separate area of \u200b\u200banimal husbandry in Spain has long been the raising of bulls for bullfighting.

Fishing is underdeveloped. The reason for this is the small shelf (weak food supply for fish) and the long-term development of the sea (great depletion of fish resources). The total fish catch is 1.3 million tons, Spain is in the lead with 768 thousand tons.