This article will examine the biggest countries in Europe. The United Nations has officially recognized 44 countries in Europe, placing it third among the world’s continents in terms of the number of countries. These countries range in size from the smallest to the largest.
Whether to include a country’s territory that is located outside of Europe when ranking European nations by size is a crucial decision. For instance, most of Russia is located in the Asian continent.
Several other nations, including France and Denmark, have resources outside of the continent that might greatly increase their size. In this piece, we make an effort to solely include a country’s European components.
Russia
Russia is the biggest nation in Europe; and, it is the biggest nation on Earth. Even though nearly 75% of Russia is in Asia, it nevertheless occupies a much larger area than any other European nation, totalling 3,995,200 square kilometres, or 1,542,555 square miles.
Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake on the earth, and the Volga River, the longest river in Europe, are also found here.
Russia is the largest country in the world, spanning 11 different time zones and 16 other nations along its boundaries.
Ukraine
With a little more than 600,000 square kilometres in size, Ukraine is the second-largest nation in Europe. Additionally, it is one of the biggest nations on the planet. It has borders with five additional nations and the Black Sea in addition to its enormous neighbour to the east, Russia. In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine and is now actively attempting to dominate more parts of this former Soviet Union member.
The majority of Ukraine is made up of plains and plateaus, however, the Carpathian mountain range may also be found in the west, close to Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Ukraine has a large number of rivers, the majority of which empty into the Black Sea.
France
With 551,695 square kilometres of land in Europe, France comes in third place after Ukraine. These figures do not account for overseas territories, whose areas would rank France second in size in Europe.
Along with the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea, France shares boundaries with several other bodies of water. In addition, eight distinct European nations border it. The first nation on this list that is a part of the Schengen Area and the European Union is France.
Spain
Europe’s fourth-largest country is Spain. The second-most western nation on European soil (after Portugal), it shares land boundaries with Portugal, Gibraltar (UK), Andorra, and France.
Spain is a country with land in both Europe and Africa, but for this list, we have only included the size of its European territory.
Additionally, Spain has several mountain ranges, three primary temperature zones, and numerous sizable rivers. It is a country that is largely mountainous.
Sweden
Sweden, the fifth-biggest nation in Europe and the 56th-largest in the world, is located in the Scandinavian region between Norway and Finland. Particularly in its southern areas, Sweden’s topography is characterized by an abundance of huge lakes and dense forest cover. The longest continuous border in all of Europe is the one it shares with Norway.
Germany
Germany is the sixth-largest nation in Europe and ranks 63rd in the world. It has land borders with nine other countries, as well as coastlines on the Baltic and North Seas. In Germany, there are many rivers, mountains, and forests. The Danube River, the second-longest in Europe after the Nile, rises in Germany and finally empties into the Black Sea.
In Germany, over a third of the land is covered by forests, just over half is used for agriculture, and 14% has some sort of infrastructure built on it.
Finland
With an area of over 340,000 square kilometres, Finland is the next largest country in Europe after Germany. It is located in a remote region of northern Europe, bordering Norway, Sweden, and Russia.
The northernmost capital in continental Europe is Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Iceland’s Reykjavik is the only capital city that is located further north.
Norway
Norway is the sixth-largest nation in Europe, but if Svalbard was to be added to the calculation of its size, it would come in at number eight. It is to the west of Finland and Sweden and contains the northernmost point on European soil. The magnificent fjords and numerous islands that make up the Norwegian coastline make it particularly fascinating.
Poland
Poland is the ninth-largest country in Europe. With more than 10,000 lakes nationwide, its northeastern area has one of the largest densities of lakes in the world. Forests, a Baltic Sea coast, and mountain ranges are also present. The wisent, white stork, and white-tailed eagle are Poland’s national animals. The European bison, which is the heaviest land animal in Europe and is protected by conservation efforts, is also found in Poland.
Italy
Europe’s tenth-largest nation, Italy, is a part of both Southern and Western Europe. In the country’s northern region, it stretches far into the Mediterranean Sea and borders Slovenia, Austria, France, Switzerland, and Switzerland. San Marino and Vatican City are independent nations that exist as enclaves within the nation. The two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily, and Sardinia, are also part of Italy.
Conclusion
From what we know, the list of the largest countries in Europe continues. However, these are the 10 biggest countries in Europe in terms of size. They are all ranked from the biggest being at the top and smallest as you go downwards.
