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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.

Contents 1 Geographical definition 1.1 Iberian Peninsula 1.2 Southern France 1.3 Italian Peninsula 1.4 Balkan Peninsula 1.5 Other 2 Political definition 3 Climatical definition 4 Phytogeographical definition 5 Linguistic Southern Europe 5.1 Romance languages 5.2 South Slavic languages 5.3 Greek language 5.4 Germanic languages 5.5 Albanian language 5.6 Semitic languages 5.7 Turkic languages 6 Notes

[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

•  France (not including the North, Alpine and Atlantic parts but including: Corsica)
•  Monaco

[edit] Italian Peninsula

•  Italy (including: Sardinia and Sicily)
•  San Marino
•  Vatican City

[edit] Balkan Peninsula

•  Albania
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina
•  Bulgaria
•  Croatia (below Sava and Kupa)
•  Greece (including: Aegean Islands, Crete, and Ionian Islands)
•  Macedonia
•  Montenegro
•  Serbia (below Sava and Danube)
  •  Kosovo
•  Turkey (3% of the country (East Thrace) lies in Europe, the rest in Asia)

[edit] Other

•  Croatia (northern regions (Slavonia, Zagreb, Međimurje and Zagorje) are sometimes considered as Central Europe)
•  Cyprus (geographically part of Asia but considered European for historic and cultural reasons)
•  Malta (including: Gozo)
•  Romania (Northern Dobruja and sometimes Wallachia)
•  Serbia (northern regions (Vojvodina and Belgrade) are sometimes considered as Central Europe)
•  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)
•  Macedonia
•  Malta (including: Gozo)
•  Montenegro
•  Portugal (including: Madeira and Azores)
•  San Marino
•  Serbia
  •  Kosovo
•  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 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
•  Slovenia
•  Spain (except for the northwestern part)
•  Switzerland (only Ticino)
•  Ukraine (only the southern part of Crimea)
•  Turkey

[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, Croatian, Serbian
•  Bulgaria: Bulgarian
•  Croatia: Croatian
•  Macedonia: Macedonian
•  Montenegro: Montenegrin, Serbian
•  Serbia: Serbian
•  Slovenia: Slovene

[edit] Greek language

•  Cyprus: Greek
•  Greece: Greek

[edit] Germanic languages

•  Gibraltar: English
•  Malta: English
•  Switzerland: German

[edit] Albanian language

•  Albania: Albanian
•  Kosovo: Albanian

[edit] Semitic languages

•  Cyprus: Cypriot Arabic
•  Malta: Maltese

[edit] Turkic languages

•  Cyprus: Turkish
•  Turkey: Turkish

[edit] Notes

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