Southern_europe

Southern Europe or sometimes Mediterranean Europe is a region of the European continent.

The term can have four definitions:

• geographical
• political
• climatic
• linguistic

Contents 1 Geographical definition 1.1 Iberian Peninsula 1.2 Southern France 1.3 Italian peninsula 1.4 Mediterranean Sea 1.5 Balkan Peninsula 2 Political definition 3 Climatical definition 4 Linguistic definition 5 Notes

Geographical definition

The southern half of Europe is shown in shades of red.

Geographically, Southern Europe would be the south 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. Countries geographically considered part of Southern Europe include:

Iberian Peninsula

•  Andorra
•  Gibraltar
•  Portugal (including:  Madeira and  Azores.)
•  Spain (including:  Canary Islands,  Balearic Islands,  Ceuta and  Melilla.)

Southern France

•  France (including:  Corsica)
•  Monaco

Italian peninsula

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

Mediterranean Sea

•  Cyprus
•  Malta

Balkan Peninsula

•  Albania
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina
•  Bulgaria
•  Croatia
•  Greece (including: Aegean Islands, Crete and Ionian Islands.)
•  Montenegro
•  Republic of Macedonia
•  Serbia
•  Slovenia
•  Turkey
•  Kosovo

Political definition

The Southern European countries in the UN classification in sub-regions.

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
•  Greece (including: Aegean Islands, Crete and Ionian Islands.)
•  Italy (including:  Sardinia, and  Sicily.)
•  Republic of Macedonia
•  Malta
•  Montenegro
•  Portugal (including:  Madeira and  Azores.)
•  San Marino
•  Serbia
•  Spain (including:  Canary Islands,  Balearic Islands,  Ceuta and  Melilla.)
•  Vatican City

This map shows the areas of Europe with mediterranean climates.

Climatical definition

Southern Europe\'s climate is that of the Mediterranean climate, which has become a typically known characteristic of the area.

The Mediterranean 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)
•  Spain (southern half and eastern coast)

Linguistic definition

Linguistical definition of south Europe. Latin Europe in blue, Balkan region (south Slavic countries: former-Yugoslavia + Bulgaria), Albania and Greece in green.

Countries lingustically included in Latin Europe are often associated with Southern Europe, especially Southwest Europe (see Latin Arch).

Countries included in the linguistic definition of Southern Europe include:

•  Andorra
•  Belgium (In  Wallonia, where French is spoken.)
•  Italy
•  France
•  Gibraltar
•  Malta
•  Moldova (Bordering Romania, and speaking Romanian language.)
•  Monaco
•  Portugal (Including:  Madeira and  Azores.)
•  Romania
•  San Marino
•  Spain (Including:  Canary Islands,  Balearic Islands,  Ceuta and  Melilla.)
•  Switzerland (Regions where French, Italian and Romansh is spoken.)
•  Vatican City

Notes

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