Europe
The countries in boldface are the ones our kids have decided are optimal for quickly getting bearings on a map. Think of a famous (European) example: Italy. It’s shaped like a boot, it juts out into the Mediterranean Sea, and it’s easy to find on a map. If you can locate Italy, then you can begin to easily locate many other countries to the north and south. Same thing with these regions. The boldface countries are ones we’ve found easiest to locate on a map, within each region, and thereby more easy to locate other countries in proximity.
A few notes: Europe is the second-tallest continent. It’s located in the Northern Hemisphere and includes several large islands, including the British Isles and Iceland. It’s a little challenging to determine to remember exactly which countries share Europe, because there are several unique situations, such as Kazakhstan (the Western part is considered European), Kosovo (recognized by some), and Turkey (occupies parts of both Europe and Asia).
Eastern Europe
This is the area east of Germany and west of the Ural Mountains.
Belarus
Bulgaria
Czechia
Hungary
Moldova
Poland
Romania
Russian Federation
Slovakia
Ukraine
Southern Europe
This is the southern portion bounded by the Mediterranean Sea.
Albania
Andorra
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Cyprus
Gibraltar
Greece
Italy
Kosovo
North Macedonia
Malta
Monaco
Montenegro
Portugal
San Marino
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain
Turkey
Vatican (City State)
Northern Europe
This is the area north of Western Europe (see below). It includes the area north of the English Channel and the Baltic Sea.
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
Greenland
Iceland
Ireland
Latvia
Lithuania
Northern Ireland (UK)
Norway
Scotland (UK)
Sweden
United Kingdom
Wales (UK)
Western Europe
The Atlantic Ocean forms its boundary on the west, the English Channel and North Sea on the north, and the Alps to the east.
Austria
Belgium
France
Germany
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Switzerland