Which Countries Make up Western Europe?
Western Europe consists of nine countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands and Switzerland, according to the United Nations. This designation of Western Europe is part of the geoscheme for the Europe continent that was developed by the United Nations Statistics Division. Europe is divided into other subdivisions, as well, including Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Europe.
However, Western Europe can be alternatively defined as any westerly countries in the European continent. Also, during the Cold War, the term was originally used to signify countries that were members of the Western European Union, which is now known as the European Union. There were 10 member countries in total, including Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Because of this, there are various answers for which countries are in Western Europe. While the UN and EU have their own definitions, on a more inclusive basis, Western Europe contains the countries Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Additionally, the countries Malta, Gibraltar and Turkey can also be considered part of Western Europe.
