Europe, the planet's 6th largest continent, includes 47 countries and assorted dependencies, islands and territories.

Europe's recognized surface area covers about 9,938,000 sq km (3,837,083 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface, and about 6.8% of its land area.

In exacting geographic definitions, Europe is really not a continent, but part of the peninsula of Euroasia which includes all of Europe and Asia. However, it's still widely referred to as an individual continent.

The European continent, bordered by numerous bodies of water, is separated from Asia by Russia's Ural Mountains and by the Caspian and Black Seas. It is separated from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea.