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Culture
Population Patterns
Objectives
• Explain how Europe’s physical geography
influences its population density and
distribution.
• Describe the effects of industrialization and
urbanization on Europe’s people.
• Discuss how recent patterns of migration
have influenced European culture.
Ethnic Diversity
• Europe consists of more than 30 countries and
about 160 ethnic groups.
• Ethnic Tensions In the Balkan Peninsula, serious
fighting erupted during the 1990s among ethnic
groups that once formed the country of Yugoslavia.
Ethnic Diversity (cont.)
Why do you think different ethnic groups
are often in conflict with one another?
Possible answers: Each group wants the
right to maintain its customs, religion,
and language. Each group fears that
another will become strong enough to
force it to assimilate. Since cultural
identity often is based on deeply held
belief systems, groups may see new or
different ways of thinking and behaving
as threats.
Population Characteristics
• Europe is the 6th largest continent
• It is the 3rd largest in population.
• Europe has some of the most
densely populated cities in the
world.
Why do you think Europe is the third
most populated continent despite its
relatively small land area?
Possible answers: Within its small area,
Europe offers rich farmland, temperate
climate, waterways, and other natural
resources that encourage high
concentration of population.
Urbanization
• The Industrial Revolution transformed Europe from
a rural, agricultural society into an urban,
manufacturing society.
• Today about 75 percent of all Europeans live in cities.
• Europe’s largest cities face the challenge of
overcrowding and pollution.
• European cities offer a unique mixture of old and
new ways of life.
Population Movements
• Population movements have been a continual part of
Europe’s history.
• Despite immigration, Europe’s overall population is
shrinking because of low birthrates.
Do you think Europe’s shrinking population is an
advantage or a disadvantage? Why?
Possible answers: It is an advantage because it will
relieve the overcrowded areas, and there will be more
resources to go around. It is a disadvantage because
there may be a labor shortage again, and an aging
population will have to be supported by fewer younger
workers.
A Changing Europe
• Inequalities among social
classes and substandard
working conditions for
the poor led to the rise of
communism–a
philosophy that called for
economic equality in
which the workers would
control the means of
production.
• Toward the end of the 19th
century, working
conditions in Europe
began to improve.
A Changing Europe (cont.)
• During the 1900’s Eastern Europe came under Soviet
Communist control, but western Europe backed
democracy and received support from the United
States.
• A divided Germany became a “hot point” of the Cold
War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet
Union.
A Changing Europe
• During the Cold War, the western European
democracies were more economically productive
than the eastern European communist countries.
•After years of popular unrest, the Soviet-backed
communist governments of eastern Europe
collapsed in 1989.
• Throughout much of eastern Europe during the
1990s, free elections installed democratic leaders
who encouraged the rise of market economies.
Cold War Propaganda
A Changing Europe (cont.)
• In western Europe, steps were taken toward economic
and political unity.
• The European Union (EU) became the organization
promoting this goal.
• There are currently 25 member countries in the
European Union.
Quality of Life
• Western Europeans generally enjoy a higher standard of
living than eastern and southern Europeans do.
• Eastern Europeans are still recovering from years of
communist rule or the ravages of recent conflicts.
Quality of Life (cont.)
• Education Europeans are among the
world’s best-educated people.
• Most European countries have literacy
rates above 90 percent.
State-Sponsored Human Services
• Many European countries provide citizens with social
welfare programs for health care, higher education,
and social security.
• Large portions of national budgets fund these
programs.
Quality of Life (cont.)
Why do you think the fall of communism
resulted in challenges for eastern Europe?
Possible answers: Drastic political
changes have required many
adjustments. Businesses converting to
private ownership need to cut costs, and
many workers find themselves without
jobs. Some social services have
disappeared, forcing people to become
more self-sufficient.