The national composition of the population of foreign Europe is heterogeneous; there are single-national states and states with a complex structure in ethnic terms. What countries are these? What are the main groups? national composition? What factors influenced the formation of the ethnic composition of European countries? This and much more will be discussed in the article.

Factors that influenced the national composition of foreign Europe

Currently, more than 62 peoples live in Europe. Such a motley national mosaic was formed in this territory over several millennia under the influence of historical and natural factors.

Plain territories were convenient for the settlement of people and the emergence of ethnic groups. So, for example, the French nation was formed on the territory of the Paris Basin, and the German people were formed on the North German Lowland.

Mountainous territories complicated the connections between ethnic groups; in such territories, as a rule, a motley ethnic composition, these are, for example, the Balkans and the Alps.

Migration processes have had a significant impact on the national composition of Europe. From the 16th century. and until the beginning of the 20th century. Europe was mainly a region of emigration, and from the second half of the 20th century. became a region of immigration.

After the revolution of 1917, a stream of migrants poured from Russia to foreign European countries, numbering about 2 million people. They formed ethnic diasporas in France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, and Yugoslavia.

Numerous internecine wars and conquests also had a huge impact on the national composition of foreign Europe, as a result of which many peoples developed a very complex gene pool. For example, the Spanish people were formed as a result of the mixing of Arab, Celtic, Roman, and Jewish blood over several centuries. The Bulgarian ethnic group was influenced by Turkish rule for 4 centuries.

Since the mid-20th century, migration to Europe from former European colonies has increased. Thus, millions of Asians, Africans, Arabs, and Latin Americans settled permanently in foreign Europe. In the 70-90s, there were several waves of political and labor migration from Yugoslavia and Turkey. Many of them assimilated into Great Britain, France and Germany, which led to a change in the modern appearance of the French, English and Germans.

The sharpest ethnic problems Europe are characterized by national separatism and ethnic conflicts. As an example, we can recall the confrontation between the Walloons and the Flemings in the 80s in Belgium, which almost split the country. For decades now, the radical organization ETA has been operating, demanding the creation of a Basque state in southwestern France and northern Spain. IN Lately Relations between Catalonia and Spain worsened; in October 2017, a referendum for independence was held in Catalonia, the turnout was 43 percent, 90% of those who showed up voted for independence, but it was declared illegal and without legal force.

Types of countries in foreign Europe by national composition

In this regard they are divided into:

• Monoethnic, when the main nation makes up approximately 90% or more of the country's population. These include Norway, Denmark, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia.
• With a predominance of one nation, but with a significant percentage of national minorities in the structure of the country's population. These are, for example, France, Finland, Great Britain, Romania, Spain.
• Binational, that is, the national composition of the country is dominated by two nations. An example is Belgium.
• Multinational - Latvia, Switzerland.

There are three predominant types of countries in foreign Europe in terms of national composition - single-national, with a predominance of one nation, and binational.

In many European countries, very complex interethnic relationships have developed: Spain (Basques and Catalans), France (Corsica), Cyprus, Great Britain (Scotland), Belgium.

Language groups of the population of foreign Europe

In terms of language, the vast majority of the European population belongs to the Indo-European language family. It includes:

• The Slavic branch, which is divided into two groups: southern and western. South Slavic languages ​​are spoken by Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Serbs, Macedonians, Bosnians, and West Slavic languages ​​by Czechs, Poles, and Slovaks.
• The Germanic branch, which is divided into western and northern groups. The West Germanic group includes German, Flemish, Frisian, English languages. To the North Germanic group - Faroese, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic,
• Romanesque branch, its basis was Latin language. This branch includes the following French, Italian, Provençal, Portuguese, Spanish.
• The Celtic branch is currently represented by only 4 languages: Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton. Approximately 6.2 million people speak the language group.

The Indo-European language family includes Greek (more than 8 million speakers) and Albanian (2.5 million people). is also Indo-European. Before World War II, there were about 1 million Roma in Europe; today, about 600 thousand of them live in foreign European countries.

In foreign Europe the following languages ​​are spoken:

• The Uralic language family - its Finno-Ugric branch - Finns, Hungarians, Sami.
• Altai language family - Turkic branch - Tatars, Turks, Gagauz.

The Basque language occupies a special place; it does not belong to any language family; it is a so-called isolated language, the historical connections of which have not been established; about 800 thousand people are native speakers of the language.

National and religious composition of foreign Europe

The dominant religion in Europe is Christianity, only Jews profess Judaism, and Albanians and Croats profess Islam.

Catholicism is practiced by the Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, French, Irish, Austrians and Belgians, Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, and Slovaks.

It should be noted that among the Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians there are many Protestants.

In Switzerland and Germany, Catholics are approximately 50%.

Protestantism is practiced by Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, and Germans. Moreover, Lutheranism is widespread.

Orthodox Christianity is widespread in the countries of southeast and eastern Europe - in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria.

However, it is impossible to judge a person’s nationality based on religious principles. Many peoples adopted the religion of the state in which they lived. For example, many gypsies profess Christianity, but there are entire camps that consider Islam their religion.

History of statistical accounting of the national composition of the European population

About 500 million people live in Europe; the predominant part of the population, according to anthropological characteristics, is the Caucasian race. Europe can rightfully be considered the ancestral home of the national identity of peoples. It was here that national groups began to emerge, the relationships between which created the history of Europe and beyond. Here, population statistics began to develop, taking into account the national composition. But the principles for determining a particular nationality in different countries Europe was different.

Initially, the national identity of a people was associated with linguistic identity. One of the first countries in foreign Europe that carried out statistical accounting of the national composition of its citizens depending on their knowledge of language were Belgium in 1846 and Switzerland in 1850 (during the population census the question was asked: “What is your main spoken language?”). Prussia took up this initiative, and the population census in 1856 used a question on the “mother” (native) language.

In 1872, at the Statistical Congress in St. Petersburg, it was decided to introduce a direct question of nationality into the list of issues for statistical registration of the country's citizens. However, until the 20s of the 20th century, this solution was never implemented.

All this time, they kept statistical records of citizens based on religion or language. This position in the population census remained almost until the outbreak of World War II.

The complexities of ethnic statistics today

IN post-war period many countries in foreign Europe either did not set the task of taking into account the national composition of the population at all, or limited it too much.

More reliable information is based on nationality in five European countries: Albania (census 1945, 1950, 1960), Bulgaria (census 1946, 1956), Romania (census 1948, 1956), Czechoslovakia (census 1950) and Yugoslavia (census 1948, 1953, 1961). All censuses included a question on nationality and mother tongue.

In countries where only the linguistic affiliation of the population was recorded, the ability to determine the national composition becomes more difficult. These are Belgium, Greece, Finland, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein. Nationality does not always coincide with linguistic identity; many peoples speak the same language, for example, the Swiss, Germans, and Austrians speak German. In addition, many peoples were completely assimilated into the territory to which they moved, and the concept of " native language“as a determinant of ethnicity in this case does not work.

Countries such as Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, France did not set themselves the task of determining the national composition of the population during the census. Firstly, in these countries the concept of “nationality” is synonymous with “citizenship”; secondly, some countries have a relatively homogeneous national composition (Iceland, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland); thirdly, in some countries relatively accurate information is available only for certain peoples, for example, for the Welsh in Great Britain.

Thus, the poor development of statistics on the national issue and repeated changes in the political boundaries of states have created significant problems in the formation of reliable data on the national composition of the population of foreign Europe.

Dynamics of the number of peoples in foreign Europe

The dynamics of the population of the peoples of foreign Europe was not entirely the same throughout its centuries-old history.

In the Middle Ages, the number of Romance peoples increased the fastest, since they were more developed culturally and economically. In modern times, the primacy was seized by the Germanic and Slavic peoples.

The normal natural development of some peoples of Europe was disrupted by world wars. Significant losses during the last world war were experienced by the Jewish people, whose numbers decreased by more than 3 times, and by the Gypsies by 2 times.

As for forecasts for the future, in the national composition of European countries it is possible that the percentage of Slavic peoples will increase and the percentage of Germanic people will decrease.

Factors influencing the population dynamics of the peoples of foreign Europe

One of the main factors influencing the number of individual peoples in the national structure of foreign European countries is migration, as a result of which the number of people decreases. For example, after the resettlement of Jews to Israel, their number in Europe sharply decreased. But there were exceptions. For example, the Greeks, whose numbers increased sharply due to the resettlement of Greeks from Turkey to Europe.

The dynamics of the population of a particular people is influenced by the level of birth and death rates, but most of all it depends on the degree of its assimilation in the country of residence. Many second and third generation migrants lose their national identity, becoming almost completely assimilated. For example, in France, Spaniards and Italians are gradually becoming French.

Instead of output

The national composition of foreign Europe is characterized by comparative homogeneity. Europe is dominated by single-national countries and countries where the vast majority are representatives of a particular nation. There are very few countries that are nationally complex, but national issues in them are very acute.

Historically, multinational states were formed where state consolidation of more or less vast territories occurred before the formation of nations began and national movements developed (a number of countries of Eastern Europe, including Russia, and Asia), as well as during colonial expansion (African countries, where many ethnic groups were divided by borders between states); and as a result of intense migration (for example, the USA).

Multinational state consists of more than one ethnic group, as opposed to ethnically homogeneous societies. In fact, almost all modern national communities are multinational. David Welsh in the article “ Domestic policy and ethnic conflicts" ("Domestic politics and ethnic conflict", Brown, Michael E.), published in 1993 at Princeton University in the work "Ethnic conflicts and international security"(Ethnic Conflict and International Security), claimed that less than 20 out of 180 independent states can be called ethnically and nationally homogeneous, but they can be called such only if national minorities in it constitute less than 5% of the total population. Therefore, Sajit Choudhri () argued that: “the growth of ethnoculturally homogeneous states, if it existed, has ended.”

In Russia educational standard for secondary (complete) general education (profile level of the subject “geography”), “multinational” means states, within the state borders of which several ethnic groups live and are divided into countries:

Examples of multinational states

• many African countries

Due to active migration to Europe, the countries of Western Europe are gradually turning into multinational states.

Multinational states in the past

see also

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Notes

Excerpt characterizing the Plurinational State

- God bless! All glory to God! We just ate it now! Let me look at you, Your Excellency!
- Is everything all right?
- Thank God, thank God!
Rostov, completely forgetting about Denisov, not wanting to let anyone warn him, took off his fur coat and ran on tiptoe into the dark, large hall. Everything is the same, the same card tables, the same chandelier in a case; but someone had already seen the young master, and before he had time to reach the living room, something quickly, like a storm, flew out of the side door and hugged and began to kiss him. Another, third, same creature jumped out of another, third door; more hugs, more kisses, more screams, tears of joy. He couldn’t make out where and who dad was, who was Natasha, who was Petya. Everyone was screaming, talking and kissing him at the same time. Only his mother was not among them - he remembered that.
- I didn’t know... Nikolushka... my friend!
- Here he is... ours... My friend, Kolya... He has changed! No candles! Tea!
- Yes, kiss me!
- Darling... and then me.
Sonya, Natasha, Petya, Anna Mikhailovna, Vera, the old count, hugged him; and people and maids, filling the rooms, muttered and gasped.
Petya hung on his legs. - And then me! - he shouted. Natasha, after she had bent him to her and kissed his entire face, jumped away from him and holding onto the hem of his Hungarian jacket, jumped like a goat all in one place and squealed shrilly.
On all sides there were eyes shining with tears of joy, loving eyes, on all sides there were lips seeking a kiss.
Sonya, red as red, also held his hand and was all beaming in the blissful gaze fixed on his eyes, which she was waiting for. Sonya was already 16 years old, and she was very beautiful, especially at this moment of happy, enthusiastic animation. She looked at him without taking her eyes off, smiling and holding her breath. He looked at her gratefully; but still waited and looked for someone. The old countess had not come out yet. And then steps were heard at the door. The steps are so fast that they couldn't be his mother's.
But it was she in a new dress, still unfamiliar to him, sewn without him. Everyone left him and he ran to her. When they came together, she fell on his chest, sobbing. She could not raise her face and only pressed it to the cold strings of his Hungarian. Denisov, unnoticed by anyone, entered the room, stood right there and, looking at them, rubbed his eyes.
“Vasily Denisov, a friend of your son,” he said, introducing himself to the count, who was looking at him questioningly.
- Welcome. I know, I know,” said the count, kissing and hugging Denisov. - Nikolushka wrote... Natasha, Vera, here he is Denisov.
The same happy, enthusiastic faces turned to the shaggy figure of Denisov and surrounded him.
- Darling, Denisov! - Natasha squealed, not remembering herself with delight, jumped up to him, hugged and kissed him. Everyone was embarrassed by Natasha's action. Denisov also blushed, but smiled and took Natasha’s hand and kissed it.
Denisov was taken to the room prepared for him, and the Rostovs all gathered in the sofa near Nikolushka.
The old countess, without letting go of his hand, which she kissed every minute, sat next to him; the rest, crowding around them, caught his every movement, word, glance, and did not take their rapturously loving eyes off him. The brother and sisters argued and grabbed each other's places closer to him, and fought over who should bring him tea, a scarf, a pipe.
Rostov was very happy with the love that was shown to him; but the first minute of his meeting was so blissful that his present happiness seemed not enough to him, and he kept waiting for something else, and more, and more.
The next morning, the visitors slept from the road until 10 o'clock.
In the previous room there were scattered sabers, bags, tanks, open suitcases, and dirty boots. The cleaned two pairs with spurs had just been placed against the wall. Servants brought washbasins, hot water for shaving, and cleaned dresses. It smelled of tobacco and men.
- Hey, G"ishka, t"ubku! – Vaska Denisov’s hoarse voice shouted. - Rostov, get up!
Rostov, rubbing his drooping eyes, raised his confused head from the hot pillow.
- Why is it late? “It’s late, it’s 10 o’clock,” Natasha’s voice answered, and in the next room the rustling of starched dresses, the whispering and laughter of girls’ voices was heard, and something blue, ribbons, black hair and cheerful faces flashed through the slightly open door. It was Natasha with Sonya and Petya, who came to see if he was up.
- Nikolenka, get up! – Natasha’s voice was heard again at the door.

IN modern world There are more than three thousand different ethnic units, and there are just over two hundred states. This means that, with some exceptions, the majority are multinational countries.

Terms and concepts

In order to understand the issue in detail, it is necessary to highlight the key concepts that researchers use when studying a particular country. Concepts such as are quite close in meaning, but at the same time have certain nuances. It is quite clear that all these terms are the result of the historical complication of various elements that characterize a particular ethnic community. Economic development and expansion of territory led to an increase in the area of ​​residence of the tribe, which gradually turned into a nationality or people. And as the highest stage of an ethnic unit, the formation and emergence of a nation can be distinguished. Many scientists agree that the determining factors in the formation of this community are one language, territory, culture and economic ties. However, as a nation develops, these factors lose their primary importance, and it can continue to exist even when divided

Formation of national identity

Indeed, to confirm this statement, one can turn to the example of such a multinational giant as the USSR. Many nations that existed within this state, after its collapse, found themselves on different sides of the borders, but did not lose their identification. Therefore, having been formed once, they continue to exist, except for cases of physical disappearance. Language as one of the fundamental characteristics of a nation may cease to be such. As the number of people increased, the role of kinship decreased, and it could happen that two or more languages ​​appeared in one nation. When former ethnic groups were united into increasingly numerous ones, variations of languages ​​(dialects) were preserved, sometimes differing quite strongly from the former single language. The most striking example is the Swiss Confederation. The multinational countries of Europe were formed approximately along this path. However, not only European countries followed this path of development of national relations. The multinational countries of Asia also could not immediately form as full-fledged multiethnic entities. A series of revolutions and other metamorphoses led them to the need for coexistence, and one of the many Asian states - China - was also formed according to this principle.

Different interpretations of the concept "nation"

When using the term “nation”, one must keep in mind its dual meaning. Firstly, scientists consider it as a collection of citizens of a particular state. That is, it is a multicultural, socio-political, territorial and economic community of representatives of different nationalities that form the state. In the second case, this definition is used to designate the highest form of ethnic unity. Multinational countries formed according to the first scenario in the modern geopolitical world make up more than half of all state entities. The most typical example is the American nation. For many centuries, the United States has been called a “melting pot” that successfully dissolved the ethnic diversity of American citizens, turning them into a single nation. This course of events was dictated by historical realities, the emerging industrial type of society made strict demands, primarily of an economic nature, and many nationalities had to unite in order to successfully compete in the international arena. This is how the multinational countries of the world took shape.

Russian style integration

The globalization of the economy has influenced the ways in which state-national entities integrate. Dynamically developing production has led to the formation of new options for interethnic cooperation. The USA and the Russian Federation are multinational countries; both of them are federations by their structure. However, the methods of their organization are fundamentally different. Russian Federation built on the national-state principle of the subjects that make it up. They have a certain independence in internal affairs and jointly represent the Russian nation.

An alternative path to national cooperation

American states also have a certain internal autonomy, but are formed on a territorial basis. Russia, in this way of organization, guarantees the development of the peoples inhabiting it. The United States of America, on the basis of democratic laws, also secures the right of each ethnic unit to national and cultural independence. These two types of government associations are represented throughout the globe.

Globalization and nations

The world's entry into information age further intensified interstate competition, and, accordingly, interethnic competition. Therefore, the main trend is the birth of supranational state entities. They are formed on the principle of a confederation and have great national and cultural diversity. The most typical example is the European Union, which includes more than twenty countries and whose inhabitants speak, according to a rough estimate, 40 languages. The structure of this association is as close as possible to the existing economic and political realities. Its territory has a common legal system, currency, and citizenship. If you look closely at these signs, you can conclude that a European supernation has practically emerged. The number of new EU members is growing. Similar processes, but with a lesser degree of cooperation, are taking place all over the world. The initial economic and political blocs are prototypes of future supernations. It seems that the future of all human civilization lies precisely in such large state-national formations.

National politics

The guarantor of the preservation of unity is in states united into multinational countries. The list of these countries is quite extensive and includes the overwhelming number of government entities located on our planet. National policy includes a set of measures to ensure the equal existence and development of ethnic units of the state. The most multinational country in the world - India - is an example of this. Only a balanced and cautious policy of this country allows it to be a leader and successfully compete with its giant neighbor China.

Modern trends in interethnic relations

It is the legislative consolidation of rights that serves as the binding “solution” for these countries. The development paths of nationalities and states did not always coincide. History shows many similar examples. Multinational countries are most susceptible to collapse precisely because of their multiethnicity. The twentieth century saw the collapse of many such states: the USSR, Yugoslavia, and even binational Czechoslovakia. Therefore, maintaining parity of nationalities becomes the basis for cooperation and integration. Over the past two decades, the process of separatism has become somewhat biased; this also applies to established European states, such as, for example, Great Britain, from which Scotland announced its intention to secede, as well as the states of Asia and Africa artificially created as a result of colonial policy.

Uninational, binational, multinational states

Countries with a sharp predominance of one nation, but with the presence of more or less significant national minorities: Great Britain, France, Spain - in Europe. In foreign Asia - China, Mongolia, Vietnam. In Africa - Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania.

Binational countries. This type is rare and includes Belgium, Canada and some others.

Countries with a complex national composition, but relatively homogeneous ethnically, are more often found in Asia (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Malaysia, Laos), in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa and in Latin America.

Multinational countries with a diverse ethnic composition. The most striking countries of this type are India and Russia. This type also includes Switzerland, Indonesia, the Philippines, and some countries in Western and Southern Africa.

Basic principles of location of the engineering industry

Mechanical engineering differs from other industries in a number of features that affect its location.

Firstly, in the era of the scientific and technological revolution, the development of mechanical engineering is unthinkable without the widespread introduction of scientific developments. Therefore, the production of knowledge-intensive industries is increasingly focused on areas with a highly developed scientific base.

Secondly, the production of engineering products requires much more working time than in other industries, therefore the labor intensity of the industry is high.

Thirdly, the metal intensity of the industry is quite high, so mechanical engineering enterprises often focus on its centers.

But in the era of scientific and technological revolution, the focus of factories on metal decreased significantly, due to an increase in labor intensity and knowledge intensity. Mechanical engineering is increasingly becoming a ubiquitous industry.

Fourthly, the stages of production of mechanical engineering products are carried out, as a rule, at separate specialized enterprises - specialization and cooperation play a great role in mechanical engineering. But as a result, the transport factor acquires exceptional importance.

Fifthly, due to the specifics of many mechanical engineering enterprises (for example, those producing combine harvesters or equipment for the mining industry, etc. - which are difficult to transport), many of them are consumer-oriented.

The USA, Japan and Germany are leaders in global mechanical engineering. These countries produce the most diverse products. The top ten also includes France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, which have a very wide range of mechanical engineering, China, Canada and Brazil.

Features of the location of leading branches of the chemical complex

The main features of the location are similar to the features of the location of mechanical engineering: 4 main regions have emerged in the global chemical industry.

The largest of them is foreign Europe (produces about 2/5 of the industry's products). The chemical industry began to develop at a particularly rapid pace in many countries of the region after World War II, when petrochemicals began to lead in the structure of the industry. As a result, petrochemical and oil refining centers are located in seaports and along the routes of main oil pipelines.

The second most important region is the United States, where the chemical industry is characterized by great diversity. The main factor in the location of enterprises was the raw material factor, which largely contributed to the territorial concentration of chemical production.

The third region is East and Southeast Asia, with Japan playing a particularly important role (with a powerful petrochemical industry based on imported oil). The importance of China and the newly industrialized countries, which specialize mainly in the production of synthetic products and semi-finished products, is also growing.

The fourth region is the CIS countries, which have a diverse chemical industry focused on both raw materials and energy factors.

Nowadays, more than 60 peoples live in Foreign Europe. The colorful ethnic mosaic was formed over several millennia under the influence of both natural and historical factors. Vast plains were convenient for the formation of large ethnic groups. Thus, the Paris Basin became the center of education of the French people, and the German nation was formed on the North German Lowland. Rough, mountainous landscapes, on the contrary, complicated interethnic ties; the most variegated ethnic mosaic is observed in the Balkans and in.

One of the most pressing problems today is interethnic conflicts and national separatism. Confrontation between the Flemings and Walloons in the 1980s. almost led to the split of the country, which in 1989 became a kingdom with a federal structure. For several decades now, the terrorist organization ETA has been operating, demanding the creation of an independent Basque state in the Basque territories in the north and southwest. But 90% of the Basques oppose terror as a method of achieving independence, and therefore the extremists do not have popular support. Acute interethnic clashes have rocked the Balkans for more than ten years. One of the main factors here is religious.

They have a significant influence on the ethnic composition of Europe. From the 16th to the beginning of the 20th century. Europe was a region of predominantly, and in the second half of the past century, mass immigration. One of the first waves of mass emigration to Europe is associated with the 1917 revolution in Russia, from where more than 2 million people left. Russian emigrants formed ethnic diasporas in many European countries: France, Germany, Yugoslavia.

Numerous wars and conquests have also left their mark, resulting in most European nations having a very complex gene pool. For example, the Spanish people were formed on the mixture of Celtic, Roman, Arab blood that lasted for centuries. The Bulgarians bear in their anthropological appearance the indelible signs of 400 years of Turkish rule.

In the post-war period, the ethnic composition of Foreign Europe became more complex due to increased migration from third world countries - former European colonies. Millions of Arabs, Asians, Latin Americans and Africans flocked to Europe in search of better life. During the 1970-1990s. there were several waves of labor and political emigration from the republics of the former Yugoslavia. Many immigrants not only took root in Germany, France, Great Britain and other countries, but also assimilated and are included in official statistics these countries along with the indigenous population. Higher and more active assimilation of alien ethnic groups lead to a change in the appearance of modern Germans, French, and English.

National composition of the states of Foreign Europe

Mononational*	With large national minorities	Multinational
Iceland Denmark Germany Austria Italy Greece Poland Slovenia	France Slovakia Bulgaria Lithuania	Great Britain Spain Switzerland Belgium