Europe, the westernmost portion of Eurasia, is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of individual countries may vary based on criteria being used. For instance, the Balkans is a distinct geographical region within Europe, but individual countries may alternatively be grouped into South-eastern Europe or Southern Europe.
Regional affiliation of countries may also evolve over time. Malta was considered an island of North Africa for centuries,[1] but is now generally considered a part of Southern Europe.[2] The exact placement of the Caucasus has also varied since classical antiquity[3] and is now regarded by many as a distinct region within or partly in Europe.[4] Greenland is geographically a part of North America but has been politically and culturally associated with Northern Europe for more than a millennium.[5] As such, several regions are often included as belonging to a Greater Europe, including Anatolia, Cyprus, the South Caucasus, Siberia, Asian Kazakhstan (the part of Kazakhstan located east of European Kazakhstan), Greenland, as well as the overseas territories of EU member states.
Groupings by compass directions are the hardest to define in Europe, since there are a few calculations of the midpoint of Europe (among other issues), and the pure geographical criteria of "east" and "west" are often confused with the political meaning these words acquired during the Cold War era.
Some typical geographical subregions of Europe include:
Note: There is no universally agreed definition for continental subregions. Depending on the source, some of the subregions, such as Central Europe or South-eastern Europe, can be listed as first-tier subregions. Some transregional countries, such as Romania or the United Kingdom, can be included in multiple subregions.
Common geopolitical subregions of Europe include:
Two Europes
Three Europes[6]
Europe can be divided along many differing historical lines, normally corresponding to those parts that were inside or outside a particular cultural phenomenon, empire or political division. The areas varied at different times, and so it is arguable as to which were part of some common historical entity (e.g., were Germany or Britain part of Roman Europe as they were only partly and relatively briefly part of the Empire—or were the countries of the former communist Yugoslavia part of the Eastern Bloc, since it was not in the Warsaw Pact).[citation needed]