Ethnic groups in Europe

"Europeans" redirects here. For other uses, see Europeans (disambiguation).

The ethnic groups in Europe are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. According to German monograph Minderheitenrechte in Europa co-edited by Pan and Pfeil (2002) there are 87 distinct peoples of Europe, of which 33 form the majority population in at least one sovereign state, while the remaining 54 constitute ethnic minorities. The total number of national minority populations in Europe is estimated at 105 million people, or 14% of 770 million Europeans.[1]

Modern ethnic Europeans are a recent and ongoing evolution. The original anatomically modern human migrants to Europe from Africa arrived 40,000 years ago; these prehistoric Europeans were predominantly dark skin, short of stature, lactose intolerance, and looked dramatically different in comparison to modern Europeans. The genetic lineage of Europe mysteriously transformed about 4,500 years ago, with changes in diet, body size and skin pigmentation; when Central Asian and West Asian migrants arrived with taller height and light skin genes, respectively.[2][3] There is no precise or universally accepted definition of the terms "ethnic group" or "nationality". In the context of European ethnography in particular, the terms ethnic group, people (without nation state), nationality, national minority, ethnic minority, linguistic community, linguistic group, linguistic minority and genetic haplogroup are used as mostly synonymous, although preference may vary in usage with respect to the situation specific to the individual countries of Europe.[4]

Overview map of the distribution of the major languages of Europe

Overview

Further information: Demographics of Europe

There are eight peoples of Europe (defined by their language) with more than 30 million members residing in Europe. These eight groups between themselves account for some 465 million or about 65% of European population:

  1. Russians (ca. 95 million residing in Europe),[lower-alpha 1]
  2. Germans (ca. 82 million),[lower-alpha 2]
  3. French (ca. 60 million),[lower-alpha 3]
  4. British (ca. 60 million),[lower-alpha 4][5]
  5. Italians (55 million),[6]
  6. Spanish (ca. 50 million),[lower-alpha 5]
  7. Ukrainians (38–55 million),
  8. Poles (ca. 38 million).

About 20–25 million residents (3%) are members of diasporas of non-European origin. The population of the European Union, with some five hundred million residents, accounts for two thirds of the European population.

Both Spain and the United Kingdom are special cases, in that the designation of nationality, Spanish and British, may controversially take ethnic aspects, subsuming various regional ethnic groups, see nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain and native populations of the United Kingdom. Switzerland is a similar case, but the linguistic subgroups of the Swiss are not usually discussed in terms of ethnicity, and Switzerland is considered a "multi-lingual state" rather than a "multi-ethnic state".

Linguistic classifications

Languages of Europe. Interpretive map, date unspecified
Further information: Languages of Europe

Of the total population of Europe of some 730 million (as of 2005), over 80% or some 600 million fall within three large branches of Indo-European languages, viz., Slavic, Italic (Romance) and Germanic. The largest groups that do not fall within these three are the Greeks (about 12 million) and the Albanians (about 8 million). Beside the Indo-European languages there are two other major language families on the European continent: Turkic languages and Uralic languages. The Semitic languages that dominate the coast of the northern Africa as well as the Near East are preserved on the Malta islands, a Mediterranean archipelago. Basque is a linguistic isolate unrelated to any other languages inside or outside of Europe.

Family of Indo-European languages

There are approximately 641 million residents in the family of the Indo-European languages divided into linguistic branches and peoples.[7]

Slavic languages [7]
Branch People Sub-groups and minority languages Number in millions notes
Slavic, East Russians Pomors, Cossacks 95 82 in European Russia,[8] 8.3 in Ukraine,[9] 0.7 in Belarus,[10] 1 in the Baltic States,[11][12][13] 0.3 in Moldova and Transnistria;[14][15] up to 0.5 in the Russian communities throughout the EU, especially in Germany[16]
Slavic, East Ukrainians Rusyns, Boykos, Hutsuls, Lemkos, Poleszuks 41 37.5 million in Ukraine;[9] 2 million in European Russia[8]
Slavic, West Poles 38 37.5 million in Poland; around 20 million people of Polish ancestry living abroad
Slavic, South Bulgarians Pomaks 12 Total speakers worldwide.[17][18][19][20][21][22]
Slavic, West Czechs 11 P&P
Slavic, South Serbs 11 Total speakers worldwide.[23]
Slavic, East Belarusians 10 P&P
Slavic, South Croats Bunjevci, Šokci, Burgenland Croats 6.5 The World Factbook.[24]
Slavic, West Slovaks 5 P&P
Slavic, South Bosniaks 2.3 The World Factbook.[25]
Slavic, South Slovenes 2 P&P
Slavic, West Silesians 1.9 P&P
Slavic, South Macedonians Torbeš 1.6 P&P
Slavic, South Montenegrins 0.6 P&P
Slavic, West Kashubs 0.5 P&P
Slavic, West Sorbs 0.06 P&P
Slavic Languages   Total 235 million
Italic languages [26]
Branch People Sub-groups and minority languages Number in millions notes
Latin, Western Francophonie French, Walloons, Romands, Provencals, Occitans, Aranese 72 P&P
Latin, Western Italians Sammarinese people, Swiss Italians, Istrian Italians, Dalmatian Italians, Sardinians, Corsican Italians 61 P&P
Latin, Western Spaniards Castilians; non-Castilian ethno-linguistic groups: Andalusians, Asturians, Aragonese, Galicians, Catalans 50 P&P
Latin, Eastern Romanians (Vlachs) Daco-Romanians, Moldovans, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians, Aromanians, Morlachs, Moravian Vlachs 24-26 P&P
Latin, Western Portuguese 12 P&P
Latin, Eastern Rhaeto-Romanics Romansh, Ladins, Friulian 0.6
Latin, Western   Gibraltarians 0.03 (Speak English mainly as first language) Also summed under White British
Romance-speaking Europe Total 200 million
Germanic languages [26]
Branch People Sub-groups and minority languages Number in millions notes
Germanic, West, Continental German-speaking Europe Germans, Austrians, Bavarians, Alemannic Swiss, Swabians, Luxembourgers, Alsatians, Lorrainers, South Tyroleans, German-speaking Belgians, North Schleswig Germans 89 P&P
Germanic, West, North Sea English 45[27] also subsumed under British or White British.
Germanic, West, Continental Dutch people Netherlandic, Flemish people 23 P&P
Germanic, North Scandinavians Norwegians, Swedes, Finland Swedes, Gotlanders, Danes, South Schleswig Danes, Faroese, Icelanders 22 P&P
Germanic, West, North Sea Frisians 0.5 P&P
Germanic Europe Total 180 million
Family Branch People Sub-groups and minority languages approx. number (millions)[28] notes
Indo-European Indo-Iranian 5
Indo-Aryan Romani people 4[29]
Iranian Ossetians 0.6
Iranian Tats 0.02
Celtic Europe 2-22 approx. 2 million speakers of Celtic languages, but depending on the definition, some 20 million may be considered "Celtic"
Celtic, Goidelic Irish Gaeltacht 6 All but 10 - 20,000 speak English as a first language. Some living in Northern Ireland can also subsumed under British or White British.
Celtic, Goidelic Scots Gàidhealtachd 6 also subsumed under British or White British.
Celtic, Brythonic Welsh 3[30] UK, does not include Welsh in USA and elsewhere, also subsumed under British or White British.
Celtic, Brythonic Bretons 4.3[31][lower-alpha 6][32][lower-alpha 7] Bretagne and Loire-Atlantique provinces of France, does not include Bretons in Canada and elsewhere, also subsumed under French.
Celtic, Brythonic Cornish 0.5[33] UK, does not include Cornish in Australia and elsewhere, also subsumed under British or White British.
Celtic, Goidelic Manx 0.04 also subsumed under British or White British.
Greek Greeks Pontic Greeks, Greek Cypriots 17[34] Total speakers worldwide
Albanian Albanians Ghegs, Tosks 7.6[35] Total speakers worldwide
Armenian Armenians 5.6 [36] Total speakers worldwide; depends on what part of the Southern Caucasus is considered European, see below.
Baltic 4.5
Lithuanians Samogitians, Prussian Lithuanians 3.1
Latvians Latgalians, Kursenieki 1.4
Turkic 35
Turkic, Oghuz Turks Chepni, Yörüks, Bulgarian Turks, Turks of Western Thrace 9 (excluding Turkey)
19 (including European Turkey)
approx. 9 million (not including Turkey),[37] 10 million in Eastern Thrace (European Turkey); overall there is a total of 55-60 million Turks in Turkey.[38] (see Turks in Europe)
Turkic, Oghuz Azerbaijanis 9.16 in European Azerbaijan only[8]
Turkic, Kipchak Kazakhs 1 in European Kazakhstan only[8]
Turkic, Kipchak Volga Tatars 4.5 in European Russia only[8]
Turkic, Oghur Chuvash 1.5 in European Russia only[8]
Turkic, Kipchak Bashkirs 1.4 in European Russia only[8]
Turkic, Kipchak Kumyks 0.4[8]
Turkic, Kipchak Karachay-Balkars Karachays, Balkars 0.3[8]
Turkic, Kipchak / Oghuz Crimeans Tat Tatars, Yaliboyu Tatars, Noğay Tatars 0.25[9]
Turkic, Oghuz Gagauz 0.15[15]
Turkic, Kipchak Nogais 0.09[8]
Finno-Ugric 25.5
Ugric Hungarians Hungarians, Székelys, Csangos 13.5
Finnic, Finno-Lappic Finns Karelians, Sweden Finns, Ingrian Finns, Kven people 6
Finnic, Finno-Lappic Estonians Setos, Võros 1
Finnic, Volgaic Mordvins Erzya/Shoksha, Moksha, Teryukhan, Qaratay 0.85[8]
Finnic, Permic Udmurts 0.7[8]
Finnic, Volgaic Mari 0.6[8]
Finnic, Permic Komi Komi-Izhemtsy, Komi-Permyaks 0.4[8]
Finnic, Finno-Lappic Sami 0.1
Finnic, Finno-Lappic Veps 0.008
Finnic, Finno-Lappic Izhorians 0.001
Finnic, Finno-Lappic Livonians 0.0001
Northern Caucasian 5 depends on what part of the Caucasus is considered European, see below.
Northeast Caucasian Chechens 1.3[8]
Northeast Caucasian Avars 0.8[8]
Northeast Caucasian Dargin 0.5[8]
Northwest Caucasian Kabards 0.5[8]
Northeast Caucasian Lezgins 0.4[8]
Northeast Caucasian Ingush 0.4[8]
Northwest Caucasian Adyghes 0.15[8]
Northwest Caucasian Cherkesses 0.06[8]
Northwest Caucasian Lak 0.15[8]
Northwest Caucasian Tabasarans 0.13[8]
Northeast Caucasian Rutuls 0.03[8]
Northeast Caucasian Tsakhur people 0.01[8]
Kartvelian 4 depends on what part of the Caucasus is considered European, see below.
Kartvelian Georgians 4[8][39][39][40][41]
Basque Basque Basques 2.0[42]
Semitic Semitic 2
Semitic, Hebrew Jews 1.3 also subsumed under various "Other", see below.
Semitic, Maltese Maltese 0.4 about half of the vocabulary is derived from standard Italian and Sicilian.
Mongolic Mongolic Kalmyks 0.17[8]

Europe has a population of about 2 million ethnic Jews (mostly also counted as part of the ethno-linguistic group of their respective home countries):

Depending on what parts of the South Caucasus are considered part of Europe, various peoples of the Caucasus may also be considered "European peoples":

By country

Pan and Pfeil (2002) distinguish 33 peoples which form the majority population in at least one[lower-alpha 8] sovereign state geographically situated in Europe.[lower-alpha 9] These majorities range from nearly homogeneous populations as in Albania or Poland, to comparatively slight majorities as in Latvia or Belgium. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro are multiethnic states in which no group forms a majority.

Country Majority % Regional majorities Minorities[lower-alpha 10]
Albania Albanians 95% Greeks ~3%,[43][44] other 2% (Aromanian, Romani, Macedonians, Bulgarians) and Serbs/Montenegrins.[45]
Armenia Armenians 98% Yazidis 1.2%, Russians 0.4%, Assyrians 0.1%, Kurds 0.1%, others: Greeks, Ukrainians, Georgians and Poles.(2011 census) Official statistics/data of RA.[46]
Austria Austrians 91.1% South Slavs 4% (includes Burgenland Croats, Carinthian Slovenes, Croats, Slovenes, Serbs and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, Germans 0.9%, and other or unspecified 2.4%. (2001 census)
Azerbaijan Azeris 91.6% Lezgins 2% Armenians, Russians, Talysh, Avars, Turks, Tatars, Ukrainians and Poles.
Belarus Belarusians 83.7% Russians 8.3%, Poles 3.1%, Ukrainians 1.7%, and other 3.2%. (2009 census)
Belgium Flemings 58%Walloons 31%, Germans 1% mixed or other (i.e. Luxembourgers, Eastern or Southern Europeans, Africans and Asians, and Latin Americans) 10%.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosniaks 48%, Serbs 37.1% Croats 14.3% other 0.6% (2000)
Bulgaria Bulgarians 84% Turks 8.8% Roma 5%, Others 2% (including Russian, Armenian, Tatar, and Vlach). (2001 census)[47]
Croatia Croats 90% Serbs 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniaks, Hungarians, Slovenes, Czechs, Dalmatian Italians, Austrian-German, Romanian and Romani). (2001 census)
Cyprus Greek Cypriots 99.5% Turkish Cypriots
Czech Republic Czechs 90.4% Moravians 3.7% Slovaks 1.9%, and other 4%. (2001 census)
Denmark Danes 90%[48] Faroese other Scandinavian, Germans, Frisians, other European, Greenlandic people and others.
Estonia Estonians 68% Baltic Russians 25.6% Ukrainians 2.1%, Belarusians 1.3%, Finns 0.9%, and other (Baltic Germans, Estonian Swedes) 2.2%. (2000 census)
Finland Finns 93.4% Swedes 5.6%, Sami 0.1% Russians 0.5%, Estonians 0.3%, Romani 0.1% and Turks 0.05%. (2006)
France French 84% (includes sometimes considered as "regional groups" like Bretons, Corsicans, Occitans, Alsatians, Normans, Picards, Savoyards, Basques, Catalans and Flemings). other European 7%, North African 7%, Sub-Saharan African, Indochinese, Asian, Latin American and Pacific Islander.[49] French with recent immigrant background (at least one great-grandparent) 33%.[50][51]
Georgia Georgians 84% Ossetians 0.9%, Abkhazians 0.1% Azeris 6.5%, Armenians 5.7%, Russian 1.5%, and other (i.e. Jews, Poles and Kists): 2.5% (2002 census).[52]
Germany Germans 81%-91% [53]includes Bavarians, Swabians, Saxons, Frisians, Sorbs, Silesians, Saarland Germans, Polish-Germans and Schleswig-Holstein Danes). Germans without immigrant background 81%; Germans with immigrant background (including ethnic German repatriates and people of partial immigrant background) 10%; Foreigners 9%: Turks 2.1%, others 6.7% and non-European descent about 2 to 5%).[53]
Greece Greeks 93% includes linguistic minorities 3% Albanians 4%, and other (i.e. Aromanians/Megleno-Romanians, Cretan Turks and Macedonian/Greek Slavic 3%. (2001 census)[lower-alpha 11]
Hungary Hungarians 92.3% Romani 1.9%, Germans 1.2%, other (i.e. Croats, Romanians, Bulgarians, Turks and Ruthenians) or unknown 4.6%. (2001 census)
Iceland Icelanders 94% other (non-native/immigrants - mainly Polish, Russian, Greek, Portuguese and Filipino) 6%.
Ireland Irish 87.4% other white (large numbers of Latvian, Polish and Ukrainian migration) 7.5%, Asian 1.3%, black 1.1%, mixed 1.1%, and unspecified (i.e. Ulster Scots and Irish Travellers) 1.6%. (2006 census)
Italy Italians 91.7% German-speakers in South Tyrol and French-speaking minority in Val d'Aosta. Sardinians, Arbëreshë, Catalan, Greek, Ladin and Slovene minorities, other Europeans (mostly Romanians, Albanians, Ukrainians and Polish) 4%, North African Arabs 1% and others (i.e. Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Black African and Latin American) 2.5%.[54][55][56][57]
Kazakhstan Kazakhs 63.1% Russians 23.7% Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Uyghurs, Tatars, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Germans, Poles and Koreans.
Kosovo Albanians 92% Serbs 4% other 4% (Bosniaks, Gorani, Romani, Turk and Ashkali and Egyptians).
Latvia Latvians 62.1%[58] Baltic Russians 26.9% Belarusian 3.3%, Ukrainian 2.2%, Polish 2.2%, Lithuanian 1.2%, Livonian (Finno-Estonian) 0.1% and other 2.0%. (2011)
Lithuania Lithuanians 83.5% Poles 6.74%, Russians 6.31%, Belorussians 1.23%, other (Lipka Tatars) 2.27% and Jews (Karaites and Yiddish-speaking) 0.01%. (2001 census)
Macedonia Macedonians 64% Albanians 25.2%, Turks 4% Romani 2.7%, Serbs 1.8%, and other (i.e. Greeks, Bulgarians, Romanians and Croats) 2.2%. (2002 census)
Malta Maltese 95.3%[59]
MoldovaMoldovans 76% Ukrainians 8.4%, Gagauz 4.4% Russians 5.9%, Romanians 2.1%, Bulgarians 1.9%, and other 1.3%. (2004 census)
Montenegro Montenegrins 44.98%, Serbs 28.73% Bosniaks 8.65%, Albanians 4.91%, and other (Croats, Greeks, Romani and Macedonians) 12,73%. (2011 census)
NetherlandsDutch 80.7% Frisians 3% other European Union nationals 5%, Indonesians 2.4% including South Moluccans 1.5%,[60] Turks 2.2%, Surinamese 2%, Moroccans 2%, Iranians 1%[61] Netherlands Antilles & Aruban 0.8%, other 4.8% and Frisian-speaking dominant 1%. (2008 est.)
Northern Cyprus Turkish Cypriots 98.7% Greek Cypriots
Norway Norwegians 85-87% [lower-alpha 12] Sami 1.2 - 2.5%[lower-alpha 13] Poles 1.4%. A variety of other ethnicities with background from 219 countries that together make up approximately 12% (Swedes, Pakistanis, Somalis, Iraqi Arabs and Kurds, Vietnamese, Germans, Lithuanians, Russians and Indians) (2012)[62]
PolandPoles 97% Germans 0.4%, Belarusians 0.1%, Ukrainians 0.1%, other and unspecified (i.e. Silesians, Prussian Lithuanians and Kashubians) 2.7%, and about 5,000 Polish Jews reported to reside in the country. (2002 census)
Portugal Portuguese 95% Portuguese Mirandese speakers 15.000~ (i.e. Mirandese language speakers) other 5% - European Union (i.e. Spanish, British, German, French, Romanians, Bulgarians, Hungarians and Croats) and non-EU nationals (i.e. Ukrainians, Moldavians, Russians, Serbs and Albanians); Africans from Portuguese-speaking Africa, Brazilians, Chinese, Indians, Portuguese Gypsies and other Latin Americans.
Romania Romanians 89.5% Hungarians 6.6%, Romani 2.5%, Germans 0.3% Ukrainians 0.3%, Russians 0.2%, Turks 0.2%, other 0.4% and Jewish 0.1%. (2002 census)
Russia Russians 80% Tatars 3.9%, Chuvashes 1%, Chechens 1%, Ossetians 0.4%, Kabardin 0.4%, Ingushes 0.3%, Kalmyks 0.1% Ukrainians 1.4%, Bashkir 1.2%, Armenians 0.9%, Avars 0.7%, Mordvins 0.5% and other. (2010 census, includes Asian Russia, excludes unspecified people (3.94% of population)).[63][64]
Serbia[lower-alpha 14] Serbs 83% Hungarians 3.9%, Romani 1.4%, Yugoslavs 1.1%, Bosniaks 1.8%, Montenegrin 0.9%, and other 8%. i.e. Macedonians, Slovaks, Romanians, Croats, Ruthenes, Bulgarians, Germans, Albanians and other. (2002 census).
Slovakia Slovaks 86% Hungarians 9.7% Romani 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8%. (2001 census)
Slovenia Slovenes 83.1% Serbs 2%, Croats 1.8%, Bosniaks 1.1%, other (Dalmatian Italians, ethnic Germans, Hungarians and Romanians) and/or unspecified 12%. (2002 census)
Spain Spaniards 89% Various nationalities or sub-ethnicities of the Spanish people, including Castilians and Leonese, Catalans/Valencians, Galicians and Basques. Gypsies, Jews, Latin Americans, Romanians, North Africans, sub-Saharan Africans, Chinese, Filipinos, Levant Arabs, British expatriates and others.
Sweden Swedes 88% Finns (Tornedalians), Sami people foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns (Sweden-Finns), Yugoslavs (Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks), Danes, Norwegians, Russians, Arabs (Lebanese and Syrians), Syriacs, Greeks, Turks, Iranians, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Thais, Koreans and Chileans.[65][66]
Switzerland Swiss 79%regional linguistic subgroups, including the Alamannic German-speakers, the Romand French-speakers, the Italian-speakers and Romansh people (see Romansh language). Balkans (Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks or Albanians) 6%, Italians 4%, Portuguese 2%, Germans 1.5%, Turks 1%, Spanish 1% and Ukrainians 0.5%.
Turkey Turks 75% Kurds 18% Others: Circassians, Zazas, Laz, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Assyrians, Albanians, Bulgarians, Bosniaks, Arabs and Georgians-total 7%.
Ukraine Ukrainians 77.8% Russians 17.3% Belarusians 0.6%, Moldovans 0.5%, Crimean Tatars 0.5%, Bulgarians 0.4%, Hungarians 0.3%, Romanians 0.3%, Poles 0.3%, Jews 0.2%, Armenians 0.1% and other 1.8%. (2001 census)
United Kingdom White British >85%[lower-alpha 15](consisting of English: ca. 75-80% Scottish: 8.0%, Welsh: 4.5%, Northern Irish: 2.8%, also Cornish, Manx, Romani and Channel Islanders). Included are the inhabitants of Gibraltar. Black British, Asian British often consists of South Asian and East Indian peoples, Chinese British, various other Commonwealth Citizens and other Europeans.

History

Prehistoric populations

The Basques are assumed to descend from the populations of the Atlantic Bronze Age directly.[67] The Indo-European groups of Europe (the Centum groups plus Balto-Slavic and Albanian) are assumed to have developed in situ by admixture of early Indo-European groups arriving in Europe by the Bronze Age (Corded ware, Beaker people). The Finnic peoples are mostly assumed to be descended from populations that had migrated to their historical homelands by about 3,000 years ago.[68]

Reconstructed languages of Iron Age Europe include Proto-Celtic, Proto-Italic and Proto-Germanic, all of these Indo-European languages of the centum group, and Proto-Slavic and Proto-Baltic, of the satem group. A group of Tyrrhenian languages appears to have included Etruscan, Rhaetian and perhaps also Eteocretan and Eteocypriot. A pre-Roman stage of Proto-Basque can only be reconstructed with great uncertainty.

Regarding the European Bronze Age, the only secure reconstruction is that of Proto-Greek (ca. 2000 BC). A Proto-Italo-Celtic ancestor of both Italic and Celtic (assumed for the Bell beaker period), and a Proto-Balto-Slavic language (assumed for roughly the Corded Ware horizon) has been postulated with less confidence. Old European hydronymy has been taken as indicating an early (Bronze Age) Indo-European predecessor of the later centum languages.

Historical populations

Further information: History of Europe
Provinces of the Roman Empire in AD 117.

Iron Age (pre-Great Migrations) populations of Europe known from Greco-Roman historiography, notably Herodotus, Pliny, Ptolemy and Tacitus:

Historical immigration

Map showing the three main political divisions around 800: The Carolingian Empire (purple), the Byzantine Empire (orange) and the Caliphate of Córdoba (light green). (Borders are approximate.)

Ethno-linguistic groups that arrived from outside Europe during historical times are:

History of European ethnography

Europa Polyglotta, Linguarum Genealogiam exhibens, una cum Literis, Scribendique modis, Omnium Gentium ("multilingual Europe, exhibiting a genealogy of tongues together with the letters and modes of writing of all peoples"), from Synopsis Universae Philologiae (1741).
Ethnographic map of Europe, The Times Atlas (1896).

The earliest accounts of European ethnography date to Classical Antiquity. Herodotus described the Scythians and Thraco-Illyrians. Dicaearchus gave a description of Greece itself besides accounts of western and northern Europe. His work survives only fragmentarily, but was received by Polybius and others.

Roman Empire period authors include Diodorus Siculus, Strabo and Tacitus. Julius Caesar gives an account of the Celtic tribes of Gaul, while Tacitus describes the Germanic tribes of Magna Germania.

The 4th century Tabula Peutingeriana records the names of numerous peoples and tribes. Ethnographers of Late Antiquity such as Agathias of Myrina Ammianus Marcellinus, Jordanes or Theophylact Simocatta give early accounts of the Slavs, the Franks, the Alamanni and the Goths.

Book IX of Isidore's Etymologiae (7th century) treats de linguis, gentibus, regnis, militia, civibus (of languages, peoples, realms, armies and cities). Ahmad ibn Fadlan in the 10th century gives an account of the Bolghar and the Rus' peoples. William Rubruck, while most notable for his account of the Mongols, in his account of his journey to Asia also gives accounts of the Tatars and the Alans. Saxo Grammaticus and Adam of Bremen give an account of pre-Christian Scandinavia. The Chronicon Slavorum (12th century) gives an account of the northwestern Slavic tribes.

Gottfried Hensel in his 1741 Synopsis Universae Philologiae published what is probably the earliest ethno-linguistic map of Europe, showing the beginning of the pater noster in the various European languages and scripts.[72][73] In the 19th century, ethnicity was discussed in terms of scientific racism, and the ethnic groups of Europe were grouped into a number of "races", Mediterranean, Alpine and Nordic, all part of a larger "Caucasian" group.

The beginnings of ethnic geography as an academic subdiscipline lie in the period following World War I, in the context of nationalism, and in the 1930s exploitation for the purposes of fascist and Nazi propaganda so that it was only in the 1960s that ethnic geography began to thrive as a bona fide academic subdiscipline.[74]

The origins of modern ethnography are often traced to the work of Bronisław Malinowski who emphasized the importance of fieldwork.[75] The emergence of population genetics further undermined the categorisation of Europeans into clearly defined racial groups. A 2007 study on the genetic history of Europe found that the most important genetic differentiation in Europe occurs on a line from the north to the south-east (northern Europe to the Balkans), with another east-west axis of differentiation across Europe, separating the "indigenous" Basques and Sami from other European populations. Despite these stratifications it noted the unusually high degree of European homogeneity: "there is low apparent diversity in Europe with the entire continent-wide samples only marginally more dispersed than single population samples elsewhere in the world."[76][77][78]

National minorities

The total number of national minority populations in Europe is estimated at 105 million people, or 14% of Europeans.[1]

The member states of the Council of Europe in 1995 signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The broad aims of the Convention are to ensure that the signatory states respect the rights of national minorities, undertaking to combat discrimination, promote equality, preserve and develop the culture and identity of national minorities, guarantee certain freedoms in relation to access to the media, minority languages and education and encourage the participation of national minorities in public life. The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities defines a national minority implicitly to include minorities possessing a territorial identity and a distinct cultural heritage. By 2008, 39 member states have signed and ratified the Convention, with the notable exception of France.

Indigenous minorities

A Sami family in northern Norway around 1900

Most of Europe's indigenous peoples, or ethnic groups known to have the earliest known historical connection to a particular region, have gone extinct or been absorbed by (or, perhaps, contributed to) the dominant cultures. Those that survive are largely confined to remote areas. Groups that have been identified as indigenous include the Sami of northern Scandinavia, the Basques of northern Spain and southern France, the Bretons of western France and a many of the western indigenous peoples of Russia. Groups in Russia include Finno-Ugric peoples such as the Komi and Mordvins of the western Ural Mountains, Samoyedic peoples such as the Nenets people of northern Russia.

Non-indigenous minorities

Main article: Immigration to Europe

Many cultures, nationalities, and ethnic groups have made new homes in Europe. Some came to Europe centuries or even millennia ago, while others immigrated more recently in the 20th century, often from former colonies of the British, French, and Spanish empires.

Out of about 728 million Europeans, non-indigenous populations come to some 22 to >29 million in total, or about 3% to >4%, depending on the definition:

European identity

Historical

Further information: History of Western civilization
Personifications of Sclavinia, Germania, Gallia, and Roma, bringing offerings to Otto III; from a gospel book dated 990.

Medieval notions of a relation of the peoples of Europe are expressed in terms of genealogy of mythical founders of the individual groups. The Europeans were considered the descendants of Japheth from early times, corresponding to the division of the known world into three continents, the descendants of Shem peopling Asia and those of Ham peopling Africa. Identification of Europeans as "Japhetites" is also reflected in early suggestions for terming the Indo-European languages "Japhetic".

In this tradition, the Historia Brittonum (9th century) introduces a genealogy of the peoples of the Migration period (as it was remembered in early medieval historiography) as follows,

The first man that dwelt in Europe was Alanus, with his three sons, Hisicion, Armenon, and Neugio. Hisicion had four sons, Francus, Romanus, Alamanus, and Bruttus. Armenon had five sons, Gothus, Valagothus, Cibidus, Burgundus, and Longobardus. Neugio had three sons, Vandalus, Saxo, and Boganus.
From Hisicion arose four nations—the Franks, the Latins, the Germans, and Britons; from Armenon, the Gothi, Valagothi, Cibidi, Burgundi, and Longobardi; from Neugio, the Bogari, Vandali, Saxones, and Tarincgi. The whole of Europe was subdivided into these tribes.[105]

The text goes then on to list the genealogy of Alanus, connecting him to Japheth via eighteen generations.

European culture

European culture is largely rooted in what is often referred to as its "common cultural heritage".[106] Due to the great number of perspectives which can be taken on the subject, it is impossible to form a single, all-embracing conception of European culture.[107] Nonetheless, there are core elements which are generally agreed upon as forming the cultural foundation of modern Europe.[108] One list of these elements given by K. Bochmann includes:[109]

Berting says that these points fit with "Europe's most positive realisations".[111] The concept of European culture is generally linked to the classical definition of the Western world. In this definition, Western culture is the set of literary, scientific, political, artistic and philosophical principles which set it apart from other civilizations. Much of this set of traditions and knowledge is collected in the Western canon.[112] The term has come to apply to countries whose history has been strongly marked by European immigration or settlement during the 18th and 19th centuries, such as the Americas, and Australasia, and is not restricted to Europe.

Religion

Main articles: Religion in Europe and Christendom
Eurobarometer Poll 2005 chart results

Since the High Middle Ages, most of Europe used to be dominated by Christianity. There are three major denominations, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox, with Protestantism restricted mostly to Northern Europe, and Orthodoxy to Slavic regions, Romania, Greece and Georgia. Also The Armenian Apostolic Church, part of the Oriental Church, is in Europe - another branch of Christianity (world's oldest National Church). Part of the Catholicism, while centered in the Latin parts, has a significant following also in Germanic and Slavic regions, Hungary, and Ireland (with some in Great Britain).

Christianity is still the largest religion in Europe; according to a 2011 survey, 76.2% of Europeans considered themselves Christians.[113][114] Also according to a study on Religiosity in the European Union in 2012, by Eurobarometer, Christianity is the largest religion in the European Union, accounting for 72% of the EU's population.[115]

Islam has some tradition in the Balkans and Caucasus (the European dominions of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th to 19th centuries). Muslims account for the majority of the populations in Albania, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Turkey. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 47% of the population is Muslim. Significant minorities are present in the rest of Europe. In addition to Turkey and Azerbaijan, Russia has one of the largest Muslim communities in Europe, including the Tatars of the Middle Volga and multiple groups in the Caucasus, including Chechens, Avars, Ingush and others. With 20th-century migrations, Muslims in Western Europe have become a noticeable minority. According to the Pew Forum, the total number of Muslims in Europe in 2010 was about 44 million (6%).[116] excluding Turkey. While the total number of Muslims in the European Union in 2007 was about 16 million (3.2%).[117]

Judaism has a long history in Europe, but is a small minority religion, with France (1%) the only European country with a Jewish population in excess of 0.5%. The Jewish population of Europe is composed primarily of two groups, the Ashkenazi and the Sephardi. Ancestors of Ashkenazi Jews likely migrated to the middle of Europe at least as early as the 8th century, while Sephardi Jews established themselves in Spain and Portugal at least one thousand years before that. Jews originated in the Levant where they resided for thousands of years until the 2nd century AD, when they spread around the Mediterranean and into Europe, although small communities were known to exist in Greece since at least the 1st century BC. Jewish history was notably affected by the Holocaust and emigration (including Aliyah, as well as emigration to America) in the 20th century.

In modern times, significant secularization has taken place, notably in laicist France in the 19th century and in the 20th century such as Estonia and German Democratic Republic. Currently, distribution of theism in Europe is very heterogeneous, with more than 95% in Poland, and less than 20% in the Czech Republic and Estonia. The 2005 Eurobarometer poll[118] found that 52% of EU citizens believe in God.

Pan-European identity

Main article: Pan-European identity

"Pan-European identity" or "Europatriotism" is an emerging sense of personal identification with Europe, or the European Union as a result of the gradual process European integration taking place over the last quarter of the 20th century, and especially in the period after the end of the Cold War, since the 1990s. The foundation of the OSCE following the 1990s Paris Charter has facilitated this process on a political level during the 1990s and 2000s.

From the later 20th century, 'Europe' has come to be widely used as a synonym for the European Union even though there are millions of people living on the European continent in non-EU states. The prefix pan implies that the identity applies throughout Europe, and especially in an EU context, and 'pan-European' is often contrasted with national identity.[119]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ethnic groups in Europe.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maps of ethnic groups in Europe.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Europeans.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Notes

  1. Pan and Pfeil (2004) give 122 million for Europe and Asia taken together. 
  2. Germans in Germany. Pan and Pfeil (2004) give 89 million for all German-speaking groups.
  3. Pan and Pfeil (2004) give 55 million for the French-speaking groups, excluding the Occitans. Recensement officiel de l'Insee INSEE.fr give 65 million.
  4. Also known as Britons (Includes English, Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish people. Consists of 58 million British people in the United Kingdom and ca. 2 million British people resident in other countries in Europe.)
  5. Also known as Spaniards (includes Catalans, Basques and Galicians). Pan and Pfeil give 31 million, excluding Catalans-Valencians-Balearics, Basques and Galicians.
  6. Legal population of the administrative region of Brittany in 2007.
  7. Legal population of Loire-Atlantique in 2007.
  8. Ethnic groups which form the majority in two states are the Romanians (in Romania and Moldova), and the Albanians (in Albania and the partly recognized Republic of Kosovo). Also to note is that Luxembourg has a common ethnonational group, the Luxembourgers of partial Germanic, Celtic and Latin (French) and transplanted Slavic origins. There are two official languages: French and German in the relatively small country, but the informal everyday language of its people is Letzeburgesch. Closely related groups holding majorities in separate states are German speakers (Germans, Austrians, Luxembourgers, Swiss German speakers), the various Slavic ethnic groups in the states of Former Yugoslavia, the Dutch/Flemish, the Russians/Belarusians, Czechs/Slovaks and the Bulgarians/Macedonians.
  9. Including the European portions of Russia, not including Turkey, Georgia and Kazakhstan, excluding microstates with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants: Andorra, Holy See, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino.
  10. Percentages from the CIA Factbook unless indicated otherwise.
  11. Percents represent citizenship, since Greece does not collect data on ethnicity.
  12. There is no legal or generally accepted definitions of who is of Norwegian ethnicity in Norway. 87% of population have at least one parent who is born in Norway.
  13. In Norway, there is no clear legal definition of who is Sami. Therefore, exact numbers are not possible.
  14. Excluding Kosovo.
  15. In the 2001 census in England and Wales, white residents could identify themselves as White Irish or White British though no separate White English or White Welsh options were offered. In Scotland, white residents could identify themselves as White Scottish or Other White British. In the census of Northern Ireland, White Irish and White British were combined into a single "White" ethnic group on the census forms.

References

  1. 1 2 Christoph Pan, Beate Sibylle Pfeil (2002), Minderheitenrechte in Europa. Handbuch der europäischen Volksgruppen, Braumüller, ISBN 3700314221 (Google Books, snippet view). Also 2006 reprint by Springer (Amazon, no preview) ISBN 3211353070. Archived December 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3028813/Europeans-dark-skinned-8-000-years-ago-Pale-complexions-brought-Europe-Near-East-study-claims.html
  3. http://www.livescience.com/28954-ancient-europeans-mysteriously-vanished.html
  4. Pan and Pfeil (2004), "Problems with Terminology", pp. xvii-xx.
  5. "Population by Country of Birth and Nationality 2013: Table 2.1". Office for National Statistics. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  6. "15° Censimento generale della popolazione e delle abitazioni" (PDF) (in Italian). ISTAT. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  7. 1 2 Unless otherwise indicated, population figures are those of Pan and Pfeil (2004). 
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Russian Census 2002: Population by ethnicity in four European Federal districts (Russian)
  9. 1 2 3 Ukrainian Census 2001
  10. Belorusan Census 2009
  11. Statistics Estonia: Population by ethnicity
  12. (Latvian)
  13. Statistics Lithuania: Population by ethnicity
  14. Transnistrian Statistical Annual 2010 (Russian)
  15. 1 2 Moldovan Census 2004
  16. Ausländische Bevölkerung am 31.12.2010
  17. "Bulgarian language". Omniglot-Writing systems&Languages of the World. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  18. "The Bulgarian language". Kwintessential. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  19. "The languages spoken in Bulgaria". Spainexchange. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  20. "Language of Bulgaria". Europecities. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  21. "English to Bulgarian Translation". Bulgarian translation. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  22. "Bulgarian for beginners". Bulgarian is a Southern Slavic language with approximately 12 million speakers in many countries. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  23. http://ec.europa.eu/languages/euromosaic/hu5_en.htm
  24. Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World ... - Google Knjige. Books.google.hr. 2004-11-30. ISBN 9780306483219. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  25. "CIA - The World Factbook". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  26. 1 2 Unless otherwise indicated, population figures are those of Pan and Pfeil (2004)
  27. CIA Factbook, United Kingdom Census 2001
  28. unless otherwise indicated, population figures are those of Pan and Pfeil (2004)
  29. Pan and Pfeil (2004) give 3.8 million. High estimates range up to 10 million.
  30. CIA Factbook 4.9% of UK population of 63 million
  31. Population by region of France in 2008 - Insee
  32. Legal population of Loire-Atlantique in 2008 - Insee
  33. English county population statistics
  34. "Greek language". SIL International. 2009.
  35. Gheg 4,156,090 + Tosk 3,035,000 + Arbereshe 260,000 + Arvanitika 150,000 = 7,601,090. (Ethnologue, 2005)
    Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International.
  36. See:
  37. Cole, Jeffrey (2011), Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, p. 367, ISBN 1-59884-302-8
  38. Turkish Statistical Institute (2007). "2007 Census, population by provinces and districts". Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  39. 1 2 3 4 Soviet Census 1989 (Russian)
  40. Central Intelligence Agency of United States (July 5, 2011). "CIA World Factbook:Georgia". The World Factbook (CIA). Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  41. Ethnologue: Kartvelian
  42. (Spanish) Classification of population according to cultural identity
  43. Eastern Europe at the end of the 20th century, Ian Jeffries, p. 69
  44. The Greeks: the land and people since the war. James Pettifer. Penguin, 2000. ISBN 0-14-028899-6
  45. "CIA Factbook 2010". Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  46. .
  47. "Census 2001, Population by Districts and Ethnic Groups as of 01.03.2001". Nsi.bg. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  48. Persons of Danish origin: 4 985 415. Total population: 5 511 451 Statistics Denmark
  49. "France". State.gov. 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  50. "Immigration is hardly a recent development in French history, as Gérard Noiriel amply demonstrates in his history of French immigration, The French Melting Pot. Noiriel estimates that one third of the population currently living in France is of "foreign" descent", Marie-Christine Weidmann-Koop, "France at the dawn of the twenty-first century, trends and transformations", Summa Publications, Inc., 2000, P.160
  51. " In present day France, one-third of the population has grandparents that were born outside France", Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow, "Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't be Wrong: What makes the French so French", Robson Books Ltd, 2004, p.8
  52. .
  53. 1 2 Germans and foreigners with an immigrant background
  54. .
  55. Non-EU citizens legally residing Jan 2014
  56. "Cittadini Stranieri. Popolazione residente per sesso e cittadinanza al 31 Dicembre 2012 Italia - Tutti i Paesi".
  57. "Италианските българи" (in Bulgarian). 24 Chasa.
  58. "On key provisional results of Population and Housing Census 2011 | Latvijas statistika". Csb.gov.lv. 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  59. Populstat.info
  60. http://www.safecom.org.au/dutch-moluccans.htm
  61. https://www.internations.org/netherlands-expats/iranians
  62. Personer med innvandringsbakgrunn, etter innvandringskategori, landbakgrunn og kjønn. 1. januar 2012 ( SSB (Statistics Norway), Retrieved November 6, 2012
  63. Официальный сайт Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года. Информационные материалы об окончательных итогах Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года
  64. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010. Национальный состав населения РФ 2010
  65. SCB.se
  66. SCB.se
  67. see e.g. Genetic evidence for different male and female roles during cultural transitions in the British Isles doi:10.1073/pnas.071036898 PNAS April 24, 2001 vol. 98 no. 9 5078-5083.
  68. Richard, Lewis (2005). Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf. Intercultural Press. ISBN 978-1-931930-18-5. Niskanen, Markku (2002). "The Origin of the Baltic-Finns" (PDF). The Mankind Quarterly. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-06. Laitinen, Virpi; Päivi Lahermo (August 24, 2001). "Y-Chromosomal Diversity Suggests that Baltic Males Share Common Finno-Ugric-Speaking Forefathers" (PDF). Department of Genetics, University of Turku, Turku, Finnish Genome Center, University of Helsinki. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  69. .
  70. Almoravides - LoveToKnow 1911
  71. The Last Christians Of North-West Africa
  72. Synopsis universae philologiae at google books
  73. Karl Friedrich Vollgraff, Erster Versuch einer Begründung sowohl der allgemeinen Ethnologie durch die Anthropologie, wis auch der Staats und rechts-philosophie durch die Ethnologie oder Nationalität der Völker (1851), p. 257.
  74. A. Kumar, Encyclopaedia of Teaching of Geography (2002), p. 74 ff.; the tripartite subdivision of "Caucasians" into Nordic, Alpine and Mediterranean groups persisted among some scientists into the 1960s, notably in Carleton Coon's book The Origin of Races (1962).
  75. Andrew Barry, Political Machines (2001), p. 56
  76. Measuring European Population Stratification using Microarray Genotype Data, Sitesled.com
  77. "DNA heritage". Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  78. Dupanloup, Isabelle; Giorgio Bertorelle; Lounès Chikhi; Guido Barbujani. "Estimating the Impact of Prehistoric Admixture on the Genome of Europeans". Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  79. Tubb 1998, pp. 13–14
  80. Ann E. Killebrew, Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity. An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines and Early Israel 1300-1100 B.C.E. (Archaeology and Biblical Studies), Society of Biblical Literature, 2005
  81. Schama, Simon (18 March 2014). The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words 1000 BC-1492 AD. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-233944-7.
    • "In the broader sense of the term, a Jew is any person belonging to the worldwide group that constitutes, through descent or conversion, a continuation of the ancient Jewish people, who were themselves descendants of the Hebrews of the Old Testament."
    • "The Jewish people as a whole, initially called Hebrews (ʿIvrim), were known as Israelites (Yisreʾelim) from the time of their entrance into the Holy Land to the end of the Babylonian Exile (538 BC)."
    Jew at Encyclopedia Britannica
  82. "Israelite, in the broadest sense, a Jew, or a descendant of the Jewish patriarch Jacob" Israelite at Encyclopedia Britannica
  83. "Hebrew, any member of an ancient northern Semitic people that were the ancestors of the Jews." Hebrew (People) at Encyclopedia Britannica
  84. Ostrer, Harry (19 April 2012). Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-970205-3.
  85. Brenner, Michael (13 June 2010). A Short History of the Jews. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-14351-X.
  86. Scheindlin, Raymond P. (1998). A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-513941-9.
  87. Adams, Hannah (1840). The History of the Jews: From the Destruction of Jerusalem to the Present Time. Sold at the London Society House and by Duncan and Malcom, and Wertheim.
  88. Diamond, Jared (1993). "Who are the Jews?" (PDF). Retrieved November 8, 2010. Natural History 102:11 (November 1993): 12-19.
  89. "Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes". Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  90. Wade, Nicholas (9 May 2000). "Y Chromosome Bears Witness to Story of the Jewish Diaspora". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  91. http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=humbiol_preprints
  92. http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/131008/ncomms3543/full/ncomms3543.html
  93. http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1312/1312.6639.pdf
  94. Gregory Cochran, Henry Harpending, The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution, Basic Books, 2009 pp. 195–196.
  95. Moses ben Machir, in Seder Ha-Yom, p. 15a, Venice 1605 (Hebrew)
  96. Josephus Flavius, Antiquities, xi.v.2
  97. "Petition for expatriate voting officially launched". The Daily Star. 14 July 2012.
  98. "Youths bring violence from a war-torn land". Telegraph.
  99. France's blacks stand up to be counted
  100. Latin American Immigration to Southern Europe
  101. Born Abroad - Countries of birth, BBC News
  102. File:Venezuelans around the world.PNG
  103. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC31389/
  104. ab Hisitione autem ortae sunt quattuor gentes Franci, Latini, Albani et Britti. ab Armenone autem quinque: Gothi, Valagothi, Gebidi, Burgundi, Longobardi. a Neguio vero quattuor Boguarii, Vandali, Saxones et Turingi. trans. J. A. Giles. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1848.
  105. Cf. Berting (2006:51).
  106. Cederman (2001:2) remarks: "Given the absence of an explicit legal definition and the plethora of competing identities, it is indeed hard to avoid the conclusion that Europe is an essentially contested concept." Cf. also Davies (1996:15); Berting (2006:51).
  107. Cf. Jordan-Bychkov (2008:13), Davies (1996:15), Berting (2006:51-56).
  108. K. Bochmann (1990) L'idée d'Europe jusqu'au XXè siècle, quoted in Berting (2006:52). Cf. Davies (1996:15): "No two lists of the main constituents of European civilization would ever coincide. But many items have always featured prominently: from the roots of the Christian world in Greece, Rome and Judaism to modern phenomena such as the Enlightenment, modernization, romanticism, nationalism, liberalism, imperialism, totalitarianism."
  109. 1 2 3 4 5 Berting 2006, p. 52
  110. Berting 2006, p. 51
  111. Duran (1995:81)
  112. Christianity in Europe
  113. "Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population" (PDF), Pew Research Center, 383 (Pew Research Center), 2011, p. 130, retrieved 14 August 2013
  114. "Discrimination in the EU in 2012" (PDF), Special Eurobarometer, 383 (European Union: European Commission), 2012, p. 233, retrieved 14 August 2013
  115. Pew Forum, The Future of the Global Muslim Population, January 2011, , ,
  116. "In Europa leben gegenwärtig knapp 53 Millionen Muslime" [Almost 53 million Muslims live in Europe at present] (in German). islam.de. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  117. EC.Europa.eu
  118. This is particularly the case among proponents of the so-called confederalist or neo-functionalist position on European integration. Eder and Spohn (2005:3) note: "The evolutionary thesis of the making of a European identity often goes with the assumption of a simultaneous decline of national identities. This substitution thesis reiterates the well-known confederalist/neo-functionalist position in the debate on European integration, arguing for an increasing replacement of the nation-state by European institutions, against the intergovernmentalist/realist position, insisting on the continuing primacy of the nation-state."

Bibliography

External links

  1. Pan, Christoph; Pfeil, Beate S. (2003). "The Peoples of Europe by Demographic Size, Table 1". National Minorities in Europe: Handbook. Wien: Braumueller. p. 11f. ISBN 978-3-7003-1443-1. (a breakdown by country of these 87 groups is given in Table 5, pp. 17-31.)
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.