European Union

Location	Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the east
Map references	Europe
Area	total: 4,324,782 sq km
Area - comparative	less than one-half the size of the US
Land boundaries	total: 12,440.8 km border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 394 km, Moldova 450 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia 945 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 446 km, Ukraine 1,257 km note: data for European Continent only
Coastline	65,992.9 km
Maritime claims	NA
Climate	cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south
Terrain	fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m; note - situated on the border between France and Italy
Natural resources	iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish
Land use	arable land: NA permanent crops: NA other: NA
Irrigated land	182,913 sq km (2003 est.)
Natural hazards	flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic
Environment - current issues	NA
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds