Europe: culture and Demographics The people of Europe and their Practices

Demographics

Demographics 2017: 706,000,000 people Just over 1/9th of the world’s population 1/4th in late 1800s Population has grown faster in other parts of the world Second highest population density in the world

Demographics Current trend of Sub-Replacement Fertility Each generation is having less children United Nation’s model shows 12% population decrease by 2050 87 distinct ethnicities 33 make up majority 54 are ethnic minorities

language

Major Language Group Distribution Slavic Romance Germanic Hellenic Celtic

Language Roughly 225 indigenous languages Most from Indo-European language family Most belong to one of three major language groups Romance languages Germanic languages Slavic languages Others are Uralic languages

Language Romance Languages come from the Latin spoken in the Roman Empire Germanic languages come from an older southern Scandinavian language Slavic languages originated in eastern Europe within the Baltic and Slavic countries before the Middle Ages. Historically disputed roots.

Language English is the largest common language in Europe Most use the Latin alphabet or a variation of it. Cyrillic script is used most widely in Slavic languages. Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее Ёё Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк Лл Мм Нн Оо Пп Рр Сс Тт Уу Фф Хх Цц Чч Шш Щщ Ъъ Ыы Ьь Ээ Юю Яя

Culture

Polish women in traditional festive dress Culture European culture is a shared heritage of overlapping national cultures As a whole – the idea of Europe as a culture comes from the multi-ethnic history of the Roman Empire and its culture Historically, Europe was “Christendom,” or the countries who defended against Islam in Middle Ages

Culture Similar to European languages, European culture is mostly a mixture of indigenous Latin, Germanic, and Slavic practices, folklore, and beliefs. Greek and Celtic components add significantly, but as a minority culture Cultural contact and mixing characterizes much of Europe Polish people in everyday dress

In Popular culture Food Clothing Gaming Sports Pasta Dumplings Pastries Wine Chocolates Meat more prominent Gucci Giorgio Armani Adidas Puma Dolce & Gabbana Versace Burberry Tetris Angry Birds Assassin’s Creed The Witcher Far Cry Little Big Planet Soccer (England) Golf Rugby > Football Tennis Cycling

Religion St. Peter’s Basilica – Vatican City

religion Christianity is the largest religion in Europe 76% of Europeans identify as Christian Islam is the second largest 6% of Europeans Some countries not religious Czech Republic – almost 80% declare no faith or are convinced atheists But are known for being very tolerant of religion

Percentage of people who believe in the Christian God

Final Notes on culture… Because Europe is so diverse – it is impossible to form a single concept of “European Culture” Instead, we can attach some characteristics to it, such as… Common “spiritual heritage” from the Grecco-Roman tradition and influence of the French Revolution Popularity of socialism Rich material culture popular throughout the world Emphasis on human rights and individual liberty (freedom from oppression) Respect for countries outside of Europe In many ways Europe is the modern successor of Western civilization, and where America took many of its ideas from

So… How is Europe different from the United States? Is it? Write two paragraphs using your notes… How is Europe different from the United States? How is Europe similar to the United States? DUE @ THE END OF CLASS