EUROPE: TOTAL COUNTRIES: 46 | TOTAL POPULATION: 825 million Jim McMahon (map)

2026 Facts & Figures: Europe

November 3, 2025

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

In most modern cultures, last names get passed down from generation to generation. In ICELAND, there are no fixed surnames. Since the arrival of Vikings on the island in the ninth century, last names have come from a parent’s first name (often, the father’s) plus the suffix for “daughter” or “son.”
For example, Erikson means son of Erik.

^{Source: International Center For Language Studies}

HIDDEN TREASURES

The British Museum houses more than 8 million objects, but only about 80,000—around 1 percent—are on public display at any given time. A significant portion of the collection was acquired during the British Empire, often taken from other countries through colonization, war, or archaeological expeditions. Critics argue that some of these objects were looted and should return to their countries of origin.

^{Source: BBC}

WAR-WEARY

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

RUSSIA’s invasion of neighboring UKRAINE began in 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin claims the war is meant to safeguard Russia’s security, though experts say his real aim is to return Russia to its status as a superpower, lost when the Soviet Union disbanded in 1991. Estimates place the total number of dead and wounded in the war at more than 1 million, making it Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

^{Source: The Wall Street Journal}

40%

PERCENTAGE of the world’s olive oil produced by SPAIN, the world’s biggest exporter of this food, dubbed “liquid gold.” In recent years, scientists have found another use for a by-product that would otherwise go to waste—olive pits. Spanish olive farmers, who produce 400,000 tons of pits annually, are increasingly selling them for use as a fuel source. In 2022, sustainable aviation fuel made from pits powered more than 200 flights out of Seville Airport.

^{Source: Reuters}