Service sector of foreign Europe transport leisure. Prospects for the development of the transport system of Europe. Areas of new development

Foreign Europe is a region where, in the era of industrial revolutions, ferrous metallurgy was born as one of the most important basic industries. The example of foreign Europe clearly shows the entire contradictory path of its development, including the slowdown in growth rates over the past three decades, accompanied by the restructuring of its sectoral and territorial structure. In the mid-1980s. overseas Asia pushed this region to the second place in terms of the total volume of smelting of ferrous metals. Nevertheless, they are still quite significant (215 million tons of steel in 2005). And most importantly, on the example of foreign Europe, such a purely geographical aspect of the characteristics is well traced, such as the formation and location of metallurgical regions and centers.

Metallurgical districts are one of the varieties of industrial industrial areas- according to the time of education, they are among the oldest. Their area-forming significance is usually very high. In most economically developed countries - the United States, Japan, Russia, countries of foreign Europe - it is the metallurgical regions that determine the main features of the geography of the ferrous metallurgy. But along with this, individual centers of ferrous metallurgy retain their importance and even strengthen, the size of which, like the size of the districts, can be very different.

Consider the districts and centers first Western Europe. In total, within this sub-region, experts identify about 20 metallurgical regions (the main ones are shown in Fig. 27) and approximately the same number of individual centers. By the nature of their orientation, they are subdivided into areas gravitating towards coal basins, iron ore basins, coking coal cargo flows, and iron ore, to sources of cheap electricity.

Based on coal basins in Western Europe, 12 metallurgical regions arose, which produce about half of all ferrous metals. The largest of them is the Ruhr (or Rhine-Westphalian) in Germany, where Duisburg stands out among the separate centers of this industry, located at the confluence of the Ruhr with the Rhine. The same orientation has the metallurgical regions of Great Britain - Midland, South Wales, Northeast; France - North French; Belgium - Liege - Charleroi, some others. As a rule, they are characterized by metallurgical plants full cycle... Other feature such areas - the gradual formation on the basis of coal and metallurgical industry territorial and industrial complexes with developed electric power industry, heavy engineering, chemical industry and other industries related to the "upper floors" of the industry.

Rice. 27. Regions and centers of ferrous metallurgy in foreign Europe (in the mid-1990s)

Metallurgical regions and centers formed based on iron ore basins, in Western Europe it is much less. Chief among them is Lorraine in France, which back in the 60s. XX century. gave more than 2/3 of the total smelting of pig iron and steel in the country; however, then many factories were closed here, and the share of the district declined sharply. This type also includes the metallurgical region in Upper Austria with its center in Linz and the metallurgical center in Bilbao (Basque Country in Spain).

Focus on coal and ore cargo flows manifested itself in Western Europe even before World War II, but then it was limited mainly to intra-European transportation.

So, coal exported from the Ruhr Basin, from the basins of the UK. Even then, the region of Northern Sweden with accumulations of iron ore in the depths of the Kirunavare and Gallivare mountains became the largest supplier of iron ore. At the foot of Mount Kirunavare, the mining town of Kiruna arose (where in winter, in the polar night conditions, one has to work under electric lighting), and the export of ore to factories in Germany, Great Britain, Belgium began through the ice-free Norwegian port of Narvik. The ore mined in Gallivare was exported through the Swedish port of Luleå by Baltic Sea... By now, the export of coal from the above-mentioned countries has lost, and the export of Swedish ore has fully retained its value. And nevertheless, it is no longer decisive.

In the 50-60s. XX century. a reorientation of a significant part of Western European ferrous metallurgy to cheaper and high-quality ore coming from Australia, Canada and developing countries was carried out. In this regard, there has been a tangible shift in the production of ferrous metals in seaports... New large and very large metallurgical plants were built in Taranto, Naples, Genoa (Italy), Fos-sur-Mer (Marseille region) and Dunkirk (France), Ijmeiden (Netherlands), Bremen (Germany), in some other port centers. At the same time, a reorientation to overseas iron ore and those metallurgical regions that arose far from the sea. Thus, in Great Britain, the main production facilities have moved to coastal regions, while from the regions and centers located in the center of the country, perhaps only Sheffield retained its importance; mining of domestic low-grade ore was discontinued. Overseas iron ore began to flow to the Ruhr, North French, North Italian and other regions. Nowadays, the coastal regions and centers, if they are inferior in terms of total production to the "mining and metallurgical" regions, it is not so much.

To sources cheap electricity in Western Europe, there are relatively few centers of electrometallurgy located in the Alpine regions of France, Norway and Sweden. Recently, as already noted, the focus on the consumer has intensified, which is primarily associated with the construction of mini-factories and the "pulling" of ferrous metallurgy to the main machine-building bases. In the near future, it is difficult to expect the emergence of new regions of ferrous metallurgy in Western Europe, although spatial shifts within the existing regions are likely to occur.

V Central and Eastern Europe the development of ferrous metallurgy in recent decades has been more stable, and the decline in production began only in the late 1980s. Nevertheless, steel smelting here in the 1990s. decreased from 40 to 30 million tons. This sub-region is characterized, in general, by the same types of orientation in the placement of ferrous metallurgy, albeit in a slightly different combination.

The largest iron and steel regions in Central and Eastern Europe also emerged with a focus on coal basins. these are the Upper Silesian region of Poland and the Ostrava region of Czechoslovakia (Fig. 27). In the 50s and 70s. XX century. along with the reconstruction of old ones, new metallurgical plants were built here. In this regard, it was necessary to sharply increase the import of iron ore from the USSR; To supply the Katowice plant in Upper Silesia with iron ore from the KMA basin, a special ore-carrying railway with a wide gauge length of 400 km was built from the Soviet-Polish border.

With a focus on iron ore Even before the war, factories and plants for ferrous metallurgy appeared in the Carpathian region of Hungary (Miskolc and Ozd), in the Western region of Romania (Resita and Hunedoara), in the Bosnian region of Yugoslavia (Zenica). After the war, large metallurgical plants were added to them in Poland (Czestochowa) and in Bulgaria (Kremikovtsi). However, as production grew, local iron ore resources began to meet the needs of these enterprises less and less, and they were forced to switch more and more to imported (primarily from the USSR) iron ore. After in last years mining of iron ore in Poland and Hungary was stopped altogether as economically ineffective, and the focus of enterprises on imported ore increased even more.

But most of the largest factories in Central and Eastern Europe were built in the 50s and 70s. XX century. with a focus on freight traffic and coal, and iron ore. This explains the choice of location for their construction. either on the main railways ah from Donbass, Kryvyi Rih and KMA (Krakow in Poland, Kosice in Czechoslovakia, Galati in Romania), or on the Danube waterway (Galati and Kelerashi in Romania, Smederevo in the SFRY, Dunaujvaros in Hungary).

The new political situation in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s - early 1990s, economic crisis, the aggravation of environmental problems, as well as new conditions of foreign trade with the CIS countries, naturally affect such a capital-intensive industry as ferrous metallurgy. In this regard, one can hardly expect the emergence of new centers here, and even more so regions of this industry. Most likely, there will be a modernization of existing enterprises, a reduction in the capacity of some of the largest plants (this process has already begun), their gradual reorientation to iron ore raw materials from overseas countries, the construction of mini-factories with the latest technology.

On the whole, it will not be a mistake to assert that ferrous metallurgy in foreign Europe, as one of the most typical old industries, has long been in a state of stagnation, even a crisis. Most of its factories and combines are not working at full capacity. Nevertheless, the district-forming importance of this industry is still quite large.

The transport system of this region belongs to the Western European model. If we talk about interstate long-distance transportation, then European states significantly inferior in this to Russia and the United States. But the high availability of domestic transport networks brings Foreign Europe to the world leadership.

Relatively small internal distances and the abolition of the visa regime, contributes to the development road transport , which is mainly focused on passenger transportation. Popularization of car communications leads to some decline railway transport.

Railway services are mainly used in states of Eastern Europe Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania. Particular attention in the countries of Foreign Europe is paid to the construction of international highways of meridional and latitudinal types. France and Germany have the highest rail speeds (up to 250-300 km / h). In 1994, the Eurotunnel was opened under the English Channel, along which streams of cars and high-speed trains move. Now the journey from London to Paris takes just over 2 hours.

River transport is of great importance for the region. It rose after the commissioning of the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway. The port on the Rhine Duisburg (Germany) is the largest river port in the world in terms of cargo turnover. Europe is located at the crossroads of the world's maritime transport routes. This contributes to the development of maritime transport in the region. Rotterdam (Netherlands) ranks first in terms of cargo turnover among seaports in the world. Other major seaports are Marseille, London, Hamburg, Antwerp, Genoa.

Major airports foreign Europe - London, Paris, Frankfurt am Main.

Development prospects transport system Europe

International highways connect Western Europe with such states as Turkey, Russia, Belarus, etc. In 2010, 9 internal transport corridors were formed that connect the states of Western and Eastern Europe, the total length of which is more than 17 thousand km.

Geography of the non-material sphere of Foreign Europe

Science in Foreign Europe

Science and education. Foreign Europe is one of the main centers for the development of science. In foreign Europe, many research parks and technopolises have also emerged, which already largely determine the geography of science in a number of countries. The largest of them are located in the vicinity of Cambridge (Great Britain), Munich (Germany). In the south of France, in the Nice region, the so-called "Valley of High Technology" is being formed.
The largest spending on science: Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium.

Tourism

Tourism and rest. Foreign Europe has been and remains the main area of international tourism. All types of tourism have developed here, the tourism industry has reached a very high level. Spain, France and Italy also invariably act as the leading countries of international tourism. The most popular countries for attracting tourists are also Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary. And in such micro-states as Andorra, San Marino, Monaco, tourist services have long been the main source of income. There are one hundred tourists for every inhabitant. Europe has all the prerequisites for the development of tourism. All types of tourism are present within the Foreign Europe.

Finance and credit.

60 of the world's 200 largest banks are located in foreign Europe. Switzerland has long been the benchmark for a banker country: half of all the world's securities are in the safes of its banks. The so-called economic capital of the country, Zurich, stands out especially. Recently, both Luxembourg and Frankfurt am Main have become a banker country. Nevertheless, London was and remains the largest financial center.

Environmental issues, environmental policy

As a result high density population, long-term industrial and agricultural development of the territory, the natural environment of foreign Europe to the greatest extent has become the geographical environment of human society. All types of anthropogenic landscapes are widespread here. But at the same time, this led to the aggravation of many environmental and ecological problems.

All countries in the region are pursuing state environmental policy and are taking increasingly decisive measures to protect the environment... Strict environmental laws have been issued, mass public organizations and green parties have sprung up, the use of bicycles is being promoted, the network has been expanded. national parks and other protected areas.

All this led to the first positive results. Nevertheless, in many countries, the environmental situation is still difficult. First of all, this applies to Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic.

FOREIGN EUROPE ECONOMY INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS FOREIGN EUROPE ECONOMY INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS

Purpose: to assess the features of the economy of the countries of Foreign Europe; to assess the features of the economy of the countries of Foreign Europe

Incoming control 1. On the map of Foreign Europe are marked in red: 1) absolute 1) absolute monarchies 2) constitutional monarchies 3) states 3) states British Commonwealth 4) federal 4) federal states Answer

Incoming control 2. Name two reasons for the large share of older ages in the share of older ages in the age structure of the population and the age structure of the population of Western Europe: 1) _____________________________ _______________________ 2) _____________________________ _______________________ Answer

Incoming control 3. On the map of Europe Poland is indicated by a number: 1) 1 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 Answer

Incoming control 4. Select 3 countries that are members of the European Union: a) Iceland b) Greece c) Turkey d) Belgium e) Norway f) Denmark Answer

Inbound control 5. The Lorraine iron ore basin is located in (in): a) Germany b) Great Britain c) Poland d) France Answer

Incoming control 6. The share of cultivated land in the structure of the land fund of Foreign Europe: A) the highest B) high C) medium D) low Answer

Incoming control 7. Set the correspondence: Basin Country Basin Country 1. Ruhr A) Poland 2. Upper Silesian B) FRG 3. Scottish C) Great Britain Answer

Farms in foreign Europe Farm sizes Level economic development Place in international economic relations Population and economy Conclusions

Size of the economy Approximately 1/3 of world GDP Top five countries-leaders (in trillion $, 2000) 1. Germany - 2.3 3. Great Britain - 1, 4 5. Spain - 0.6 2. France - 1.5 4. Italy - 1.2

GDP of the countries of Foreign Europe

Economic development level

Leadership in the International Economic Relations Openness and competitiveness of national economies Foreign trade International financial relations International tourism International market work force

Openness and competitiveness of economies

International trade

Financial relations

Labor market

international tourism

Quality of life in Foreign Europe

Household. Farm structure

Industrial structure Mechanical engineering Chemical industry Fuel and energy industry Metallurgy Light industry Timber industry

Factors of orientation of mechanical engineering On labor resources On labor resources On a scientific base and infrastructure On a scientific base and infrastructure Most of all gravitates towards large cities and agglomerations, including capital cities Most of all gravitates towards large cities and agglomerations, including capital cities

There are four main sub-sectors in the machine-building complex

Transport engineering is one of the important industries machine-building complex countries of foreign Europe Daimler Benz Daimler Benz Volkswagen Volkswagen FIAT FIAT Renault Renault Peugeot Peugeot BMW BMW BMW Volvo Volvo

Chemical industry ranks 2nd in the structure of the economy Before World War II chemical industry focused on coal and brown coal, potash and sodium chloride, pyrite and was located in the areas of their production Before the Second World War, the chemical industry was focused on coal and brown coal, potash and table salts, pyrites and was located in the areas of their production. to the fact that it shifted "towards oil" The reorientation of the industry towards hydrocarbon feedstock led to the fact that it shifted "towards oil" In the western part of the region, this shift found expression primarily in the emergence of large centers of petrochemicals in the estuaries of the Thames, Seine, Rhine, Elbe , Rhone In the western part of the region, this shift found expression primarily in the emergence of large centers of petrochemicals in the estuaries of the Thames, Seine, Rhine, Elbe, Rhone. In the eastern part of the region, the shift "to oil" led to the creation of refineries and petrochemical plants on the gas pipelines, for example, the main refineries and petrochemical enterprises of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Be Ingria were built on the route of the international oil pipeline "Druzhba" and gas pipelines. In Bulgaria, petrochemistry is "shifted" to the Black Sea coast In the eastern part of the region, the shift "to oil" has led to the creation of refineries and petrochemical plants on the routes of oil and gas pipelines, for example, the main oil refineries and petrochemical enterprises of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary are built on the route of the international oil pipeline "Druzhba" and gas pipelines. In Bulgaria, petrochemicals are "shifted" to the Black Sea coast

The chemical industry in Foreign Europe ranks second

Fuel and energy economy In the fuel and energy economy of most foreign European countries, the leading place was taken by oil and natural gas, produced both in the region itself (the North Sea) and imported from developing countries, from Russia In the fuel and energy economy of most foreign European countries, the leading the place was taken by oil and natural gas, produced both in the region itself (North Sea) and imported from developing countries, from Russia. Production and consumption of coal in Great Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands has sharply decreased. In the eastern part of the region, the orientation towards coal is still preserved, and not so much towards hard coal (Poland, Czech Republic), but rather towards brown coal. Most thermal power plants are also oriented towards coal basins. The production and consumption of coal in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands fell sharply. In the eastern part of the region, the orientation towards coal is still preserved, and not so much towards hard coal (Poland, Czech Republic), but rather towards brown coal. Most thermal power plants are also oriented towards coal basins. An increasing impact on the structure and geography of the electric power industry, especially in France, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, is exerted by the construction of a nuclear power plant. Hungary, Bulgaria is providing the construction of a nuclear power plant On the Danube and its tributaries, on the Rhone, Rhine, Duero hydroelectric power stations or their entire cascades have been built On the Danube and its tributaries, on the Rhone, Rhine, Duero hydroelectric power stations or their entire cascades have been built

Oil and refining industry in Europe

Metallurgy Ferrous metallurgy Developed in Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Czech Republic Developed in Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Czech Republic After World War II, large metallurgical plants were built or expanded in seaports with a focus on importing higher quality and cheaper iron ore and scrap metal. The largest and most modern of the mills built in seaports is located in Taranto, Italy. After World War II, large metallurgical plants were built or expanded in seaports with a focus on importing higher quality and cheaper iron ore and scrap metal. The largest and most modern of the plants built in seaports is located in Taranto (Italy) Non-ferrous metallurgy The most important branches of the aluminum and copper industry The most important branches of the aluminum and copper industry Aluminum production originated in countries with bauxite reserves (France, Italy, Hungary, Romania , Greece), and in countries where there is no aluminum raw material, but a lot of electricity is generated (Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Austria) Aluminum production arose both in countries with bauxite reserves (France, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Greece) and in countries where there is no aluminum raw material, but a lot of electricity is generated (Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Austria) The copper industry has been most developed in Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Yugoslavia The copper industry has been most developed in Germany, France , Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Yugoslavia

Light industry Light industry has largely lost its former importance Light industry has largely lost its former importance Old textile regions: Lancashire and Yorkshire in Great Britain, Flanders in Belgium, Lyons in France, Milan in Italy, Lodz region of Poland Old textile regions: Lancashire and Yorkshire in Great Britain, Flanders in Belgium, Lyons in France, Milan in Italy, Lodz region of Poland. Recently, light industry is shifting to southern Europe, where there are still reserves of cheap labor. Thus, Portugal has become almost the main "garment factory" in the region. And Italy is second only to the United States in the production of footwear. Recently, light industry is shifting to southern Europe, where there are still reserves of cheap labor. Thus, Portugal has become almost the main "garment factory" in the region. And Italy is second only to the United States in the production of footwear.

Timber industry Focuses on sources of raw materials, has become a branch of international specialization in Sweden and Finland, which have long been forming the main "timber workshop" of the region Focused on sources of raw materials, has become an industry of international specialization in Sweden and Finland, which have long been the main "timber workshop" of the region

In the structure of agriculture, large specialized high-value production is distinguished Three types North European Central European South European

NORTHEUROPEAN Dominance of intensive dairy farming and crop production serving it

CENTRAL EUROPEAN CENTRAL EUROPEAN predominance of dairy and beef cattle breeding, pig breeding and poultry farming, a significant part of arable land is occupied by fodder crops predominance of dairy and meat cattle breeding, pig breeding and poultry farming, a significant part of arable land is occupied by fodder crops

SOUTH EUROPEAN SOUTH EUROPE dominance of crop production, production of predominance of crop production, production of fruits, citrus fruits, olives, grapes, etc.

European countries specialization

TRANSPORTATION: MAIN HIGHWAYS AND NODES The framework of the transport network of Foreign Europe is made up of international highways of the meridian and latitudinal directions The main transport route for inland countries is navigable rivers The main transport route for inland countries is navigable rivers

Territorial drawing Highly developed regions Old industrial regions Agrarian regions New development regions

Conclusions Foreign Europe occupies a leading position in the world economy in terms of the size of the economy and the level of economic development. Foreign Europe occupies a leading position in the world economy in terms of the size of the economy and the level of economic development. The region has large-scale and diversified foreign economic relations. high living standards for the bulk of the population Powerful economic potential contributed to the formation of high living standards for the bulk of the population

Economic and geographical substantiation of the development and placement of two or three industries in one of the countries of Foreign Europe 1. Using various sources of information, build a diagram of production links of the most important industries of individual countries of Foreign Europe, reflecting the reasons for the emergence and development of two or three branches of industrial specialization, for this: a) use conventional symbols to indicate the factors affecting the formation of these sectors of the economy (natural, labor resources, etc.) b) show with arrows the influence of various factors on the formation of individual sectors of the economy c) use arrows of a different color to show the emerging intersectoral connections between various industries d) mark the main exported and imported goods with conventional symbols e) highlight the branches of international specialization of the country (see the sample of work performance) 2. Draw a conclusion about the industrial development of this country

Option 1. Economic and geographical substantiation of the development and location of the energy, aluminum and timber industry in Norway. Food Industry Portugal Option 4. Economic and geographical justification of the development and location of the aluminum industry, mechanical engineering and food industry in Hungary. Option 5. Economic and geographical justification of the development of mechanical engineering and forestry in Finland. ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering and chemical industry in Poland

Sample execution. Economic and geographical substantiation of the development and placement of mechanical engineering, light and glass industries in the Czech Republic

Drawing up a schematic map of the main industrial and agricultural regions of Foreign Europe 1. On outline map Of Europe, sign the names of neighboring countries 1. On a contour map of Europe, sign the names of the neighboring regions, as well as the seas and oceans washing its shores 2. Mark with conventional signs the main regions 2. Mark with conventional signs the main areas of the extractive industries of European countries 3. Use conventional signs on the map with the most important 3. Mark on the map with symbols the most important industrial regions of Europe Abroad, reflecting their industrial regions of Abroad Europe, reflecting their industrial specialization. Be sure to sign the industry specialization titles. Don't forget to sign the names of the industrial areas! 4. Use conventional symbols to designate countries in the energy structure of which hydroelectric and nuclear power plants prevail. 5. Shade the territory of countries with different colors. different types agriculture 6. Make a conclusion about the development of industry and agriculture 6. Make a conclusion about the development of industry and agriculture in Foreign Europe

Sample work execution

Incoming control 1. On the map of Foreign Europe are marked in red: 1) absolute 1) absolute monarchies 2) constitutional monarchies 3) states 3) states of the British Commonwealth 4) federal 4) federal states Next question

Incoming control 2. Name two reasons for the large share of older ages in the share of older ages in the age structure of the population and the age structure of the population of Western Europe: a low share of children in the age structure due to a decrease in the birth rate 2) the first type of population reproduction or “ demographic crisis"2) the first type of population reproduction or" demographic crisis "The next question

Incoming control 3. On the map of Europe Poland is indicated by a number: 1) 1 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 Next question

Inbound control 4. Select 3 countries that are members of the European Union: a) Iceland b) Greece c) Turkey d) Belgium e) Norway f) Denmark Next question

Inbound control 5. The Lorraine iron ore basin is located in (in): a) Germany b) Great Britain c) Poland d) France Next question

Incoming control 6. The share of cultivated land in the structure of the land fund of Foreign Europe: A) the highest B) high C) medium D) low Next question

Incoming control 7. Set the correspondence: Basin Country Basin Country 1. Ruhr A) Poland 2. Upper Silesian B) FRG 3. Scottish C) Great Britain New topic

The service sector, along with management, science, art, personnel training, is included in the non-production sphere and forms the basis of the tertiary sector of the economy. It includes a group of industries directly serving the population:

Housing and utilities;
social security structures of the population (nursing homes, boarding schools, etc.);
and (shops, kiosks, etc.);
consumer services (sewing, shoe workshops, etc.);
service (banks, financial companies, investment funds, etc.);
recreational services (sanatoriums, rest houses, boarding houses, camp sites, etc.);
communication services (mail, telephone, telegraph, etc.);
cultural services (theaters, concert halls, museums, libraries, etc.);
public services for education and training (nurseries, kindergartens, schools, etc.);
medical care, etc.

All of the above sectors together constitute the social infrastructure of society. This is the role of the service sector in the economy.

Currently, there are two main trends in the development of the service sector:

Constant expansion of this sphere in the economies of countries, especially highly developed ones. Currently, the service sector is in first place in developed countries.
Expansion of international trade in services. International trade in services is becoming an increasingly important and rapidly growing segment of the world's economic ties... Their main types are export and import of transport and tourism services, banking, information, educational, medical, consulting and other services. In terms of growth rates, the export of services began to outstrip the export of goods.

Geographic analysis of the service sector at the level of countries and macroregions.

Western Europe has consistently remained the world leader in trade in services. Tourist services are especially developed here, which is due to the presence of unique recreational resources: historical and cultural monuments, recreation areas, developed recreational infrastructure.

The region also stands out for the provision of financial services. Western Europe is the leader of the global financial system. It is almost 2 times larger than the export of financial services. The region has the most powerful banking infrastructure: of the 10 leading stock exchanges in the world, 7 are located here: London (the largest in the world in terms of the number of transactions); , Paris, Zurich, Geneva, Milan.

The region is of great importance in the provision of educational services, healthcare services, as well as transport services, communication and information services.

The largest volume in the provision of services in the region falls on (8% in the world), Germany, etc.

Asia ranks second in terms of exports of services and their total volume. The leading place here belongs to the provision of transport services.

North America- the third region in terms of the volume of services provided. Most of them are provided by the United States, which is the leader in the global service market (16%). A significant part of them pass through the channels of transnational corporations (TNCs). These are mainly business services of a different nature, from computer and information services to medical and construction services. The export of such services as financial and educational services is close to them.

In the sphere of the global financial system, North America competes with, but is inferior to it in many respects.

The United States retains the leading position in the possession of securities in the world. The USA is the most profitable market for investments, which provides the country with financing for its economy. The main investors are Western Europe,. There is an outflow of foreign capital to the United States, which made this country the largest debtor (25% of the world's debt). The current balance of payments in the financial sector is ensured by the issue of dollars that are not backed by real resources, which creates a threat of bankruptcy of the country. The United States has a developed banking infrastructure inside and outside the country. However, only the New York Stock Exchange is among the top ten in the world.
The share of the rest of the world (Eastern Europe, South America, Africa and Australia) in the provision of international services does not exceed 10%.

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FOREIGN EUROPE

GEOGRAPHICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Europe from the Greek "zurope" - the country of the west, from the Assyrian "yereb" - darkness, "sunset", "west" (Asia from "asu" - "sunrise").

Peculiarities geographic location

1. The territory of foreign Europe (excluding the CIS countries) - 5.1 million km 2, and the total - about 10 million km 2. The length from north to south (from Spitsbergen to Crete) is 5 thousand km, and from west to east - more than 3 thousand km.

2. Relief "mosaic" of its territory: 1: 1 - lowlands and elevated territories. Most of the mountains of Europe are of medium height. Borders pass mainly along such natural boundaries that do not create obstacles for transport links.

3. A high degree of ruggedness of the coastline.

4. Seaside location of most countries. The average distance from the sea is 300 km. In the western part of the region there is no place more than 480 km away from the sea, in the east - 600 km.

5. The "depth" of the territory of most countries is not great. So in Bulgaria and Hungary there is no place that would be removed from the borders of these countries by more than 115-120 km.

6. Neighborhood favorable for integration processes.

7. Favorable position in terms of contacts with the rest of the worlds, tk. is located at the junction with Asia and Africa, and is pushed far into the ocean - "the great peninsula of Eurasia."

8. Variety natural resources, but not complex location by country, many fields are largely depleted.

CONCLUSION: profitable EGP, good preconditions for the development of the economy.

POLITICAL MAP OF EUROPE

Until the mid-1980s, there were 32 sovereign states, including microstates. Since the beginning of the 90s, there have been about 40 states.

6 largest by territory: France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Finland.

POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Most are sovereign states, 34 are republics, 14 are monarchies.

Principalities: Monaco, Liechtenstein, Andorra.

Duchy: Luxembourg.

Kingdoms: Great Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Spain, Sweden.

They are all constitutional monarchies.

Theocratic Monarchy: Papacy - Vatican.

Federations: Germany, Belgium, Austria, FRY, Spain.

Confederation: Switzerland.

The oldest republic is San Marino (from the 13th century), the Swiss Confederation has existed since the end of the 13th century.

Major political and economic alliances

The vast majority of countries are members of the UN. Switzerland joined the UN in September 2002.

NATO members (14 countries): Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Belgium, Great Britain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic. At the Prague Summit in November 2002 7 new members were invited to the Alliance: Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. But they can become full members only in 2004.

EU members (15 countries): Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria. From January 2002 the number of countries in the EU will increase. Since January 2004, the number of countries in the EU may increase due to Poland, Lithuania and other countries.

DIFFERENTIATION OF COUNTRIES BY LEVEL OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Most of the countries belong to the industrialized group. Four countries: Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy are part of the "Big Seven of Western Countries". Post-socialist countries or countries with economies in transition occupy a special place on the economic map of the region.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural resources of global importance

Coal:

Total stocks: 3rd place in the world after Asia and America

Bituminous coal: 3rd place in the world after Asia and America

Proven reserves: 3rd place after Asia and America

Bituminous coal - 2nd place after Asia

Brown coal - 3rd place after America and Asia

For coal: Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Great Britain

Brown coal: Germany, Eastern Europe

Mining chemical raw materials (potash salts): Germany, France

Recreational resources: Southern Europe, France, etc.

Natural resources of regional importance

Forest

3rd place in the world after South America and the CIS

Woodedness - 32% - shares 3rd place with Zarub. Asia, yielding Latin America and the CIS.

Most wooded: Finland (59%), Sweden (54%)

Fish

Northern Europe (Norway, Iceland)

Mineral

Uranium ores: France, Sweden, Spain

Iron ores: France, Sweden

· Copper ores: Poland, Finland, ex. Yugoslavia

Oil: UK, Norway, Romania

Gas: Netherlands, UK, Norway

Mercury ores: Spain, Italy

Bauxites: France, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sulfur: Poland

Graphite: Czech Republic

Hydropower resources

Resources of total river runoff per capita - 6 thousand m3 a year, less only in Asia

Hydropotential - in the penultimate place (lower only in Australia and Oceania). But the degree of development is high - 70% - 1st place in the world.

Agroclimatic resources

Mediterranean, Central and Eastern Europe

Land resources

World land fund: 134 million sq. km. Of these, 5.1 million sq. M. Fall to Foreign Europe. km (last place in the world). Per capita - 1 ha

The structure of the land fund of Europe in%: 29/18/32/5/16 (For reference: the structure of the land fund of the world in%: 11/23/30/2/34).

By the share of cultivated land - 1st place (29%)

The share of land occupied by pastures (18%) is lower than the world average (23%), and the share of land occupied by forests (32%) is higher (30%).

The largest share of land in the world under settlements: 5%

Less than in other parts of the world, the share of unproductive land - 16%

Provision of arable land per capita - 0.28 hectares, while the world average is 0.24-0.25 hectares

POPULATION

Table 1. Demographic, socio-economic indicators of the world, Foreign Europe and sub-regions of Europe

Indicators	Overseas Europe	Northern Europe	Western Europe	Southern Europe	Eastern Europe
Area, thousand km 2
Population in 1998, million people
Fertility, ‰
Mortality, ‰
Natural growth
Life expectancy, m / f
Age structure, under 16 / over 65
Share of urban population in 1995,%
GDP per capita in 1995, $

In Europe, there are 96 men for every 100 women.

Urbanization

Most of the countries of Foreign Europe are highly urbanized - Belgium (97%), the Netherlands and Great Britain (89% each), Denmark (85%). Only Portugal (36%), Albania (37%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (49%) belong to medium-urbanized countries (the share of the urban population does not exceed 50%).

The largest metropolitan areas in Europe: London, Paris, Rhine-Ruhr.

Megalopolises: English, Rhine.

A typical process is suburbanization.

Migration

International immigration centers: France, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, where over 10% of the total employed are foreign workers. Areas of emigration - countries Southern Europe: Italy, Portugal, Spain, Serbia; Turkey, North African countries.

National composition

Most European countries belong to the Indo-European family.

State types by nationality:

· single-national(ie the main ethnic group is over 90%). Most of them are in Europe (Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy, Portugal),

· with a sharp predominance of one nation, but in the presence of more or less significant minorities (Great Britain, France, Spain, Finland, Romania);

· bi-national(Belgium);

· multinational countries, with a complex and ethnically heterogeneous composition (Russia, Switzerland, FRY, Latvia, etc.).

In many countries, there are complex problems of interethnic relations: Great Britain, Spain (Basques), France (Corsica), Belgium, Cyprus, etc.

Religious composition of the population

The dominant religion is Christianity.

Southern Europe - Catholicism

North - Protestantism

Medium - Protestant and Catholic

Eastern - Orthodoxy and Catholicism

Albania, Croatia - Islam

FARMING: PLACE IN THE WORLD, DIFFERENCESBETWEEN COUNTRIES

Foreign Europe, as an integral region, ranks first in the world economy in terms of industrial and agricultural production, in the export of goods and services, in reserves of gold and currency, in the development of international tourism.

The economic power of the region is primarily determined by four countries that are part of the "big seven" Western countries - Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy. It is these countries that have the widest range of various industries and industries. But the balance of power between them has changed over the past decades. The role of the leader passed to the Federal Republic of Germany, whose economy is developing more dynamically along the path of reindustrialization. Great Britain, the former "workshop of the world", has lost many of its former positions.

Of the rest of the countries of foreign Europe, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden have the largest economic weight. Unlike the four main countries, their economy specializes primarily in individual industries that have won, as a rule, European or world recognition. Small and medium-sized countries are particularly deeply involved in global economic relations. The highest level of economic openness was reached in Belgium and the Netherlands.

A special place on the economic map of the region is occupied by the countries of Eastern Europe, where since the end of the 80s. there is a transition from the previous system of public ownership and central planning to a system based on market principles. These post-socialist countries, which for a long time in their socio-economic development focused primarily on the Soviet Union (and the Baltic countries were part of it), now more "look" not to the East, but to the West of Europe. Such a change in orientation has a great impact on the sectoral and territorial structure of their economy, on the direction of foreign economic relations.

Industry: main industries.

The region produces more machine tools, industrial robots, precision and optical instruments, cars, tractors, petroleum products, plastics, and chemical fibers than the United States.

Mechanical engineering- the leading industry in foreign Europe, which is his homeland. This industry accounts for 1/3 of all industrial products region and 2/3 of its exports.

Particularly great development has received Automotive industry... Such brands of cars as Renault (France), Volkswagen and Mercedes (Germany), FIAT (Italian Automobile Torino Factory), Volvo (Sweden), Tatra (Czech Republic), buses "Ikarus" (Hungary). In Great Britain, Belgium, Spain and other countries the factories of the "Ford-Motor" company operate.

Mechanical engineering, focused primarily on labor resources, scientific base and infrastructure, gravitates most towards large cities and agglomerations, including the capital.

Chemical industry in foreign Europe it ranks second after mechanical engineering. In particular, this applies to the most "chemicalized" country not only in this region, but throughout the world - Germany.

Before the Second World War, the chemical industry was focused mainly on coal and brown coal, potash and sodium chloride, and pyrite, and was located in the regions where they were mined. The industry's reorientation towards hydrocarbons has led to a shift towards oil. In the western part of the region, this shift found expression primarily in the emergence of large centers of petrochemicals in the estuaries of the Thames, Seine, Rhine, Elbe, Rhone, where this industry is combined with oil refining.

Largest node in the region petrochemical industries and a refinery was formed in the estuary of the Rhine and Scheldt in the Netherlands, in the Rotterdam region. In fact, it serves the whole of Western Europe.

In the eastern part of the region, the shift towards oil has led to the creation of refineries and petrochemical plants along the routes of oil and gas pipelines.

The main oil refineries and petrochemical enterprises of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary were built on the route of the international Druzhba oil pipeline and gas pipelines through which oil and natural gas from Soviet Union... In Bulgaria, for the same reason, petrochemistry is "shifted" to the Black Sea coast.

V fuel and energy sector In most of the countries of foreign Europe, the leading place was taken by oil and natural gas produced both in the region itself (the North Sea) and imported from developing countries, from Russia. The production and consumption of coal in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium fell sharply. In the eastern part of the region, the orientation towards coal is still preserved, and not so much towards hard coal (Poland, Czech Republic), but towards brown. Perhaps, in the whole world there is no other region where brown coal would play such a big role in the fuel and energy balance.

The majority of TPPs are also oriented towards coal basins. But they are also built in seaports (on imported fuel) and in large cities... An increasing impact on the structure and geography of the electric power industry - especially in France, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria - is exerted by the construction of nuclear power plants, of which there are already more than 80 in the region. On the Danube and its tributaries, on the Rhone, the upper Rhine, Duero built hydroelectric power plants or their entire cascades.

Nevertheless, in most countries, with the exception of Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, hydroelectric power plants now play a supporting role. Since the region's hydro resources have already been used by 4/5, more economical pumped storage power plants are being built recently. Iceland uses geothermal energy.

Metallurgical industry foreign Europe was mainly formed before the beginning of the era of scientific and technological revolution. Ferrous metallurgy has developed primarily in countries with metallurgical fuel and (or) raw materials: Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

After World War II large plants were built or expanded in seaports with a focus on importing higher quality and cheaper iron ore and scrap metal. The largest and most modern of the factories built in seaports is located in Taranto (Italy).

In recent years, it is mainly not large plants that have been built, but mini-factories.

The most important branches of non-ferrous metallurgy - aluminum and copperindustry.Productionaluminum originated both in countries with bauxite reserves (France, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Greece), and in countries where there is no aluminum raw material, but a lot of electricity is generated (Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Austria). Recently, aluminum smelters are increasingly focusing on raw materials coming from developing countries by sea.

Copper industry received the greatest development in Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Yugoslavia.

Timber industry focusing primarily on the sources of raw materials, has become a branch of international specialization in Sweden and Finland, which have long been the main "forestry of the region". geographical division europe resource

Light industry, with which the industrialization of foreign Europe began, has largely lost its former significance. Old textile regions, formed at the dawn of the industrial revolution (Lancashire and Yorkshire in Great Britain, Flanders in Belgium, Lyons in France, Milan in Italy), and also emerged in the 19th century. The Lodz region of Poland still exists today. But lately light industry is shifting to southern Europe, where there are still reserves of cheap labor. Thus, Portugal has become almost the main "garment factory" in the region. And Italy is second only to China in the production of footwear.

Many countries also retain rich national traditions in the production of furniture, musical instruments, glass, metal, jewelry, toys, etc.

RURALFACILITIES: THREE MAIN TYPES

For the main types of agricultural products, most countries fully meet their needs and are interested in selling them on foreign markets. The main type of agricultural enterprise is a large, highly mechanized farm. But in Southern Europe, landlord landownership and small-scale land use by tenant peasants still predominate.

The main branches of agriculture in foreign Europe are plant growing and animal husbandry, which are ubiquitous, combined with each other. Under the influence of natural and historical conditions, three main types of agriculture have developed in the region:

1) North European, 2) Central European and 3) South European.

For northern European type, widespread in Scandinavia, Finland, as well as in Great Britain, is characterized by the predominance of intensive dairy farming, and in the crop growing serving it - fodder crops and gray breads.

Central European type is distinguished by the predominance of dairy and dairy-meat livestock, as well as pig and poultry farming. Animal husbandry in Denmark has reached a very high level, where it has long become an international specialization industry. This country is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of butter, milk, cheese, pork, eggs. It is often called the "dairy farm" of Europe.

Crop production not only satisfies the basic needs of the population for food, but also "works" for animal husbandry. A significant, and sometimes the predominant part of arable land is occupied by fodder crops.

For South European type a significant predominance of crop production is characteristic, while animal husbandry plays a secondary role. Although cereals occupy the main place in crops, the international specialization of Southern Europe is determined primarily by the production of fruits, citrus fruits, grapes, olives, almonds, nuts, tobacco, and essential oil crops. Coast Mediterranean Sea- the main "garden of Europe".

The entire Mediterranean coast of Spain and especially the region of Valencia is usually called "huerta", that is, "garden". Various fruits and vegetables are grown here, but most of all - oranges, which are harvested from December to March. For the export of oranges, Spain ranks first in the world. Greece has over 90 million olive trees. This tree has become a kind of national symbol for the Greeks. From the time of Ancient Hellas the olive branch is a sign of peace.

In many cases, the specialization of agriculture takes on a narrower profile. Thus, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland are famous for the production of cheese, the Netherlands for flowers, Germany and the Czech Republic for the cultivation of barley and hops and brewing. And in the production and consumption of grape wines, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal stand out not only in Europe, but all over the world.

Fishing has long been an internationally specialized industry in Norway, Denmark and especially Iceland.

NON-PRODUCTION SPHERE

Transport: main highways and junctions.

The regional transport system of the region belongs to Western European type... In terms of transportation distance, it is much inferior to the systems of the United States and Russia. But in terms of the provision of a transport network, it is far ahead, ranking first in the world. Relatively short distances stimulated the development of road transport, which now plays a major role in the transportation of not only passengers, but also cargo. The railway network in most countries is shrinking, and large new buildings in the 50-70s. were typical only for some countries of Eastern Europe (Poland, Yugoslavia, Albania).

The configuration of the region's land transport network is very complex. But its main frame is formed by the highways of the latitudinal and meridional directions, which are of international importance. The main latitudinal trans-European highways pass as follows: 1) Brest - Paris - Berlin - Warsaw - Minsk - Moscow, 2) London - Paris - Vienna - Budapest - Belgrade - Sofia - Istanbul.

The river routes also have a meridional (Rhine) or latitudinal (Danube) direction. The transport significance of the Rhine - Main - Danube waterway is especially great.

Danube - "transnational arrow": Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, FRY, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine

Rhine: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Netherlands.

Drava: Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, FRY

Tisza: Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, FRY

At the intersection of land and inland waterways, large transport hubs arose. In fact, such nodes are also seaports serving primarily international transport. Many of the world's yurts (London, Hamburg, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Le Havre) are located in the estuaries of rivers that connect them with inland areas. They all actually turned into one port and industrial complexes... They are characterized by the development of branches of the maritime economy and especially the so-called "port industry", which operates on imported, overseas raw materials. The largest of them is Rotterdam. The port of Rotterdam handles about 300 million tons per year. Located on one of the branches of the Rhine, 33 km from the sea, it serves as the main sea gate for many European countries. It is connected with inland areas by waterways along the Rhine and Moselle, railways and highways, oil and gas pipelines.

Western Europe is a good example of how even large natural barriers cease to be an insurmountable obstacle to transport links. Numerous railways, roads and pipelines cross the Alps. Ferry crossings connect the shores of the Baltic, North and Mediterranean seas. Road bridges are thrown across the Bosphorus, across the Great Belt. Completed "project of the century" - the construction of a railway tunnel across the English Channel.

Science and finance: technoparks, technopolises and banking centers.

Following the example of Silicon Valley in the United States, many research parks and technopolises have also emerged in foreign Europe, which already largely determine the geography of science in a number of countries. The largest of them are located in the vicinity of Cambridge (Great Britain), Munich (Germany). In the south of France, in the Nice region, the so-called "Valley of High Technology" is being formed.

60 of the world's 200 largest banks are located in foreign Europe. Switzerland has long been the benchmark for a banker country: half of all the world's securities are in the safes of its banks. The "economic capital" of the country, Zurich, stands out. Recently, both Luxembourg and Frankfurt am Main have become a banker country. Nevertheless, London was and remains the largest financial center.

Leisure and tourism

Foreign Europe has been and remains the main area of international tourism. All types of tourism have developed here, the "tourism industry" has reached a very high level. Spain, France and Italy also invariably act as the leading countries of international tourism. The most popular countries for attracting tourists are also Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary. And in such micro-states as Andorra, San Marino, Monaco, tourist services have long been the main source of income. There are one hundred tourists for every inhabitant.

Environmental protection and ecological problems

As a result of the high population density, long-term industrial and agricultural development of the territory, the natural environment of foreign Europe has become to the greatest extent the geographical environment of human society. All types of anthropogenic landscapes are widespread here. But at the same time, this led to the aggravation of many environmental and ecological problems.

Some of them are associated with open pit mining, combustion and chemical processing of high-ash (primarily brown) coal. Others - with the location of a number of cities and agglomerations, metallurgical, oil and gas processing and petrochemical plants, nuclear power plants on the banks of the Rhine, Elbe, Danube, Vistula, on the sea coasts, and still others - with the spread of acid rain. Fourth - with an ever-increasing "car density", which in a number of urban agglomerations already reaches 250-300 cars per 1 km 2. Fifth - with the spontaneous development of tourism, which has already led to significant degradation of the natural environment, both in the Alps and on the Mediterranean coast. Sixth - with a huge danger to the natural environment, which is created by the disasters of supertankers, which often happen, especially on the approaches to the English Channel.

All countries in the region are pursuing state environmental policies and are taking increasingly decisive measures to protect the environment. Strict environmental protection laws have been issued, mass public organizations and "green" parties have emerged, the use of bicycles is being promoted, the network of national parks and other protected areas has been expanded.

In general, the ecological situation in the eastern part of foreign Europe is much worse than in the western one.

GEOGRAPHICALSETTLEMENT AND FARMING DRAWING

"Central axis" of development- the main element of the territorial structure of the region.

The territorial structure of the population and economy of foreign Europe was mainly formed back in the 19th century, when the natural resource was almost the main factor of location, and when coal and metallurgical regions of Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries arose. After World War II, this structure was most influenced by factors labor resources and the benefits of EGP, and more recently also - science intensity and environmental.

In total, there are about 400 urban agglomerations and about a hundred industrial areas in the region. The most significant of them are located within the "central axis" of development, stretching across the territory of eight countries. Its core is the "main street of Europe" - the Rhine - Rhone line. 120 million people live within this "axis", and about half of the entire economic potential of the region is concentrated.

In foreign Europe, several more similar "axes" of smaller scales can be distinguished. This is an industrial-urban belt stretching along the common borders of Poland, the Czech Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, the Danube "axis", strips along the main oil pipelines, some coastal zones.

Highly developed paions: examples of London and Paris

The most striking examples of highly developed areas that concentrate the latest industries, infrastructure, science, culture, and services are the metropolitan regions of Greater London and Greater Paris.

Both London and Paris have grown primarily as the administrative and political centers of their countries, which they have been serving for more than eight centuries. Both capitals are large industrial centers, in which high-tech knowledge-intensive industries are widely represented, and in Paris there is also the production of so-called "Parisian products" (sewing, jewelry, etc.), thanks to which it has been acting as a trendsetter for the whole world for several centuries. But even more important is the fact that it is here that the largest banks and stock exchanges, the headquarters of monopolies, leading scientific institutions, as well as the residences of many international organizations... Unloading is carried out in accordance with regional programs central parts both metropolitan regions.

Eight cities have been built in the vicinity of London, and five satellite cities in the vicinity of Paris.

Examples of other highly developed regions of foreign Europe are: southern region Germany with centers in Stuttgart and Munich, the "industrial triangle" Milan - Turin - Genoa in Italy, the industrial and urban agglomeration Randstad ("ring city") in the Netherlands. All of them are located within the "central axis" of development.

Old industrial areas

In no other region of the world there are so many old industrial regions with a predominance of basic industries as in foreign Europe. The largest of them arose on the basis of coal basins. But even among such areas, the Ruhr is especially prominent, which for many decades has been rightfully considered the industrial heart of Germany.

The Lower Rhine-Ruhr agglomeration has developed within the Ruhr basin and adjacent areas. Here, on an area of 9 thousand km2, 11 million people live and about a hundred cities are concentrated, including 20 large ones. There is no other such concentration of large cities in one territory, perhaps, anywhere else in the world. In some parts of the agglomeration, the population density reaches 5 thousand people per 1 km2. The Ruhr part forms a complex urban massif with almost no breaks, which is usually called "Ruhrstadt", that is, "the city of the Ruhr". In fact, it is really a single city, with Duisburg as its western gate, Dortmund as its eastern gate, Essen as its "capital", and Dusseldorf as its main "safe".

In recent years, the Ruhr industry, with several thousand factories, has undergone significant reconstruction. In the 50s-60s. The Ruhr was considered almost a classic depressed area. But today it would be wrong to place him in this category. A large environmental program has been implemented in the Ruhr area. The Rhine, which not so long ago was called the gutter of Europe, has become cleaner, fish have reappeared in it.

Examples of other old industrial areas include Lancashire, Yorkshire, the West Midlands, South Wales in the UK, the North Region, Alsace and Lorraine in France, the Saarland, often called the "Lesser Ruhr" in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Upper Silesian Region in Poland, Ostrava in the Czech Republic ... But most of them are depressive.

Backward agricultural areas

In foreign Europe there are still quite a few rather backward, predominantly agrarian regions. A striking example of this kind is the South of Italy, which occupies 40% of the country's territory, concentrates more than 35% of the population and only 18% of those employed in industry. The per capita income here is almost two times lower than in the North. After the Second World War, due to the relative agrarian overpopulation, more than 5 million people emigrated from the South.

The state is pursuing a regional policy aimed at the rise of the South. It led to the construction of large metallurgical, petrochemical plants and other enterprises here. As a result, the South is no longer a purely agricultural region. However, the factories are almost not connected with the surrounding territory, since they work on imported raw materials, and their products are exported to other regions of the country and to other countries.

Examples of other backward agrarian regions of foreign Europe are: Western part France, central and southwestern Spain, Portugal and Greece. They are all located outside the "central axis". The problem of the rise of backward regions is also topical for many countries of Eastern Europe.

Areas of new development

For the long-developed territory of foreign Europe, areas of new development are generally not typical. Usually they included only the northern part of Scandinavia. But the discovery in the early 60s. a large oil and gas basin in the North Sea has changed the situation.

By the beginning of the 90s. more than 250 oil and natural gas fields have been identified on this "golden day". In addition, the Netherlands has one of the largest in the world close to the coast. gas fields... The North Sea region satisfies 1/3 of the needs of foreign Europe for oil and 2/3 of the needs for natural gas. Now the sea is literally "stuffed" with drilling platforms, several thousand kilometers of pipelines have been laid along the bottom of it. But in this regard, a considerable environmental threat arises, not to mention fishing, which has suffered irreparable damage.

Impact of international economic integration on the territoryhistorical structure of the economy

Among the favorable prerequisites for the development of international economic integration in the region are territorial proximity, high development of the territory, a high level of socio-economic development, good transport availability, and long-standing traditions of economic ties. During the existence of the EU, all this has already led to a further merging of the territorial structures of the economy of individual countries, especially within the "central axis" of development. Border integration regions are being formed: between Germany and France, between France and Belgium, France and Italy, etc.

Figure 1. Sub-regions of Foreign Europe.

Table 2. What is produced and exported by some countries of Foreign Europe.

	Products and services industrial production and export
	Cars, airplanes, ships, weapons, equipment for the forestry and pulp and paper industries, paper, cellulose, iron ore, medicines, livestock products.
Finland	Lumber, paper, pulp, equipment for the forestry and woodworking industries, sea vessels, dairy products.
United Kingdom	Machinery and equipment, aircraft, automobiles, tractors, weapons, oil, chemicals, textiles, products light industry.
	Cars, airplanes, sea vessels, weapons, equipment for nuclear power plants, ferrous metals, aluminum, fabrics, clothing, perfumery, wheat, dairy and meat products, sugar, wine.
	Cars, machine tools, industrial equipment, electrical and electronic products, weapons, chemicals, light industry products.
	Cars, ships, electrical equipment, chemicals, metal ores, light industrial products, citrus fruits, olive oil, wines.
	Cars, ships, electrical equipment, weapons, chemicals, refrigerators, washing and office machines, textiles and clothing, footwear, vegetables, fruits, citrus fruits, wines.
	Machinery and equipment, ships, coal, copper, sulfur, medicines, textiles, agricultural products.
Bulgaria	Electrical and electronic products, lifting and transport equipment, agricultural machinery, non-ferrous metals, sewing and tobacco products, canned food, wine, rose oil