In 2009, Austria had a population of 8.3 million people and a population growth rate of 0.4%. The economy was driven by the export of commodities such as machinery, vehicles, chemicals, paper products and textiles. Austria was an active member in many international organisations including the United Nations, the European Union and the Organisation for…
Category: Europe
COLLAPSE OF THE EASTERN BLOC
Until the late 1980s, Europe remained divided into two warring blocs by the East-West conflict. On the one hand there were the Eastern bloc states allied with the Soviet Union, on the other hand the western countries sympathizing with the United States of America. A momentous event was the beginning of perestroika in 1985(Russian: “transformation”) under the new General Secretary of the CPSU, Mikhail Gorbachev. While the reform program in the Soviet Union made sluggish progress, the democratization process quickly spread to the allied states, where the old rulers had to bow to popular pressure and – since the Soviet Union refused to intervene – had to give way to democratically elected governments. With the exception of Romania, this change of power was largely peaceful.
The collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1990 enabled the reunification of the two German states proclaimed in 1949, but also a division of Czechoslovakia, which took place in 1993 after the Slovak republic had declared its independence a year earlier. National liberation efforts had also led to the separation of Slovenia and Croatia from Yugoslavia in 1991. Their recognition by the Federal Republic of Germany kicked off a sustained and extremely bloody civil war, in the course of which the multi-ethnic state of Yugoslavia split up into the seven autonomous states of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo.
DWARF STATES AND AUTONOMOUS AREAS
Greenland and the Faroe Islands are parts of the Danish state with autonomous status. The outer area of Svalbard, which includes the Svalbard archipelago and the Bear Islands, belongs to Norway. Gibraltar has been British owned since 1704. In a referendum in 1967, an overwhelming majority voted to remain with Great Britain, and the peninsula has had its own constitution since 1969.
Cyprus was once a British colony, became independent in 1960 and has been divided into the Greek Republic of Cyprus (with two sovereign British military bases) and the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus by a demarcation line since 1974. For more information about the continent of Europe, please check militarynous.com.
Andorra 2009
In 2009, Andorra had a population of around 84,000 people. The majority of the population were ethnically Catalan, followed by Spanish and French minorities. The main language spoken was Catalan. The Andorran economy was largely dependent on tourism, with a large percentage of the population living in poverty. In terms of foreign relations, Andorra had…
Albania 2009
In 2009, Albania had a population of around 3 million people. The majority of the population were ethnic Albanians, followed by Greeks and other minorities. The main language spoken was Albanian. The Albanian economy was largely dependent on agriculture and tourism, with a large percentage of the population living in poverty. In terms of foreign…
Aland 2009
Yearbook 2009 Aland. Åland politicians criticized Finnish authorities for failing to comply with the Constitution’s requirement that the cultural and social needs of the Swedish-speaking population be met on equal grounds with the Finnish-speaking population. Following pressures from Åland, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen explained that Finland’s language law does not work in practice, because…
European Minorities
According to Countryaah, there are a total of 45 independent nations and 6 dependent territories in Europe. In today’s Europe, several groups invoke special political rights, citing peoples. This applies both to state-bearing groups such as the Serbs, Estonians and Greeks, as well as to larger and smaller groups who are minorities in the state…
Paris Worth Knowing
Depending on the weather, Paris, the city for explorers, best to explore in September, early October or even in spring. The city is located at 2 ° 20’14 ” east longitude and 48 ° 50’11 ” north latitude. The city is divided into 20 arrondissements which are useful as a guide. If you are traveling…
U.K. Industry
Energy industry Measured in terms of electricity generation (2013), the energy industry is based 63.9% on oil, natural gas and coal, 7.7% on wind, 2.9% on biomass and 1.3% on hydropower. In 2013, nuclear energy accounted for 1.89% of electricity generation. As the first nuclear power plant in the world, Calder Hall supplied electricity in…
Ibiza, Spain
Ibiza (Balearic Islands) The island of Ibiza, the third largest of the Balearic Islands after Mallorca and Menorca, is by one chain smaller islands connected to the Balearic island of Formentera. Together they form the Pityusen archipelago. Geographically, they form the continuation of the Andalusian Folded Mountains. Ibiza and Formentera are roughly on the same…