Western Europe

The area of Europe that is situated to the west is referred to as Western Europe. It depends on the situation in which nations and territories make up the area.

The term "the West" was first used in Europe in contrast to "the East," and it was first used in the ancient Mediterranean world, both halves of the Roman Empire (the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire), and the "Christendom" of the middle ages (Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity). Beginning roughly in the 15th century with the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, the concept of Europe as "the West" gradually differentiated itself from the predominant use of "Christendom" as the preferred endonym within the region and eventually replaced it. This process began when the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery occurred. After the Age of Enlightenment and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the terms "Western Europe" and "Eastern Europe" began to be used more often.

In Western Europe, the majority of people adhere to the Christian faith. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2018, 71.0% of people living in Western Europe self-identified as Christians.

The East–West Schism, which occurred in 1054, was the event that split Christianity into Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. As a result, Europe was effectively divided in half, with the majority of Western Europe coming under the authority of the Catholic Church and the majority of Eastern Europe falling under the authority of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the two most prominent forms of Christianity in Western Europe have been Catholicism and Protestantism.

According to this particular understanding of Eastern Europe and Western Europe, the term "Eastern Europe" also refers to the region of Southeastern Europe, whilst "Western Europe" refers to the region of Northern and Central Europe.

The United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands all participated in the signing of the Treaty of Brussels in the year 1948. In 1954, during the Paris Conference, when the Western European Union was founded, it was discussed once again for the second time. In 2011, with the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon and the expiration of the Treaty of Brussels, it was formally deemed to have ceased to exist. At the time of its dissolution, the Western European Union consisted of 10 member nations, 5 observer countries, 6 associate member countries, and 7 associate partner countries.