WESTERN EUROPE (ITALY, UNITED KINGDOM, IRELAND, GERMANY, & CZECH REPUBLIC)

By: Karl Schmelzer

Basic Europe Area: approx. 3,930,000 sq. mi. Population: approx. 700,000,000 (11% of

the world) Number of countries: 49 Languages: 230 Currency: Euro (majority)

Map of Europe

Italy (Italian Republic) Area: 116,303 sq. mi. Population: approx. 60.6 million Ethnic groups: Mainly Italian, but there are also

German-, French-, Slovene-, and Albanian-Italians.

Capital: Rome Language: Italian Currency: Euro Flag:

Map of Italy

Italy’s Culture Within the Italian language, various dialects

are spoken. Customs vary from area to area. Sicilian and many other customs are Spanish

in origin due to different conquerors occupying the area.

A number of different ethnic groups (i.e., French, Greeks, Africans) have found friendships.

The main religion is Roman Catholic.

Italy’s DietA normal breakfast contains a hard

roll, butter, and fruit or juice. Italians eat a quite heavy lunch of pasta, soup, bread, & meat or fish. Dinner consists of leftovers.

Italian Politics Italy runs on a parliamentary,

democratic republic, multi-party system. The Executive Branch is led by the President of the Council of Ministers. The Legislature is led by two houses of Parliament, and the Council of Ministers. The Judiciary is independent from the Legislature and the Executive Branch. Before June 2, 1946, Italy was a monarchy.

Italy’s Military The Italian Armed Forces consists of the

Italian Army, Italian Navy, Italian Air Force, and Carabinieri (Police). The President of the Italian Republic is the leader of the armed forces as the President of the Supreme Council of Defense. The total number of active personnel is 319,529 in 2011.

United Kingdom and Northern Ireland

Area: 94,060 sq. mi. Population: 62,262,000 Ethnic Groups: White (92.1%), South Asian

(4%), African American (2%), Mixed (1.2%), Chinese (0.4%), Other (0.4%)

Capital: London Languages: English, Irish, Welsh Currency: Pound Sterling Flag:

Map of the UK

UK’s LanguageIn Wales, one of the countries within

the UK, acts have been formed saying that the Welsh language be treated equal to the English language in school. The Scottish did the same. The British also have a sign language.

UK Foods The UK roasts most meats. Apple pie originated in the UK. Fish and chips also originated in Great

Britain.

UK Politics Originally, under the UK constitution, the

monarchy has executive authority but currently the Prime Minister and the cabinet holds this power. They may advise the monarchy of any necessary information related to governmental issues. The UK has the 4th highest personal income tax rate in Europe.

UK Military The British Armed Forces include the

Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army, and the Royal Air Force.

The total number of active personnel is 227,160 soldiers.

The Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces is the British Monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. However, the Prime Minister holds authority over the use of the Armed Forces.

Ireland Area: 31,520.65 sq. mi. Population: 6,380,661 (2008) Ethnic Groups: Irish, Ulster Scots Capital: Dublin Languages: Official: Irish, 36%, English,

94%. Other: Scots, Shelta Currency: Euro (since 2002) Flag:

Map of Ireland

The Irish LanguageMany languages are used in Ireland.

Others have come from foreign settlements. Both Irish and English languages have official status. Primitive Irish was first, from 5th century AD. English did not enter Ireland until the 12th century AD, and was not widely spoken.

Irish BeveragesIreland is known for its beverages.

Non-alcoholic or alcoholic Ireland has it. Hot tea or coffee, the Irish have enjoyed home-made drinks since the earliest of times. Tea was introduced to Ireland in the 16th century (What, do you really think it’s BC?). Whiskey was introduced in the 12th century. The first commercial distillers were established in Ireland in the 18th century.

Irish Religions 92% of all Irish are Roman Catholic,

4.89% have no beliefs, and 2.35% are Church of Ireland.

3.9M people believe in the Roman Catholic religion. There are approximately 1,300 parishes, and there are 4,000 priests.

The Church of Ireland is a Protestant Episcopal Church. There are an estimated 380,000 members. 75% live in Northern Ireland.

Irish Politics Ireland runs under a parliamentary,

representative, and democratic republic. The head of State is the President of Ireland. The head of government with the real political

power is the Prime Minister. Executive power is held by the Cabinet with 15

or less members. The legislature is the Oireachtas or bicameral

nation parliament. The judiciary branch is independent and the

Chief Justice heads it.

Irish Military The Irish Army, also called the Armed

Forces of Ireland or Defense Forces, was founded on October 1, 1924.

Its branches are the Army, Naval Service, Air Corps, Army Reserve, and Naval Service Reserve.

Their headquarters is in Newbridge, County Kildare.

The Supreme Commander of the Defense Forces is Michael D. Higgins, also the President of Ireland.

Germany Area: 357,021 sq. km. Population: 82,431,390 (2005) Ethnic Groups: German, 91.5%, Turkish,

2.4%, Other, 6.1% Capital: Berlin Languages: German Currency: Euro Flag:

Map of Germany

The German Language Germany has 98 million native speakers.

(2005) It is an official language in the European

Union. It is a minority language in the Czech

Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Italy, Namibia (official language 1984-90), Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Vatican City.

It is a global major language and is widely spoken.

It is written with the Latin Alphabet.

The Traditional German Diet The German diet is mainly hearty, with

potatoes, meats, and breads. Regions of Germany make twists and

turns on the original diet, such as serving meats with fruits instead of vegetables.

Germany was never a good agricultural country so it must import most of its food.

But, King Frederick the Great taught citizens how to grow potatoes, thus stapling them to their diet.

German Religions Christianity is the #1 religion in

Germany, with 59.4% of the population. (12/31/10)

Catholic is 30.2%, very close to pre-WWII 33%.

Other religions include Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism.

Many other churches in Germany are miniscule, less than or equal to 0.5%.

German Politics Germany runs on a federal

parliamentary republic, based on a representative democracy.

The Chancellor is the head of government, overpowering the President, head of state.

As is most other countries, the Judiciary of Germany is independent of other branches.

The Legislature is the Bundestag. Executive power is vested in the Federal

Cabinet.

German Military The Heer is the land component of the

German Army. It was founded in 1955, part of the

Bundeswehr with the Marine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Air Force).

After the German reunification of 1990, the Landstreitkräfte (Land Forces) of the National People’s Army were partly added to the Heer.

The Czech Republic Area: 30,450 sq. mi. (78,866 sq. mi.) Population: 10,212,000 Ethnic Groups: Capital: Prague Languages: Official: Czech Minority:

Slovak, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Romani, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, and Ukrainian

Currency: Czech koruna Flag:

Map of the Czech Republic

The Czech Language The Czech Language is a Western Slavic

language with twelve million speakers. It was known as the Bohemian language

until the 19th century. It is close to Slovak, Polish, and Sorbian

languages. Czech is used on government

documents, along with Slovak.

Czech Religions The Czech Republic may be the least

religious country in the world. In 2011, 10.3% of the population were

Roman Catholic, 0.8% were Protestant, 9.4% were a different religion, 45.2% didn’t respond, and 34.2% have no religion.

79.4% of the Czech people are agnostic, atheist, irreligious!

Czech Foods Like German foods, Czech foods are rich

and hearty. Knedlík is a dumpling, made of wheat or

potato flour, that is boiled as a roll of dough, then sliced and served with gravy.

The spis is a shish-kebab; meat and veggies on a spear.

Czech Politics The Czech Republic runs on a multi-

party, parliamentary, representative democratic republic.

The President is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government.

The Prime Minister has supreme power of the Executive Branch.

The Legislature is bicameral, with the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

The Judicial Branch’s highest court is the Supreme Court, like ours. The Constitutional Court does Constitutional issues, with retirement age being 70.

Czech Military The Army of the Czech Republic consists

of only the Land Forces and the Czech Air Force.

There are 22,767 soldiers and 8,396 civilian personnel.

But, 2,414,728 people are available for service.

NOTE:

This PowerPoint does not cover all of Western Europe. These are just my 5 major background countries. Those 5 countries all happen to be in Western Europe.