Industries of foreign Europe. Countries of Eastern Europe Industry of Eastern Europe table

The video lesson “Industry, leading sectors of Foreign Europe” reveals the typical features of the economy developed countries Europe. The lesson will introduce you to the structure of the economy and the main industrial areas of the region. The teacher will tell you about the main features of the geographical location of the main industries in Europe.

Subject: Regional characteristics peace. Foreign Europe

Lesson: Industry, leading sectors of the economy of Foreign Europe

Chemical industry in foreign Europe it ranks second after mechanical engineering. This especially applies to the most “chemicalized” country not only in this region, but also in almost the entire world - Germany. Before World War II, the chemical industry focused mainly on hard and brown coal, potash and table salts, and pyrites and was located in areas where they were mined. The reorientation of the industry towards hydrocarbon raw materials has led to its shift towards oil. In the western part of the region, this shift was expressed primarily in the emergence of large petrochemical centers in the estuaries of the Thames, Seine, Rhine, Elbe, and Rhone, where this industry is combined with oil refining. The largest hub of petrochemical production and refineries in the region was formed in the Rhine and Scheldt estuary in the Netherlands, in the Rotterdam area. In fact, it serves the whole of Western Europe. In the eastern part of the region, the shift “towards oil” led to the creation of refineries and petrochemical plants along the routes of main oil and gas pipelines. The main oil refining and petrochemical enterprises of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary were built along the route of the international oil pipeline "Druzhba" and gas pipelines through which oil and natural gas were supplied from Soviet Union, and currently from Russia. In Bulgaria, for the same reason, petrochemicals are “shifted” to the Black Sea coast.

IN fuel and energy sector most countries foreign Europe the leading place was taken by oil and natural gas, produced both in the region itself (North Sea) and imported from developing countries, From Russia. Coal production and consumption in Great Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium decreased sharply. In the eastern part of the region, the focus on coal is still preserved, and not so much on hard coal (Poland, Czech Republic), but on brown coal. There is perhaps no other area in the world where brown coal plays such a large role in the fuel and energy balance. Most thermal power plants also focus on coal basins. But they are also built in sea ports(using imported fuel) and in large cities. The construction of nuclear power plants is having 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, and Bulgaria. Hydroelectric power stations or entire cascades of them were built on the Danube and its tributaries, on the Rhone, the upper Rhine, and the Duero. But still, 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 are already 4/5 used, Lately Mostly more economical pumped storage power plants are being built. Iceland uses geothermal energy.

Metallurgical industry foreign Europe was mainly formed even before the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution era. Ferrous metallurgy developed primarily in countries with metallurgical fuel and (or) raw materials: Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, and the Czech Republic. After the Second World War, large mills were built or expanded in seaports with a focus on importing higher quality, cheaper iron ore and scrap metal. The largest and most modern of the plants built in seaports is located in Taranto (Italy). Recently, mostly mini-factories, rather than large plants, have been built. The most important branches of non-ferrous metallurgy are the aluminum and copper industries. Aluminum production arose both in countries with bauxite reserves (France, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Greece) and in countries where there are no aluminum raw materials, 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. The copper industry was most developed in Germany, France, Great Britain, Belgium, and Poland.

Forestry industry, focusing primarily on raw material sources, has become an industry of international specialization in Sweden and Finland. Light industry, with which the industrialization of foreign Europe began, has largely lost its former significance. Old textile districts that formed at the dawn of the industrial revolution (Lancashire and Yorkshire in Great Britain, Flanders in Belgium, Lyon in France, Milan in Italy), as well as those that arose already in the 19th century. The Lodz region of Poland still exists today. But recently, light industry has been shifting to Southern Europe, where there are still reserves of cheap work force. Thus, Portugal has become almost the main “garment factory” of the region. And Italy is second only to China in shoe production. Many countries also preserve rich national traditions in the production of furniture, musical instruments, glass, metal products, jewelry, toys, etc.

Rice. 4. Workshop for the production of Lego cubes ()

Homework

Topic 6, P.1

1. Name the main industries of Foreign Europe?

2. Using the material covered and atlas maps, give examples of mechanical engineering centers in Foreign Europe.

Bibliography

Main

1. Geography. A basic level of. 10-11 grades: textbook for educational institutions / A.P. Kuznetsov, E.V. Kim. - 3rd ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2012. - 367 p.

2. Economic and social geography world: Textbook. for 10th grade educational institutions / V.P. Maksakovsky. - 13th ed. - M.: Education, JSC "Moscow Textbooks", 2005. - 400 p.

3. Atlas with set contour maps for grade 10 Economic and social geography of the world. - Omsk: FSUE "Omsk Cartographic Factory", 2012 - 76 p.

Additional

1. Economic and social geography of Russia: Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. A.T. Khrushchev. - M.: Bustard, 2001. - 672 p.: ill., map.: color. on

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

1. Geography: a reference book for high school students and those entering universities. - 2nd ed., rev. and revision - M.: AST-PRESS SCHOOL, 2008. - 656 p.

Literature for preparing for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam

1. Thematic control in geography. Economic and social geography of the world. 10th grade / E.M. Ambartsumova. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 80 p.

2. The most complete edition typical options real tasks of the Unified State Exam: 2010: Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Astrel, 2010. - 221 p.

3. The optimal bank of tasks for preparing students. Unified State Exam 2012. Geography. Tutorial./ Comp. EM. Ambartsumova, S.E. Dyukova. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2012. - 256 p.

4. The most complete edition of standard versions of real Unified State Examination tasks: 2010: Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2010.- 223 p.

5. Geography. Diagnostic work in the format of the Unified State Exam 2011. - M.: MTsNMO, 2011. - 72 p.

6. Unified State Exam 2010. Geography. Collection of tasks / Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 272 p.

7. Geography tests: 10th grade: to the textbook by V.P. Maksakovsky “Economic and social geography of the world. 10th grade” / E.V. Baranchikov. - 2nd ed., stereotype. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2009. - 94 p.

8. Textbook on geography. Tests and practical tasks in geography / I.A. Rodionova. - M.: Moscow Lyceum, 1996. - 48 p.

9. The most complete edition of standard versions of real Unified State Examination tasks: 2009: Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2009. - 250 p.

10. Unified State Exam 2009. Geography. Universal materials for preparing students / FIPI - M.: Intellect-Center, 2009 - 240 p.

11. Geography. Answers on questions. Oral exam, theory and practice / V.P. Bondarev. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2003. - 160 p.

12. Unified State Exam 2010. Geography: thematic training tasks / O.V. Chicherina, Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 144 p.

13. Unified State Exam 2012. Geography: Model exam options: 31 options / ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2011. - 288 p.

14. Unified State Exam 2011. Geography: Model exam options: 31 options / ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2010. - 280 p.

Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements ().

2. Federal portal Russian Education ().

1. general characteristics industry

Foreign Europe, as an integral region, ranks first in the world economy in terms of industrial production, exports of goods and services, and development international tourism, leading positions in gold and currency reserves. The economic power of the region is primarily determined by four countries that are members of the G7 Western countries:

Germany.
France.
Great Britain.
Italy.

These are the countries that have the widest range of various industries and production But the balance of power between them has changed in recent decades. The leadership role has passed to Germany, whose economy is developing more dynamically. Great Britain, on the other hand, has lost many of its former positions. Of the remaining countries of foreign Europe, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden have the greatest economic weight. Unlike the four main countries, their economy specializes primarily in individual industries, which, as a rule, have won European or world recognition. Small and medium-sized countries are especially widely involved in global economic relations. Most high level economic openness has reached Belgium and the Netherlands.
Mechanical engineering plays a special role in the European economy.

2. Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering is the leading industry in foreign Europe, which is its homeland. This industry accounts for about 1/3 of the region's total industrial output and 2/3 of its exports. The automotive industry has developed especially strongly. Car brands such as Renault (France), Volkswagen and Mercedes (Germany), FIAT (Italy), Volvo (Sweden) and others are world famous. They operate in the UK, Belgium, Spain and other countries. factories of other automobile concerns. Mechanical engineering, focusing primarily on labor resources, scientific base and infrastructure, most of all gravitates towards major cities and agglomerations, including capital cities.

3. Chemical industry

The chemical industry in foreign Europe ranks second after mechanical engineering. This especially applies to the most “chemicalized” country not only in this region, but also in almost the entire world - Germany. Before World War II, the chemical industry focused mainly on hard and brown coal, potash and table salts, and pyrites and was located in areas where they were mined.

The reorientation of the industry towards hydrocarbon raw materials has led to its shift towards oil. In the western part of the region, this shift was expressed primarily in the emergence of large petrochemical centers in the estuaries of the Thames, Seine, Rhine, Elbe, and Rhone, where this industry is combined with oil refining. The largest hub of petrochemical production and refineries in the region was formed in the Rhine and Scheldt estuary in the Netherlands, in the Rotterdam area. In fact, it serves the whole of Western Europe. In the eastern part of the region, the shift “towards oil” led to the creation of refineries and petrochemical plants along the routes of main oil and gas pipelines.

The main oil refining and petrochemical enterprises in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary were built along the route of the international oil pipeline “Druzhba” and gas pipelines that brought oil and natural gas from the Soviet Union, and currently from Russia. In Bulgaria, for the same reason, petrochemicals are “shifted” to the Black Sea coast.

4. Fuel and energy complex, metallurgy

In the fuel and energy economy of most countries of foreign Europe, the leading place is occupied by oil and natural gas, produced both in the region itself (North Sea) and imported from developing countries, from Russia. Coal production and consumption in Great Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium decreased sharply.

In the eastern part of the region, the focus on coal is still preserved, and not so much on hard coal (Poland, Czech Republic), but on brown coal. There is perhaps no other area in the world where brown coal plays such a large role in the fuel and energy balance. Most thermal power plants also focus on coal basins. But they are also built in seaports (using imported fuel) and in large cities.

The construction of nuclear power plants is having 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, and Bulgaria.

Hydroelectric power stations or entire cascades of them were built on the Danube and its tributaries, on the Rhone, the upper Rhine, and the Duero. But still, 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 to 4/5, recently more economical pumped storage power plants have been mainly built. Iceland uses geothermal energy.

The metallurgical industry of foreign Europe was basically formed even before the start of the scientific and technological revolution era. Ferrous metallurgy developed primarily in countries with metallurgical fuel and (or) raw materials: Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, and the Czech Republic. After the Second World War, large mills were built or expanded in seaports with a focus on importing higher quality, cheaper iron ore and scrap metal. The largest and most modern of the plants built in seaports is located in Taranto (Italy).

Recently, mostly mini-factories, rather than large plants, have been built.

The most important branches of non-ferrous metallurgy are the aluminum and copper industries. Aluminum production arose both in countries with bauxite reserves (France, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Greece) and in countries where there are no aluminum raw materials, 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. The copper industry was most developed in Germany, France, Great Britain, Belgium, and Poland.

5. Forestry, light industry

The timber industry, focusing primarily on sources of raw materials, has become an industry of international specialization in Sweden and Finland. Light industry, with which the industrialization of foreign Europe began, has largely lost its former importance. Old textile districts that formed at the dawn of the industrial revolution (Lancashire and Yorkshire in Great Britain, Flanders in Belgium, Lyon in France, Milan in Italy), as well as those that arose already in the 19th century. The Lodz region of Poland still exists today. But recently, light industry has been shifting to Southern Europe, where there are still reserves of cheap labor. Thus, Portugal has become almost the main “garment factory” of the region. And Italy is second only to China in shoe production. Many countries also preserve rich national traditions in the production of furniture, musical instruments, glass, metal products, jewelry, toys, etc.

Agriculture of Foreign Europe

1. General characteristics Agriculture

In general, the share of the economically active population employed in agriculture in Foreign Europe is not large (maximum in the countries of Eastern Europe). The share of agriculture in the economies of countries is also maximum in the countries of Eastern Europe.

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, landlordism and small-scale land use by peasant tenants still predominate. The main branches of agriculture in foreign Europe are crop production and livestock farming, which are widespread everywhere, combined with each other.

2. Main types of agriculture

Under the influence of natural and historical conditions, three main types of agriculture have developed in the region:

Northern European
Central European
Southern European

The Northern European type, widespread in Scandinavia, Finland, and also in Great Britain, is characterized by the predominance of intensive dairy farming, and in the plant growing that serves it - fodder crops and gray grains.
The Central European type is distinguished by the predominance of dairy and dairy-meat livestock farming, as well as pig and poultry farming. Livestock farming has reached a very high level in Denmark, where it has long become a branch of international specialization. This country is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of butter, milk, cheese, pork, and eggs. It is often called the “dairy farm” of Europe. Crop production not only satisfies the basic food needs of the population, but also “works” for livestock farming. A significant and sometimes the predominant part of arable land is occupied by fodder crops.
The southern European type is characterized by a significant predominance of crop farming, while livestock farming plays a secondary role. Although grain crops occupy the main place in crops, international specialization Southern Europe determined primarily by the production of fruits, citrus fruits, grapes, olives, almonds, nuts, tobacco, and essential oil crops. The Mediterranean coast is the main “garden of Europe”.
- The entire Mediterranean coast of Spain and especially the Valencia region is usually called the garden. Various fruits and vegetables are grown here, but most of all oranges, the harvest of which lasts from December to March. Spain ranks first in the world in orange exports.
- In Greece, Italy, Spain there are more than 90 million olive trees in each country. This tree became a kind of national symbol for the Greeks. Since the times of Ancient Hellas, the olive branch has been a sign of peace.
- Main wine producing countries: France, Italy, Spain.
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 growing barley and hops and brewing. And in terms of production and consumption of grape wines, France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal stand out not only in Europe, but throughout the world. Fishing has long been an international specialty in Norway, Denmark and especially Iceland.

The leading sector of the economy of the countries of the region is industry, mainly manufacturing (mechanical engineering, metallurgical complex, chemical, light and food, etc.).

Fuel and economic complex. Today, only Poland and Ukraine use significant amounts of coal for energy needs. All other countries rely on oil and gas imported from Russia. Oil refineries in most countries are located near oil pipelines: Polotsk (Poland), Novopolotsk, Mozyr (Belarus), Kremenchug, Lisichansk, Drohobych (Ukraine), Bratislava (Slovakia), Mazeikiai (Lithuania).

Electricity production is 1384.8 billion kW * h, it is produced mainly at thermal power plants operating on hard coal, brown coal, and fuel oil. Cascades of hydroelectric power stations were built on the Dnieper, Volga - Kama, and the city of Vag (Slovakia). Russia has the oldest nuclear power plant in the world - Obninsk, built in 1954, with a capacity of 5 MW. Nuclear power plants operate in Lithuania (1 reactor with a capacity of 2.4 million kW produces 70% of the country’s electricity, which is the second figure after France), Slovakia (6 reactors provide 56% of the electricity), Hungary (4 reactors account for 37% of the electricity), Ukraine (15 reactors with a capacity of 13.7 million kW generate about 50% of the electricity), the Czech Republic (6 reactors, 30% of the electricity), Russia (31 nuclear reactors, 15% of the electricity). In Russia, since 1968, the Kislogubskaya tidal power plant (near Murmansk) with a capacity of 400 kW has been operating.

Ferrous metallurgy. Both local and imported raw materials (iron ore from Ukraine) are used. The largest metallurgical areas and centers of the region are the Central region (Kursk Magnetic Anomaly) and Sheep Skull (Russia), Donbass, Dnieper region (Ukraine), Katowice (Upper Silesia in Poland), Ostrava, Kladno, Most (Czech Republic), Kosice (Slovakia), Miskolc, Dunaujvaros (Hungary). A powerful pipe rolling production has been formed in Ukraine (Lugansk, Dnepropetrovsk, Nikopol, Novomoskovsk, Khartsyzsk).

Non-ferrous metallurgy. Its focus on the production of aluminum (Székesfehérvár, Ajka in Hungary; Khibiny, Karelia, Ural in Russia), copper (Lower Silesia in Poland, Ural in Russia), lead and zinc (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia), nickel can be traced (Russia Ukraine). Hungary ranks among the first in the world for the production and consumption of aluminum products per capita.

Mechanical engineering. Heavy engineering is developed in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. The leading branch of specialization is power engineering. Its traditional focus is the production of powerful steam boilers (Volgodonsk - Russia, the world famous Attomash plant) and equipment for nuclear power plants (Kharkov - Ukraine).

The automotive industry is concentrated in all countries, the most developed in Russia, produces more than 1.3 million cars annually and ranks 13th in the world (ZIL - Moscow, GAZ - Nizhny Novgorod, KamAZ - Naberezhnye Chelny, VAZ - Tolyatti, PAZ - Pavlov , LiAZ - Likino-Dulvo), Ukraine - 215.7 thousand cars (Avto-ZAZ - Zaporozhye, KrAZ - Kremenchug, LuAZ - Lutsk, LAZ - Lvov), Belarus - 23.1 thousand cars (MAZ - Minsk, BelAZ - Zhodino), Czech Republic - 604.9 thousand cars (Skoda - Pilsen, Tatra - Kopřivnice), Poland - 625.4 thousand cars (SAN (buses) - Warsaw), Hungary - 152 thousand cars ( "Icara" - Budapest). Trolleybus factories in Engels (Russia) and Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine) are leading enterprises in this profile. Dozens of enterprises produce parts, components and equipment for cars.

Railway engineering is represented in Russia (Kaliningrad, Kolomna, Ryazan, Tver, Mytishchi), in Ukraine (Kharkov, Lugansk, Dnepropetrovsk, Dneprodzerzhinsk, Mariupol, Kremenchug), in the Czech Republic (Skoda - Pilsen, trams - ČKD - Prague) , in Latvia (electric trains are produced in Riga), in Poland (Upper Silesia).

Shipyards and shipyards were built in Russia (St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk - sea shipbuilding, Nizhny Novgorod - river), Ukraine (Nikolaev, Kherson - sea, Kiev - river), Poland (Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin), Slovakia (Komarno - river). In Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, large-tonnage vessels (tankers, refrigerators, trawlers, dry cargo ships), as well as small-tonnage barges, lighter carriers and boats are produced. Ship repairs are carried out in all ports. In Russia in Nizhny Novgorod For the first time in the world, the production of hydrofoil ships was mastered. Nuclear icebreakers are manufactured in St. Petersburg and Vyborg (Russia).

The aviation industry is developed in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. The electronic and electrical industry has gained significant development in Poland (production of televisions, radios, communications equipment), Hungary (hardware telephones, electrical equipment), Latvia (VEF - radio and telephone equipment - Riga). This industry is also of great importance in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Czech Republic.

Some industries in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine provide machinery for agricultural production.

Chemical industry. It is dominated by oil, gas and coal chemistry. Mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphate, potash) are produced in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, and Estonia. The production of film and photographic materials is developed in Poland, Ukraine (Svema), Russia (Tasma). Agricultural waste in Russia and Belarus is processed at numerous hydrolysis plants into alcohol, feed yeast, glucose, and furfural. The chemical industry is powerfully developed in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Russia.

Pharmaceuticals are a traditional industry for Slovakia, Poland (POLFA), Hungary (Hinoin, Gedeon Richter) and others.

Construction industry. It processes local raw materials and is represented by the production of cement, slate, reinforced concrete structures, wall blocks, the production of glass, panels, and lightweight aggregates (perlite, expanded clay) is rapidly growing.

Forestry and woodworking industry. This is the oldest branch of the economy in Russia (northern territories - Arkhangelsk, Kotlas), Poland (furniture production), Slovakia (furniture and sawmill industry), Czech Republic (plywood and particle board production), Belarus (match industry - Borisov, Gomel, Pinsk ), Ukraine (Polesie, Carpathians). The Baltic countries produce plywood, furniture, musical instruments, prefabricated houses, and sports equipment. Firewood harvesting amounts to 41.2 million m3.

Light industry. It has a long history. Textile regions have formed in the region: in Russia - Moscow and Ivanovo, in Poland - Lodz. Developed wool industry (Czech Republic, Poland, Russia), cotton industry (Russia, Estonia, Poland), linen industry (Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine).

The leather and footwear industry is a specific industry for the Czech Republic (Zlin - Tomasz Baťa enterprise), Poland (Warsaw, Lublin), Hungary (Budapest), Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), Belarus (Vitebsk).

Food industry. The industry is important in all countries of the region. In the north, processing of livestock products predominates, in the south - crop production. The leading industries are:

In Poland - fishery, sugar, production of fresh frozen vegetables, fruits, semi-finished products, meat processing;

In the Czech Republic - brewing (Pilsen beer), sugar, confectionery;

In Slovakia - sugar, wine production;

In Hungary - oil industry, fruit and vegetable canning, meat processing, winemaking (Tokaj wines in the Tokaj area), production of fresh frozen poultry;

In Latvia and Estonia - dairy, meat processing, fish;

In Lithuania - dairy, meat processing;

In Ukraine - flour and cereal, oil and fat, sugar, fruit and vegetable canning, meat processing, winemaking;

In Belarus - dairy and meat processing.

World-famous pencil factory (Koh-i-Nor in Ceske Budejovice produces 1 million pencils every day), amber products (Jurmala in Latvia and Kaliningrad in Russia), toy industry (Zhodino in Belarus, where soft toys are produced ). Glassblowing art originated in Bohemia (Czech Republic) back in the Middle Ages. Bohemian crystal has been famous all over the world for almost 500 years and has no equal. In some countries of the region, artistic crafts are developed: painting wooden products (Khokhloma in Russia, Petrikovka in Ukraine), making toys from clay (Dymkovo in Russia), crystal products (Gus-Khrustalny, Dyatkovo in Russia).

One of the important problems of industrial development in the region is the outdated material and technical base in some industries, working mainly on equipment of post-war and sometimes pre-war production (especially in most metallurgical plants in old industrial areas). Therefore, equipment modernization is one of the primary tasks of industrial enterprises.

Eastern Europe as a historical and geographical region includes: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, countries formed as a result of the collapse of the former Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia), Albania, Latvia, Lithuania , Estonia.

There is also an opinion that the countries of this region should be classified as either Central or Middle Europe, since it would be more correct to call Eastern Europe Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and the European part of Russia.

But the name “Eastern Europe” stuck with the countries of this region and is recognized throughout the world.

Geographical position. Natural resources

The countries of Eastern Europe represent a single natural territorial massif stretching from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic Seas. The region and adjacent countries are based on an ancient Precambrian platform, covered by a cover of sedimentary rocks, as well as an area of Alpine folding.

An important feature of all countries in the region is their transit position between the countries of Western Europe and the CIS.

The countries of Eastern Europe differ from each other in geographical location, configuration, size of the territory, wealth of natural resources.

Natural resource reserves include: coal (Poland, Czech Republic), oil and natural gas (Romania), iron ores (countries of the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Slovakia), bauxite (Hungary), chromite (Albania).

In general, it must be said that the region is experiencing a shortage of resources, and in addition, it is a striking example of the “incompleteness” of a set of minerals. Thus, Poland has large reserves of coal, copper ores, and sulfur, but almost no oil, gas, or iron ore. In Bulgaria, on the contrary, there is no coal, although there are significant reserves of lignite, copper ores, and polymetals.

Population

The region's population is about 130 million people, but demographic situation, difficult throughout Europe, is the most alarming in Eastern Europe. Despite the active demographic policy pursued over several decades, natural increase The population is very small (less than 2%) and continues to decline. Bulgaria and Hungary are even experiencing natural population decline. The main reason for this is the disruption of the age-sex structure of the population as a result of the Second World War.

In some countries, natural increase is higher than the regional average (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia), and it is the largest in Albania - 20%.

The most big country region - Poland (about 40 million people), the smallest is Estonia (about 1.5 million people).

The population of Eastern Europe is complex ethnic composition, but one can note the predominance of Slavic peoples. Of the other peoples, the most numerous are Romanians, Albanians, Hungarians, and Lithuanians. The most homogeneous national composition Poland, Hungary, Albania are different. Lithuania.

Eastern Europe has always been an arena of national and ethnic conflicts. After the collapse of the socialist system, the situation became more complicated, especially on the territory of the most multinational country in the region - Yugoslavia, where the conflict escalated into an interethnic war.

The most urbanized country in Eastern Europe is the Czech Republic (3/4 of the population lives in cities). There are quite a lot of urban agglomerations in the region, the largest of which are Upper Silesia (in Poland) and Budapest (in Hungary). But most countries are characterized by historically formed small towns and villages, and the Baltic countries are characterized by hamlets.

Farm

The countries of Eastern Europe today are not characterized by a pronounced socio-economic unity. But in general we can say that _. in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Great changes have occurred in the economies of Eastern European countries. Firstly, industries developed at a faster pace - by the 80s, Europe had become one of the most industrial regions of the world, and secondly, previously very backward regions also began to develop industrially (For example, Slovakia in the former Czechoslovakia, Moldova in Romania, northeast Poland). Such results became possible thanks to the implementation of regional policy.

Energy

Due to a shortage of oil reserves, this region is focused on coal, most of the electricity is generated by thermal power plants (more than 60%), but hydroelectric power plants and nuclear power plants also play an important role. One of the largest nuclear power plants was built in the region - Kozloduy in Bulgaria.

Metallurgy

In the post-war period, the industry actively grew and developed in all countries of the region, with non-ferrous metallurgy relying mainly on its own raw materials, and ferrous metallurgy on imported ones.

Mechanical engineering

The industry is also represented in all countries, but is most developed in the Czech Republic (primarily machine tool manufacturing, production household appliances and computer technology); Poland and Romania are distinguished by the production of metal-intensive machines and structures, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia - by the electrical industry; In addition, shipbuilding is developed in Poland and Estonia.

Chemical industry

The chemical industry of the region lags far behind that of Western Europe due to the lack of raw materials for the most advanced branches of chemistry - oil. But we can still note the pharmaceuticals of Poland and Hungary, the glass industry of the Czech Republic.

Agriculture of the region

Mainly meets the food needs of the population. Under the influence of scientific and technological revolution, significant changes occurred in the structure of the economy of the countries of Eastern Europe: the agro-industrial complex emerged, and specialization of agricultural production took place. It was most clearly manifested in grain farming and in the production of vegetables, fruits, and grapes.

The economic structure of the region is heterogeneous: in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and the Baltic countries, the share of livestock farming exceeds the share of crop farming; in the rest, the ratio is still the opposite.

Due to the diversity of soil and climatic conditions, several zones of crop production can be distinguished: wheat is grown everywhere, but in the north (Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) rye and potatoes play an important role, in the central part of the subregion vegetable growing and horticulture are cultivated, and the “southern” countries specialize on subtropical crops.

The main crops grown in the region are wheat, corn, vegetables, and fruits.

The main wheat and corn regions of Eastern Europe were formed within the Middle and Lower Danube lowlands and the Danube hilly plain (Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria).

Hungary has achieved the greatest success in grain growing.

Vegetables, fruits, and grapes are cultivated almost everywhere in the subregion, but there are areas where they primarily determine the specialization of agriculture. These countries and regions also have their own specialization in terms of product range. For example, Hungary is famous for its winter varieties of apples, grapes, and onions; Bulgaria - oilseeds; Czech Republic - hops, etc.

Animal husbandry. The northern and central countries of the region specialize in dairy and meat and dairy cattle breeding and pig breeding, while the southern countries specialize in mountain pasture meat and wool animal husbandry.

Transport

In Eastern Europe, which lies at the crossroads of routes that have long connected the eastern and western parts of Eurasia, the transport system has been developing over many centuries. Nowadays, railway transport is the leader in terms of transportation volume, BUT road and sea transport are also intensively developing. The presence of major ports contributes to the development of external economic ties, shipbuilding, ship repair, fishing.

Intraregional differences

The countries of Eastern Europe can be conditionally divided into 3 groups according to the commonality of their EGP, resources, and level of development.

1. Northern group: Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. These countries are still characterized by a low degree of integration, but there is general tasks in the development of the maritime economy.

2. Central group: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary. The economy of the first two countries is of a clearly industrial nature. The Czech Republic ranks first in the region in terms of industrial output per capita.

3. Southern group: Romania, Bulgaria, countries of the former Yugoslavia, Albania. In the past is the most backward countries, and now, despite major changes in their economy, the countries of this group lag behind the countries of the 1st and 2nd groups in most indicators.

The leading sector of the economy of the countries of the region is industry, mainly manufacturing (mechanical engineering, metallurgical complex, chemical, light and food industries, etc.).

Shipyards and shipyards were built in Russia (St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk - sea shipbuilding, Nizhny Novgorod - river), Ukraine (Nikolaev, Kherson - sea, Kiev - river), Poland (Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin), Slovakia (Komarno - river). In Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, large-tonnage vessels (tankers, refrigerators, trawlers, dry cargo ships), as well as small-tonnage barges, lighter carriers and boats are produced. Ship repairs are carried out in all ports. In Russia, in Nizhny Novgorod, the production of hydrofoil ships was developed for the first time in the world. Nuclear icebreakers are manufactured in St. Petersburg and Vyborg (Russia).