--- title: "Countries in Western Europe: The List and the Disputes" url: https://33travels.com/countries-in-western-europe/ author: "Lena Marchetti" published: 2026-11-10 updated: 2026-11-10 place: "World" --- # Countries in Western Europe: The List and the Disputes ## TLDR There are nine countries in Western Europe under the [UN geoscheme](https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/), the standard used by most statistics and atlases: **Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Switzerland.** Other lists add the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy because they use a political or cultural definition instead. Neither list is wrong. They answer different questions, and the rest of this post explains which one to use. ## Table of contents - [The nine countries and their capitals](#the-nine-countries-and-their-capitals) - [Why every list gives a different answer](#why-every-list-gives-a-different-answer) - [Where the term came from](#where-the-term-came-from) - [The disputed countries, one verdict each](#the-disputed-countries-one-verdict-each) - [The nine countries, one by one](#the-nine-countries-one-by-one) - [Western Europe vs Eastern Europe](#western-europe-vs-eastern-europe) - [Which definition should you use](#which-definition-should-you-use) - [FAQ](#faq) ## The nine countries and their capitals ![Close-up of a colorful scratch-off world map showing Europe with focus on planning travel.](https://33travels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/europe-map-2.jpeg) Here is the core list, with the practical details that matter if you’re planning a trip. Populations are rounded. | Country | Capital | Population | Main language(s) | Currency | EU | Schengen | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Austria | Vienna | 9.1 million | German | Euro | Yes | Yes | | Belgium | Brussels | 11.8 million | Dutch, French, German | Euro | Yes | Yes | | France | Paris | 68 million | French | Euro | Yes | Yes | | Germany | Berlin | 83.5 million | German | Euro | Yes | Yes | | Liechtenstein | Vaduz | 40,000 | German | Swiss franc | No | Yes | | Luxembourg | Luxembourg City | 670,000 | Luxembourgish, French, German | Euro | Yes | Yes | | Monaco | Monaco | 39,000 | French | Euro | No | No, but open border with France | | Netherlands | Amsterdam | 17.9 million | Dutch | Euro | Yes | Yes | | Switzerland | Bern | 9 million | German, French, Italian, Romansh | Swiss franc | No | Yes | Two things in that table surprise people. Three of the nine countries sit outside the EU, and two of them (Liechtenstein and Switzerland) don’t use the euro. The EU and Western Europe overlap heavily, but they aren’t the same thing. ## Why every list gives a different answer “Western Europe” isn’t a legal category. No treaty defines it. Four definitions are in circulation, and each one produces a different list. **The UN definition.** The UN Statistics Division sorts countries into regions for data purposes. Its Western Europe is the nine countries above. The UK and Ireland go under Northern Europe. Spain, Portugal and Italy go under Southern Europe. This is the tidiest definition and the one most reference sites copy. **The Cold War definition.** During the Cold War, “the West” meant every European country outside the Soviet bloc. That pulls in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and the Nordic countries, and gives you roughly 23 countries. Lists that run to 20-plus entries use this logic. **The cultural definition.** Some writers define Western Europe by shared history: Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions, Romance and Germanic languages, and the legacy of Western Christendom. It overlaps with the Cold War list but gets fuzzy at the edges. **The geographic definition.** On a pure compass reading, Portugal is the westernmost mainland country, and Ireland and Iceland sit further out in the Atlantic. Geography alone would put Lisbon at the center of Western Europe, which almost nobody means when they use the phrase. That last point is why geography is the weakest of the four. A famous example: Prague sits west of Vienna. Czechia is still classed as Eastern Europe, and Austria as Western. The label tracks history, not longitude. ## Where the term came from Before 1945, Europeans talked about “Western Europe” loosely, mostly to mean Britain, France and the countries around them. The modern meaning arrived with the Cold War. In 1946, Winston Churchill gave his “Iron Curtain” speech in Fulton, Missouri, describing a line running across the continent from the Baltic to the Adriatic. NATO formed in 1949, the Warsaw Pact in 1955, and Europe split into two blocs with a fortified border between them. “Western Europe” became shorthand for the democratic, market-economy side. That’s why the Cold War definition is so broad. It was a political label, and anyone on the western side of the curtain qualified. It’s also why Germany is awkward. West Germany belonged to the Western side and East Germany didn’t, until reunification in 1990 made the whole country Western by default. After 1989, the political meaning faded but the vocabulary stuck. The UN’s tidier nine-country grouping is a later statistical convenience that kept the name and dropped the ideology. ## The disputed countries, one verdict each These six come up in almost every argument. **The UK.** Under the UN scheme, it’s in Northern Europe. In Cold War and everyday usage, it’s firmly Western Europe. If a source says “Western Europe” in a political, economic or travel sense, it almost certainly includes the UK. Verdict: yes in common usage, no in UN data. **Ireland.** The same split as the UK. It sits in Northern Europe in UN data and is routinely counted as Western Europe in everything else. Verdict: yes in common usage, no in UN data. **Spain.** UN Southern Europe. Culturally and politically Western: an EU member, a NATO member since 1982, and part of Schengen. Spain’s language map runs well beyond Spanish, and [dialects in Spain](https://33travels.com/dialects-in-spain/) breaks down the regional varieties. Verdict: yes in common usage, no in UN data. **Portugal.** The westernmost mainland country in Europe, classed as Southern Europe by the UN. Same verdict as Spain. **Italy.** UN Southern Europe, but a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and a NATO founder. Almost no source outside the UN’s own tables treats Italy as anything but Western European. Verdict: yes in common usage, no in UN data. **The Nordic countries.** The UN puts Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in Northern Europe. In Cold War terms, Denmark, Norway and Iceland were NATO members, while Sweden and Finland stayed neutral. Most people use “Northern Europe” or “Scandinavia” for the region and don’t call it Western Europe. Verdict: no, unless you’re using the broadest Cold War list. ## The nine countries, one by one ![A classic Paris cityscape featuring the Eiffel Tower framed by elegant Haussmann buildings in a busy street.](https://33travels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/paris-street.jpeg) **Austria.** Vienna holds roughly a fifth of the country’s people. Austria was neutral during the Cold War, which is one reason it was sometimes treated as a case apart. The UN has no doubts: Western Europe. **Belgium.** A country with three official languages and a capital that doubles as the main seat of EU institutions. Brussels, Bruges and Ghent sit within an hour of each other by train, and Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia don’t always agree on much. **France.** The largest of the nine by land area and the second largest by population. Paris is the capital, and the country’s Atlantic, Mediterranean and Alpine borders make it the hinge of the region. **Germany.** The most populous country in Western Europe, at roughly 83 million people. Berlin is the capital, though Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg carry most of the economic weight. **Liechtenstein.** A principality of about 160 square kilometers, wedged between Switzerland and Austria. It’s one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world, meaning every neighbor is also landlocked. It uses the Swiss franc and belongs to Schengen but not the EU. **Luxembourg.** Small, rich and trilingual. Luxembourg has made all public transport free nationwide since 2020, which makes it the easiest country in the region to cross on a whim. The capital is Luxembourg City. **Monaco.** At about two square kilometers, it’s the second-smallest country in the world after Vatican City. It uses the euro, has no border checks with France, and is built so densely that the Formula 1 circuit runs through its streets. **Netherlands.** Amsterdam is the capital, but the government and the royal working palace are in The Hague. About a quarter of the country lies below sea level, which explains the dikes and pumping stations. **Switzerland.** Officially, Bern is the “federal city” rather than the capital, a distinction the Swiss take seriously. It has four national languages, its own currency, and a place in Schengen without membership in the EU. ![Stunning aerial shot of snow-covered peaks in the Swiss Alps during winter, showcasing dramatic mountain scenery.](https://33travels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/swiss-alps.jpeg) ## Western Europe vs Eastern Europe The UN’s Eastern Europe is Belarus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. The border between that group and the nine countries above follows the old Iron Curtain more than any physical feature. That’s why you’ll hear “Central Europe” used for Czechia, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, and sometimes for Austria, Germany and Switzerland as well. It’s a softer label that sidesteps the East-West split. If you’re reading a source from 2000 onward and it says “Central and Eastern Europe,” it usually means the ex-Soviet bloc. ## Which definition should you use Pick the definition that matches your task. - **Homework, data or an encyclopedia entry:** use the UN nine. It’s consistent and easy to cite. - **Politics, history or economics:** use the Cold War definition, which includes the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the Nordic countries. - **Trip planning:** forget the label and plan by border regime. The [Schengen Area](https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/schengen-area_en) covers most of the region, so one visa or visa-free stay applies across the member states, and non-EU visitors are registered at the external border under the EU’s Entry/Exit System. The UK and Ireland sit outside Schengen and run their own entry rules, so check those separately. If you’re writing something and need one sentence, say “Western Europe, as defined by the UN,” and list the nine. Nobody can argue with a cited standard. ## FAQ ### What are the countries in Western Europe? Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Switzerland, according to the UN geoscheme. ### Is the UK in Western Europe? In everyday and political usage, yes. In UN statistics, no: the UK is in Northern Europe. Which answer is right depends on the source you’re citing. ### Is Spain in Western Europe? Culturally and politically, yes. The UN classes Spain as Southern Europe, so UN-based lists leave it out. ### Is Portugal in Western Europe? Portugal is the westernmost mainland country in Europe, but the UN files it under Southern Europe. Most non-UN sources count it as Western. For what else defines the country beyond its map position, see [what Portugal is known for](https://33travels.com/what-is-portugal-known-for/). ### What is the largest country in Western Europe? On the UN list, France is the largest by area and Germany is the largest by population. ### What is the smallest country in Western Europe? Monaco, at about two square kilometers. ### Do all Western European countries use the euro? No. Switzerland and Liechtenstein use the Swiss franc. Monaco uses the euro through an agreement with the EU, even though it isn’t a member. The UK uses the pound. ### Which Western European countries are not in the EU? Liechtenstein, Monaco and Switzerland, among the UN’s nine. The UK also left the EU in 2020.