Europe is usually split into four main parts. The strict scientific count, used by the United Nations, lists 44 countries. But a broader, more common list raises that number to 50, by including countries that sit on the edge of Europe and Asia at the same time — Turkey, Cyprus, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. These six countries have territory, culture, or history tied closely to Europe, even though most of their land lies in Asia. Using this wider count, here is how the 50 european countries break down:

• Northern Europe — 10 countries, known for cold winters and long summer days.
  1. Denmark,
  2. Estonia,
  3. Finland,
  4. Iceland,
  5. Ireland,
  6. Latvia,
  7. Lithuania,
  8. Norway,
  9. Sweden,
  10. and the United Kingdom.
• Western Europe — 9 countries, the economic heart of the continent.
  1. Austria,
  2. Belgium,
  3. France,
  4. Germany,
  5. Liechtenstein,
  6. Luxembourg,
  7. Monaco,
  8. the Netherlands,
  9. and Switzerland.
• Eastern Europe — 14 countries, the largest of the four regions by land area.
  1. Armenia,
  2. Azerbaijan,
  3. Belarus,
  4. Bulgaria,
  5. Czechia,
  6. Georgia,
  7. Hungary,
  8. Kazakhstan,
  9. Moldova,
  10. Poland,
  11. Romania,
  12. Russia,
  13. Slovakia,
  14. and Ukraine.
• Southern Europe — 17 countries, wrapped around the Mediterranean coast.
  1. Albania,
  2. Andorra,
  3. Bosnia and Herzegovina,
  4. Croatia,
  5. Cyprus,
  6. Greece,
  7. Italy,
  8. Malta,
  9. Montenegro,
  10. North Macedonia,
  11. Portugal,
  12. San Marino,
  13. Serbia,
  14. Slovenia,
  15. Spain,
  16. Turkey,
  17. and Vatican City.

Each European region has its own climate, history, and culture, but they all connect into one continent. Knowing these four groups makes it much easier to see exactly where Portugal stands.

Now that you know how Europe is organized, here's exactly where Portugal fits inside it. Portugal is an independent country with its own language, its own government, and a border with Spain that has barely changed since the year 1297 — making it one of the oldest fixed borders in the world. Portugal sits on the far western edge of mainland Europe, with the Atlantic Ocean on two sides. To the east, it shares one single border: Spain. That's it — just one neighbor.

Portugal sits inside Southern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula. It shares this peninsula with only one other country: Spain, its single neighbor to the east. To the south and west, Portugal opens completely onto the Atlantic Ocean. Portugal is also a member of the European Union, joining in 1986. It uses the euro, the same currency shared by most EU countries, and it belongs to the Schengen Area, which lets people cross into nearby countries without showing a passport at the border. Put together, these facts place Portugal firmly inside Europe's main political and economic system.

That one border with Spain matters more than it might seem. From Faro, in southern Portugal, it takes about two hours to drive to Seville. Cadiz is about three and a half hours away. From Lisbon, even Madrid is only a six-hour drive. Spain also runs a large network of high-speed trains connecting its major cities. In practice, this makes the rest of the Iberian Peninsula — and a good part of Spain — easy to reach for anyone living in Portugal.