National composition The population of foreign Europe is heterogeneous; there are single-national states and states with a complex structure in ethnic terms. What countries are these? What are the main groups based on national composition? What factors influenced the formation of the ethnic composition of European countries? This and much more will be discussed in the article.

Factors that influenced the national composition of foreign Europe

Currently, more than 62 peoples live in Europe. Such a motley national mosaic was formed in this territory over several millennia under the influence of historical and natural factors.

Plain territories were convenient for the settlement of people and the emergence of ethnic groups. So, for example, the French nation was formed on the territory of the Paris Basin, and the German people were formed on the North German Lowland.

Mountainous territories complicated connections between ethnic groups; in such territories, as a rule, a motley ethnic composition was formed, for example, the Balkans and the Alps.

Migration processes have had a significant impact on the national composition of Europe. From the 16th century. and until the beginning of the 20th century. Europe was mainly a region of emigration, and from the second half of the 20th century. became a region of immigration.

After the revolution of 1917, a stream of migrants poured from Russia to foreign European countries, numbering about 2 million people. They formed ethnic diasporas in France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, and Yugoslavia.

Numerous internecine wars and conquests also had a huge impact on the national composition of foreign Europe, as a result of which many peoples developed a very complex gene pool. For example, the Spanish people were formed as a result of the mixing of Arab, Celtic, Roman, and Jewish blood over several centuries. The Bulgarian ethnic group was influenced by Turkish rule for 4 centuries.

Since the mid-20th century, migration to Europe from former European colonies has increased. Thus, millions of Asians, Africans, Arabs, and Latin Americans settled permanently in foreign Europe. In the 70-90s, there were several waves of political and labor migration from Yugoslavia and Turkey. Many of them assimilated into Great Britain, France and Germany, which led to a change in the modern appearance of the French, English and Germans.

The sharpest ethnic problems Europe are characterized by national separatism and ethnic conflicts. As an example, we can recall the confrontation between the Walloons and the Flemings in the 80s in Belgium, which almost split the country. For decades now, the radical organization ETA has been operating, demanding the creation of a Basque state in southwestern France and northern Spain. IN Lately Relations between Catalonia and Spain worsened; in October 2017, a referendum for independence was held in Catalonia, the turnout was 43 percent, 90% of those who showed up voted for independence, but it was declared illegal and without legal force.

Types of countries in foreign Europe by national composition

In this regard they are divided into:

• Monoethnic, when the main nation makes up approximately 90% or more of the country's population. These include Norway, Denmark, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia.
• With a predominance of one nation, but with a significant percentage of national minorities in the structure of the country's population. These are, for example, France, Finland, Great Britain, Romania, Spain.
• Binational, that is, the national composition of the country is dominated by two nations. An example is Belgium.
• Multinational - Latvia, Switzerland.

There are three predominant types of countries in foreign Europe in terms of national composition - single-national, with a predominance of one nation, and binational.

In many European countries, very complex interethnic relationships have developed: Spain (Basques and Catalans), France (Corsica), Cyprus, Great Britain (Scotland), Belgium.

Language groups of the population of foreign Europe

In terms of language, the vast majority of the European population belongs to the Indo-European language family. It includes:

• The Slavic branch, which is divided into two groups: southern and western. South Slavic languages ​​are spoken by Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Serbs, Macedonians, Bosnians, and West Slavic languages ​​by Czechs, Poles, and Slovaks.
• The Germanic branch, which is divided into western and northern groups. The West Germanic group includes German, Flemish, Frisian, English languages. To the North Germanic group - Faroese, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic,
• Romance branch, its basis was the Latin language. This branch includes the following French, Italian, Provençal, Portuguese, Spanish.
• The Celtic branch is currently represented by only 4 languages: Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton. Approximately 6.2 million people speak the language group.

The Indo-European language family includes Greek (more than 8 million speakers) and Albanian (2.5 million people). is also Indo-European. Before World War II, there were about 1 million Roma in Europe; today, about 600 thousand of them live in foreign European countries.

In foreign Europe the following languages ​​are spoken:

• The Uralic language family - its Finno-Ugric branch - Finns, Hungarians, Sami.
• Altai language family - Turkic branch - Tatars, Turks, Gagauz.

The Basque language occupies a special place; it does not belong to any language family; it is a so-called isolated language, the historical connections of which have not been established; about 800 thousand people are native speakers of the language.

National and religious composition of foreign Europe

The dominant religion in Europe is Christianity, only Jews profess Judaism, and Albanians and Croats profess Islam.

Catholicism is practiced by the Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, French, Irish, Austrians and Belgians, Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, and Slovaks.

It should be noted that among the Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians there are many Protestants.

In Switzerland and Germany, Catholics are approximately 50%.

Protestantism is practiced by Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, and Germans. Moreover, Lutheranism is widespread.

Orthodox Christianity is widespread in the countries of southeast and eastern Europe - in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria.

However, it is impossible to judge a person’s nationality based on religious principles. Many peoples adopted the religion of the state in which they lived. For example, many gypsies profess Christianity, but there are entire camps that consider Islam their religion.

History of statistical accounting of the national composition of the European population

About 500 million people live in Europe; the predominant part of the population, according to anthropological characteristics, is the Caucasian race. Europe can rightfully be considered the ancestral home of the national identity of peoples. It was here that national groups began to emerge, the relationships between which created the history of Europe and beyond. Here, population statistics began to develop, taking into account the national composition. But the principles for determining a particular nationality in different countries Europe was different.

Initially, the national identity of a people was associated with linguistic identity. One of the first countries in foreign Europe that carried out statistical accounting of the national composition of their citizens depending on their knowledge of the language were Belgium in 1846 and Switzerland in 1850 (during the population census the question was asked: “What is your main colloquial?). Prussia took up this initiative, and the population census in 1856 used a question on the “mother” (native) language.

In 1872, at the Statistical Congress in St. Petersburg, it was decided to introduce a direct question of nationality into the list of issues for statistical registration of the country's citizens. However, until the 20s of the 20th century, this solution was never implemented.

All this time, they kept statistical records of citizens based on religion or language. This position in the population census remained almost until the outbreak of World War II.

The complexities of ethnic statistics today

In the post-war period, many countries of foreign Europe either did not set the task of taking into account the national composition of the population at all, or they limited it too much.

More reliable information is based on nationality in five European countries: Albania (census 1945, 1950, 1960), Bulgaria (census 1946, 1956), Romania (census 1948, 1956), Czechoslovakia (census 1950) and Yugoslavia (census 1948, 1953, 1961). All censuses included a question on nationality and mother tongue.

In countries where only the linguistic affiliation of the population was recorded, the ability to determine the national composition becomes more difficult. These are Belgium, Greece, Finland, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein. Nationality does not always coincide with linguistic identity; many peoples speak the same language, for example, the Swiss, Germans, and Austrians speak German. In addition, many peoples have completely assimilated into the territory to which they moved, and the concept of “native language” as a determinant of ethnicity does not work in this case.

Countries such as Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, France did not set themselves the task of determining the national composition of the population during the census. Firstly, in these countries the concept of “nationality” is synonymous with “citizenship”; secondly, some countries have a relatively homogeneous national composition (Iceland, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland); thirdly, in some countries relatively accurate information is available only for certain peoples, for example, for the Welsh in Great Britain.

Thus, the poor development of statistics on the national issue and repeated changes in the political boundaries of states have created significant problems in the formation of reliable data on the national composition of the population of foreign Europe.

Dynamics of the number of peoples in foreign Europe

The dynamics of the population of the peoples of foreign Europe was not entirely the same throughout its centuries-old history.

In the Middle Ages, the number of Romance peoples increased the fastest, since they were more developed culturally and economically. In modern times, the primacy was seized by the Germanic and Slavic peoples.

Normal natural development Some peoples of Europe were disrupted by world wars. Significant losses during the last world war were experienced by the Jewish people, whose numbers decreased by more than 3 times, and by the Gypsies by 2 times.

As for forecasts for the future, the percentage increase in the national composition of European countries is possible Slavic peoples and a decrease in the percentage of Germans.

Factors influencing the population dynamics of the peoples of foreign Europe

One of the main factors influencing the number of individual peoples in national structure countries of foreign Europe, is migration, as a result of which the number of people decreases. For example, after the resettlement of Jews to Israel, their number in Europe sharply decreased. But there were exceptions. For example, the Greeks, whose numbers increased sharply due to the resettlement of Greeks from Turkey to Europe.

The dynamics of the population of a particular people is influenced by the level of birth and death rates, but most of all it depends on the degree of its assimilation in the country of residence. Many second and third generation migrants lose their national identity, becoming almost completely assimilated. For example, in France, Spaniards and Italians are gradually becoming French.

Instead of output

The national composition of foreign Europe is characterized by comparative homogeneity. Europe is dominated by single-national countries and countries where the vast majority are representatives of a particular nation. There are very few countries that are nationally complex, but national issues they are very sharp.

The concept of a multinational state

Definition 1

Multinational state is a state that includes various nationalities and nations that have historically formed on its territory.

A multinational state must be distinguished from a multiethnic state, which is characterized by the presence of many ethnic groups within the borders of one nation. For example, the United States does not seem to be a multinational state, because it has formed a single American nation, consisting of many ethnic groups.

Multinational states emerged in different ways. In one of the cases this happened where the unification of peoples in single state happened before their national self-awareness began to form, and the movement of nations for political independence had not yet arisen.

This often happened through conquest. This happened, for example, in Eastern Europe and many Asian regions. In Africa, multinational states were formed most often in the process of colonial expansion. Typical multinational states include Indonesia, India, Nigeria, Russia, Vietnam, Iran, China and many others, in other words, more than half of the world's population lives in multinational states.

Existing multinational states can be divided into two types:

• states dominated by one nation;
• states in which no nation dominates the others.

Note 1

Most multinational states are classified as those where the dominance of one nation is manifested. Usually they are the most durable, stable in interethnic relations, there are practically no inter-ethnic clashes.

According to the forms of territorial government structure Multinational states are either federal or unitary. Traditionally, in a multinational state, multinationality is taken into account in the structure of organs state power, in ethno-linguistic politics, in social and cultural life, etc.

The Russian Federation is a multinational state

Russian Federation appears to be a multinational state inhabited by over 140 peoples. The most numerous nation is the Russian, its number is approximately eighty percent of the total population of the state.

Characteristic of multinational Russia is the dispersed settlement of ethnic groups, especially in the republics of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the vast majority of regions are characterized by the predominance of the Russian population.

Multinationality is not a defining feature that characterizes the type of state or its social nature. But along with political, economic, and spiritual characteristics, the sign of multinationality leaves a certain imprint on the historical fate of the state and its functioning. Traditionally, multinationality seems to be an additional factor that complicates life within a multinational state.

Note 2

With the right national policy, a democratic multinational state can ensure normal mutual relations between peoples, and multinationality itself does not violate the stability and sustainability of the state.

Features of multinational states

A multinational state includes more than one ethnic group, in contrast to ethnically homogeneous societies. In fact, almost all modern national communities appear to be multinational.

David Wilsch at work " Domestic policy and Ethnic Conflicts,” published in 1993 by Princeton University, noted that fewer than twenty of one hundred and eighty independent states can be called ethnically and nationally homogeneous, but they can be called such only if their national minorities make up less than five percent of the total population size.

In the Russian Federation, according to the educational standard for secondary or complete general education (profile level of the subject “geography”), the term “multinational” means those states within whose borders several groups of ethnic groups live simultaneously, and all multinational states are divided into states:

• with a pronounced, sharp predominance of any one nation in the presence of more or less significant national minorities, we're talking about about France, Great Britain, Spain, China, Mongolia, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, USA, Australia;
• binational, we are talking about Belgium, Canada;
• with a very complex but ethnically homogeneous composition of nationalities, we are talking about Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Laos;
• with a diverse and ethnically complex national composition, we are talking about India, Switzerland, Indonesia, Russia.

The advantages of multinational states are traditionally considered to be the flourishing of ethnic and cultural phenomena, the friendship of peoples, the ability of nations to carry out large-scale projects and survive together in difficult conditions.

The disadvantages are not tolerance, when some nations are intolerant of other nations.

national ethnicity humanity

Depending on whether ethnic and state borders coincide or not, countries of the world are divided into single-national and multinational.

About half of the countries are single-national. These are countries whose state borders coincide with ethnic ones and the main nationality makes up 90% of the total population. They are most numerous in Europe, in Latin America, in the Middle East. Such countries include Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, most Latin American countries.

Multinational are countries within state borders inhabited by several ethnic groups. They can be divided into four groups:

• 1) with a sharp predominance of one nation in the presence of more or less significant national minorities (Great Britain, France, Spain, China, Mongolia, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, USA, Australia);
• 2) binational (Canada, Belgium);
• 3) with a complex but ethnically homogeneous national composition (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Laos);
• 4) with a complex and ethnically diverse national composition (Russia, India, Switzerland, Indonesia).

Conclusion

A people is a certain group of people who have a common number of historical characteristics - culture, language, religion, territory. Traditionally stable common feature a people is its language. However, in our time, cases are common when different peoples speak a single language.

Nowadays, at least 3,000 ethnic units live on the planet, and there are only more than 200 countries. This means that in many countries there are several nationalities living at once. There are quite a few such states, but in this article we will consider only the most multinational countries in the world.

India

This state takes first place absolutely deservedly, because it can be compared with a bright kaleidoscope of nations, tribes, castes and their cultural heritage. The modern multinational state was formed under the influence of other peoples, including colonialists. Although the British, under whose command the most multinational country was for a long time, still had minimal impact on its culture, unlike the Afghans, Chinese and other territorially close peoples.

70% of the inhabitants are Indo-Aryans - dark-skinned, with a more European type of appearance, often professing Islam or Hinduism. 25% are Dravidians. This is the indigenous population that filled the country before the advent of the Indo-Aryans. Almost all of them are adherents of Hinduism. 3% are the Mongoloid race, whose culture largely depends on neighboring China, Nepal, and Burma. They mostly practice Buddhism. There are a number of blacks living in the south of the country, especially in the Andaman Islands.

India's population is 1.2 billion, only slightly smaller than China's.

This is the state South America over hundreds of years it has also formed a rich cultural palette. Moreover, according to statistical research, this state is home to representatives of all the major nationalities living on the planet. 54% of the population is white (Portuguese, Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Arabs), 38.5% mulatto, 6.5% black, 0.5% Asian and 0.45% indigenous Indian.

There are more than a hundred different nationalities in Brazil

Brazil is enough populous country, its population density reaches 20 people per square meter. m. But people are distributed very unevenly throughout the territory. Roughly half the population lives in just seven percent of the country, mostly in the coastal region. Urbanization is proceeding very quickly: if in 1960 less than 50% of the population lived in cities, then in 2007 it was already 85%.

Although this country has its own official language, its national composition is quite rich. The largest national group is the Javanese (42% or approximately 67 million people). Sudanese are in second place, 15%. Next come the Malaysians. Almost all of these people were born in Indonesia, but to foreign parents. The country is also rich in such national groups as the little-known Durres, Bujis, Betawis, Madures, etc. Of the visiting, rather than indigenous, peoples, the Chinese, Indians, and Japanese are quite numerous.

Scientists estimate that more than 700 dialects are spoken in Indonesia.

Our country has become a home for many nations, especially those that were previously part of the USSR.

The majority of the population is still Russian, but full list There are more than a dozen peoples.

The largest of them (more than 1 million) are Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Chechens, and Armenians.

There are also small peoples living on Far East, in Western Siberia, in the Volga region.

Peoples living at a distance from the central cities (Kalmyks, Nanais, etc.) adhere to ancient traditions and beliefs, having little contact with the main population.

80% of Russians live in Russia, and the remaining 20% ​​are residents different nationalities

On the territory of this densely populated state, 56 nationalities live, according to the most conservative estimates. They are distributed extremely unevenly. For example, Han people throughout the country, but especially in river basins Yellow River and Yangtze. From time immemorial, this nation has developed close relationships with neighboring nations due to economic and political factors; therefore, the Han are considered not only the most widespread, but also the most significant nationality in the country. Uighurs, Tibetans, Koreans, Kazakhs, and even Russians are also very widespread.

The number of small peoples living in China and not even having a name is beyond counting

This is one of the most multinational countries in Europe. Despite the fact that the main population is indigenous Turks, in addition to them, such nationalities as Greeks, Circassians, and Armenians live here. The indigenous population - the Kurds - remained in the amount of six million people. 8% of the state's residents are Crimean Tatars who began to move here in the 18th century. The Greeks lived here since Byzantine period, and this is perhaps the only Christian community in Turkey, Muslim country.

There are approximately 25 nationalities living in Turkey

This country is very attractive for immigrants from all over the world, and this explains the diversity of peoples on its territory. No wonder, because Canada is different high level life, a well-thought-out education system, good ecology. This also attracts our compatriots: in Canada there are large diasporas of Ukrainians and Russians. In general, the national composition of the country has been formed over hundreds of years. Even before colonization, Eskimo and Indian tribes lived here. During colonization, the French gained the advantage.

In Canada French is official

A nation is the highest unit of ethnicity, as opposed to a tribe or even a nationality. However, as we develop, the primary importance of the nation fades into the background, because, in fact, we are all people - inhabitants of the Earth, and a country is only a specific place of residence.

IN modern world There are more than three thousand different ethnic units, and there are just over two hundred states. This means that, with some exceptions, the majority are multinational countries.

Terms and concepts

In order to understand the issue in detail, it is necessary to highlight the key concepts that researchers use when studying a particular country. Concepts such as tribe, nationality, people, nation, ethnic group are quite close in meaning, but at the same time they have certain nuances. It is clear enough that all these terms are the result of historical complication various elements characterizing a particular ethnic community. Economic development and expansion of territory led to an increase in the area of ​​residence of the tribe, which gradually turned into a nationality or people. And as the highest stage of an ethnic unit, the formation and emergence of a nation can be distinguished. Many scientists agree that the determining factors in the formation of this community are one language, territory, culture and economic ties. However, as a nation develops, these factors lose their primary importance, and it can continue to exist even when divided by state borders.

Formation of national identity

Indeed, confirming this statement, we can turn to the example of such a multinational giant as the USSR. Many nations that existed as part of this state, after its collapse, found themselves in different sides borders, but have not lost their identification. Therefore, having been formed once, they continue to exist, except for cases of physical disappearance. Language as one of the fundamental characteristics of a nation may cease to be so. As the number of people increased, the role of kinship decreased, and it could happen that two or more languages ​​appeared in one nation. When former ethnic groups were united into increasingly numerous ones, variations of languages ​​(dialects) were preserved, sometimes quite different from the former single language. The most striking example is the Swiss Confederation. The multinational countries of Europe were formed approximately along this path. However, not only European countries followed this path development national relations. Multinational countries Asia also could not immediately form as full-fledged multiethnic entities. A series of revolutions and other metamorphoses led them to the need for coexistence, and one of the many Asian states - China - was also formed according to this principle.

Different interpretations of the concept "nation"

When using the term “nation”, one must keep in mind its dual meaning. Firstly, scientists consider it as a collection of citizens of a particular state. That is, it is a multicultural, socio-political, territorial and economic community of representatives of different nationalities that form the state. In the second case, this definition is used to designate the highest form of ethnic unity. Multinational countries formed according to the first scenario in the modern geopolitical world make up more than half of all state entities. The most typical example is the American nation. For many centuries, the United States has been called a “melting pot” that successfully dissolved the ethnic diversity of American citizens, turning them into a single nation. This course of events was dictated by historical realities, the emerging industrial type of society made strict demands, primarily of an economic nature, and many nationalities had to unite in order to successfully compete in the international arena. This is how the multinational countries of the world took shape.

Russian style integration

The globalization of the economy has influenced the ways in which state-national entities integrate. Dynamically developing production has led to the formation of new options for interethnic cooperation. The USA and the Russian Federation are multinational countries; both of them are federations by their structure. However, the methods of their organization are fundamentally different. The Russian Federation is built on the national-state principle of its constituent entities. They have a certain independence in internal affairs and jointly represent the Russian nation.

An alternative path to national cooperation

American states also have a certain internal autonomy, but are formed on a territorial basis. Russia, in this way of organization, guarantees the development of the national culture of the peoples inhabiting it. The United States of America, on the basis of democratic laws, also secures the right of each ethnic unit to national and cultural independence. These two types of government associations are represented throughout the globe.

Globalization and nations

The entry of the world into the information age has further intensified interstate competition, and, accordingly, interethnic competition. Therefore, the main trend is the birth of supranational state entities. They are formed on the principle of a confederation and have great national and cultural diversity. The most typical example is European Union, which includes more than twenty countries, and its inhabitants speak, according to rough estimates, 40 languages. The structure of this association is as close as possible to the existing economic and political realities. Its territory has a common legal system, currency, and citizenship. If you look closely at these signs, you can conclude that a European supernation has practically emerged. The number of new EU members is growing. Similar processes, but with a lesser degree of cooperation, are taking place all over the world. The initial economic and political blocs are prototypes of future supernations. It seems that the future of all human civilization lies precisely in such large state-national formations.

National politics

The guarantee of maintaining unity is national policy in states united into multinational countries. The list of these countries is quite extensive and includes the overwhelming number of government entities located on our planet. National politics includes a set of measures to ensure the equal existence and development of ethnic units of the state. The most multinational country in the world - India - is an example of this. Only the balanced and cautious policy of this country allows it to be the leader of South Asia and successfully compete with its giant neighbor China.

Modern trends in interethnic relations

It is the legislative consolidation of the rights of national minorities that serves as a binding “solution” for these countries. The development paths of nationalities and states did not always coincide. History shows many similar examples. Multinational countries are most susceptible to collapse precisely because of their multiethnicity. The twentieth century saw the collapse of many such states: the USSR, Yugoslavia, and even binational Czechoslovakia. Therefore, maintaining parity of nationalities becomes the basis for cooperation and integration. Over the past two decades, the process of separatism has become somewhat biased, and this also applies to established European countries, such as, for example, Great Britain, from which Scotland announced its intention to leave, as well as the states of Asia and Africa artificially created as a result of colonial policy.