Central European Countries: List, Capitals and Map

Central Europe is a commonly used geographic and cultural term referring to the central part of the European continent.

Unlike Northern, Western, Eastern, and Southern Europe, Central Europe is not a formal subregion under the United Nations geoscheme, and its boundaries vary depending on historical, cultural, or political context.

Countries considered part of Central Europe

The following countries are most commonly cited as part of Central Europe:

• Austria
• Czechia (Czech Republic)
• Germany
• Hungary
• Liechtenstein
• Poland
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Switzerland

Sometimes included in broader or historical definitions:

• Croatia
• Lithuania

Central European countries table

The nine Central European countries, with capital cities, population estimates and land area.

For broader context, you can also explore how these nations compare in size and population across the continent.

Regional overlap and classification

Countries commonly described as part of Central Europe are also classified under other European subregions for statistical purposes.

Under the UN geoscheme:

• Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein are classified as Western Europe
• Poland, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia are classified as Eastern Europe
• Slovenia is classified as Southern Europe

Countries in Europe map

How Central Europe is defined

Much of the region was once part of the Holy Roman Empire and later ruled by the Habsburg Monarchy, which linked areas that are now split between Western, Eastern, and Southern Europe.

These empires left behind shared legal systems, city networks, trade routes, and cultural ties that still influence the region today.

Central Europe also sits between Western and Eastern Europe, and that position shows. Germanic and Slavic traditions meet here, as do Catholic, Protestant, and later secular influences. Borders shifted often, but people, languages, and ideas moved freely across them.

The region’s linguistic mix reflects this history, with Germanic, Slavic, and Uralic languages spoken side by side, and multilingual countries such as Switzerland standing out as clear examples.

Although Central Europe is not a formal UN statistical region, the term is still widely used because it describes a real historical and cultural space that doesn’t fit neatly into modern subregional boundaries.