Southern European Countries: Full List, Capitals, and Map

Southern Europe is one of the four subregions of the European continent.

While the term “Southern Europe” can carry cultural or historical interpretations in everyday use, this page follows the official United Nations (UN) statistical classification, which is used for international reporting, global datasets, and regional comparisons.

Under the UN geoscheme, Southern Europe consists of 15 sovereign countries.

List of countries in Southern Europe

• Albania
• Andorra
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Croatia
• Greece
• Italy
• Malta
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Portugal
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Vatican City

This UN-defined grouping is widely used by organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, WHO, and other international bodies to ensure consistency across demographic, economic, and development statistics.

Southern European countries table

The UN geoscheme recognizes the following sovereign states as part of the Southern Europe subregion:

Southern Europe also includes Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, which is commonly associated with Southern Europe in geographic contexts.

Countries in Europe map

Southern Europe is characterized by peninsulas, island systems, mountain ranges, and extensive Mediterranean coastlines.

The region includes the Iberian Peninsula, Italian Peninsula, and much of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as major island groups in the Mediterranean Sea, which separates Europe from North Africa.

Its landscapes range from coastal plains and fertile valleys to rugged mountain systems such as the Alps, Apennines, Dinaric Alps, and Pindus Mountains.

How Southern Europe is defined

UN geoscheme (most common)

This page follows the United Nations (UN) geoscheme, which defines Southern Europe as a distinct statistical subregion used for international comparisons.

This definition is used by:

• The United Nations
• The World Bank
• The World Health Organization (WHO)
• Other international statistical and development agencies

Under the UN geoscheme, Southern Europe consists of the 15 sovereign countries listed above and is the standard framework used for population, land area, economic, health, and development data.

Mediterranean and cultural definitions

In cultural, historical, and linguistic contexts, Southern Europe is often associated with the Mediterranean world, including shared influences from ancient Greek, Roman, and later Mediterranean civilizations.

These interpretations may overlap with, but do not exactly match, the UN statistical definition and are not used for global data classification.

Balkan and Southeastern Europe overlap

Some Southern European countries are also described as part of the Balkans or Southeastern Europe in regional, historical, or political discussions.

These terms describe overlapping cultural or geopolitical regions and do not replace the UN’s geographic subregions for statistical reporting.

Physical geography definition

In physical geography, Southern Europe is often defined by:

• Mediterranean climate zones
• Peninsulas and island systems
• Mountain belts separating coastal and inland regions
• Long, highly indented coastlines

This approach focuses on climate, landforms, and ecosystems rather than political borders and is widely used in climatology, environmental science, and physical geography.

Global regions map

To place Southern Europe within the wider UN classification system, the global regions map below shows how all world subregions are organized.

The UN geoscheme assigns every UN member state to a defined geographic region, allowing consistent international comparisons across continents. Antarctica is excluded because the framework applies only to UN member states.

Within Europe, the UN recognizes four subregions: Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe.

Across the entire world, the UN geoscheme identifies 22 geographical subregions in total.