The industry of foreign Europe and its features

Countries outside the CIS are referred to foreign countries. Their territory is more than 5 million square kilometers, which is home to almost five hundred million people. Speaking of a foreign Europe, we mean about forty sovereign states, connected not only by historical destiny, but also by the closest economic, political and cultural threads.

Foreign Europe is one of the main centers of human civilization. It is the birthplace of urban agglomerations, large geographical discoveries, and great industrial upheavals. And despite the fact that the era of "Eurocentrism" is already in the past, foreign Europe occupies an important place not only in the policy of the world, but also in its economy.

Economy

Studying the industry of foreign Europe (11 class - the time when this topic is paid attention in school), we view it as a holistic region. At the same time, according to experts, the countries located on its territory take the first place all over the world in the areas of agricultural and industrial production. The region does not miss the leading positions in the export of services and goods, in the reserves of currency and gold, as well as in the development of international tourist relations.

The economic strength of foreign Europe lies in the four countries that make up the G-7. In their list, France and Germany, Italy and England. It is these states that have the widest range of diverse industries and industries. However, the balance of power between the four leading countries is undergoing certain changes. So, for last decades the role of the leader has been won by Germany. And this is not surprising. After all, the economy of this country is developing very dynamically. At the same time, Britain lost its prestige of the "workshop of peace".

The rest of the countries of foreign Europe, whose economies have the greatest economic importance, are Switzerland and Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. In these states, only certain industries are developed that have world recognition.

A special place in the region is occupied by countries located in Eastern Europe. In them, since the late eighties, there has been an active transition from the existing system of centralized planning and public ownership to the rails of market relations.

Development of industry

The basis of the economy of foreign Europe is the industry. It plays a dominant role, even though in many countries in the region the lion's share of the economy is made up of the agricultural sector and services. The industry of foreign Europe has been its peculiar face for several centuries.

Features

The development of mankind and historical circumstances in one way or another constantly transformed the world market. The model of the industry of foreign Europe was also subject to change. So, if before the 2-nd World War the region was famous for expensive unique products, after the end of hostilities its enterprises were reoriented to the needs of the mass consumer.

The bulk of science-intensive and supercomplex products came from the United States. The industry of foreign Europe became famous for machine tools and cars, electronics and technological equipment. The region started producing goods for the mass user.

This trend did not change until the end of the seventies. At this time, the industry of foreign Europe gave impetus to the peculiar division of labor between the states of the region. Thus, the Mediterranean countries continued to produce goods for a wide range of customers. At this time in England, France and Germany actively developed the production of aircraft and ships. All this has reduced the backlog of the region from the United States.

Consider the main industries of foreign Europe, which have weight now.

Mechanical engineering

If you are asked: "Indicate the main industry of foreign Europe," then we should consider the sphere in which more than thirty percent of the region's inhabitants are employed. It is a machine building providing one of the widest product ranges in the world.

This main industry of foreign Europe is represented practically in all countries of the region. However, the level of development of this sphere in individual states is different. For example, in Europe there is a certain group of leaders. In these countries there is almost the whole complex of industries, whose work not only meets the internal needs of the region, but also allows exporting products.

There are also countries that have only one or several highly developed areas of machine-building production in foreign Europe. At the same time, the requirements for certain types of products are met by imports.

The group of leaders, first of all, includes Germany and England, and to a lesser extent France and Italy belong to them. One or several directions of the engineering industry are available in the Netherlands and Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland.

The characteristics of the industry of foreign Europe can not but affect such countries as Denmark and Austria, Finland and Norway. In these states, machine building is poorly developed. However, there are one or two branches in them that have gained recognition in the world market. So, Finland is famous for its pulp and paper equipment, Norway - for shipbuilding, etc.

In general, the machine building industry of the countries of foreign Europe produces almost twenty-five percent of the world's products of this segment. Textile, electrical, technological equipment, instrumentation and scientific instruments, trucks and cars, as well as tractors are supplied from the countries of the region.

Who produces what?

The most developed industry of foreign Europe in the automotive industry. In Germany, successfully working such concerns as Daimler, Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW. From France the Peugeot-Citroen and Renault cars are supplied. Italy is famous for its Fiats.

In Germany, the Netherlands and England is a highly developed shipbuilding. The whole world knows such firms as Bosch and Philips, Mulinex and Tefal. Their main production for the production of telephones, computers and household appliances were built in Germany, France and the Netherlands. Switzerland produces high-quality watches.

The machine-building branch of foreign Europe is oriented, first of all, to available labor resources. In addition, the scientific base of the region and the high level of its infrastructure contribute to the development of the main industry branch.

Chemical industry

This is the second largest avant-garde industry in the region. The chemical industry of foreign Europe, as well as machine building, developed very rapidly in the second half of the last century. And it was typical for the whole region.

It is interesting that the chemical industry has mastered a new raw material base. She switched to the use of oil and its intermediates as the main source of organic chemicals. This raw material has become the basis of the products of this industry. Since before the Second World War the industry was oriented to brown and coal, cooking and potassium salts, as well as pyrites, all its production was located in the areas of their development.

With the reorientation of this sphere, it shifted to oil sources. Thus, in the western part of the region, large petrochemical centers appeared in the estuaries of the Rhine and the Thames, the Elbe and the Seine, and the Rhone. In these regions, this industry is perfectly combined with oil refining.

The reorientation of the industry has also affected the eastern regions of Western Europe. Here petrochemical plants and refineries were set up on the mains of gas and oil pipelines. The main enterprises of this type are in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. They are built along the route of gas pipelines and an international oil pipeline that previously pumped raw materials from the Soviet Union, and today - from Russia.

In addition, prior to the beginning of the Second World War, the definition of the level of development of the chemical industry consisted in measuring the volumes of sulfuric acid that it had produced. At present, this indicator directly depends on the amount of plastic produced.

Distribution of chemical industries

The development of the second largest avant-garde branch of foreign Europe is uneven. Thus, the manufactures of Italy and England, Germany and France fully satisfy their domestic needs for chemical products, being, in addition, their large exporters. As for the Scandinavian countries, only separate industries are well developed on their territory, such as the production of nitrogen fertilizers. At the same time, a large number of chemical products are imported from abroad.

There are also countries specializing in only a narrow assortment of industries in foreign Europe. Thus, in Switzerland there is a developed pharmaceutical industry, in the Netherlands and Belgium - the petrochemical industry. But despite this, these countries have close ties with the world market, exporting up to 65 percent of its output to it.

And in general, the states of foreign Europe are major sellers of artificial and synthetic fibers, plastics, paints and varnishes, pharmaceuticals, dyes and nitrogen fertilizers. At the same time the region consumes new and newest products of the chemical industry, supplied from the USA.

If you need a description of one of the industries of foreign Europe, then it is worthwhile to carefully study the current state of the chemical industry in the region. In recent decades, there has been a tendency to reduce imports. However, in this case, the participation of American monopolies, which are actively creating their enterprises in Europe, was not without effect. Their work is aimed at creating the newest chemical products.

Fuel and energy complex

This economic sphere of foreign Europe, as well as the chemical industry, is oriented towards natural gas and oil. This raw material is extracted in the North Sea and imported from Russia and developing countries. At present, there has been a sharp decline in coal production and consumption in Germany and England, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Orientation to this fuel has been preserved so far in the eastern parts of the region. So, in Poland and the Czech Republic, brown coal accounts for a large share of raw materials for the fuel and energy sector . Many TPPs operate here. And coal is taken not only from its own basins. It is imported and unloaded in the major ports of Europe.

The geography and structure of the region's electric power industry are increasingly dependent on nuclear power plants. They already work in Germany and in Belgium, in the Czech Republic and Hungary, Bulgaria and Britain, as well as in France.

In the tributaries of the Rhône and the Danube, electricity is produced by the hydropower plant. However, with the exception of Switzerland, Sweden and Norway, hydroelectric power plants play, as a rule, a supporting role. In recent years, economical hydroelectric power stations began to be built in foreign Europe.

Metallurgical industry

This industry branch was formed in the region even before the onset of the era of the scientific and technological revolution. First of all, ferrous metallurgy developed in those countries where there was own metallurgical fuel or raw materials. These countries include Germany and France, England and Spain, Luxembourg and Spain, the Czech Republic and Poland. After the end of World War II, the largest plants were built or expanded in the territories in close proximity to seaports. This was due to the orientation towards the import of scrap metal and high-quality iron ore.

To date, the most modern and large plant, located near the seaport, is built in Italian Taranto. However, in the recent time mini-factories are mainly built in the region.

The most important branches of non-ferrous metallurgy in foreign Europe include the aluminum and copper industries. Aluminum production facilities are located in countries with bauxite reserves. This is Italy and France, Romania, Greece and Hungary. Similar manufactures are also in Austria and Germany, Switzerland and Norway. There is no own raw material, but a large amount of electricity is produced.

Copper production is developed in France and Germany, Poland, England and Belgium.

Forestry and light industry

What other branches of the industry have developed in the region? One of them is the forest industry of foreign Europe. First of all, it focuses on its own sources of raw materials. That is why this industry is especially developed in Finland and Sweden. These countries are traditional leaders in sawmilling and logging, export of paper and pulp.

Light industry of foreign Europe deserves special attention. It was from this industry that the entire industrialization of the region began. To date , the light industry of foreign Europe has lost its former positions.

In the region, textile areas such as Flanders (Belgium), Yorkshire and Lancashire (England), Lyon (France), and Milan (Italy) are of considerable importance. All these centers for the production of clothing and footwear arose in the 19th century, at the time of the inception of the industrial revolution. They are actively working today. However, recently there has been a trend towards the shift of light industry to southern Europe. This is due to the available reserves of cheap labor. For example, the main garment factory in the region now can be called Portugal. Italy produces the same number of shoes, which in terms of its volume is inferior only to China.

The peoples of many European countries preserve their national traditions, which are expressed in the production of musical instruments and furniture, ornaments and articles made of metal and glass, toys, etc.

For example, Belgium is known for its hunting rifles (browning), as well as for the processing of diamonds. It is no accident that the world diamond trade center is located in the city of Antwerp. Liechtenstein has built the world's largest enterprise producing artificial teeth. These products are sold in more than one hundred countries of the world.

The light, timber industry of foreign Europe, although they do not play leading roles in the industry of the region, are an integral part of the whole of its economy.