Definitions of Western and Eastern Europe: Characteristics of Western and Eastern Europe: Difference Between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Difference Between Commonwealth and Protectorate. Five of the six states in the former East Germany with the exception of the city-state of Berlin had lower per-capita productivity in 2018 than the West German state with the lowest per-capita productivity, Schleswig-Holstein. This is Part 6 of an 8-Part series on Geography and Culture. Both regions have a history of being ruled by powerful empires that brought change to the area. Bernie Sanders, for instance, looks at nations such as Denmark and Sweden today and says that America should copy their expansive welfare states. Eastern Europe Lives And Breathes History. For that to happen, the countries have to be small and close to one another. Before 1800, Europe had already taken over at least 35 percent of the world, but Britain was just beginning to industrialize. Another explanation, described in Jared Diamond's famous book [Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies], is disease. If we look at the stringency of control measures, we can also see that not all countries acted in the same way. Thomas Sowell Explains how geographical differences between Eastern and Western Europe played a key role in the economic differences between the two regions, which caused Eastern Europe to be historically poorer than Western Europe. Western Europe is a region in Europethat is associated with the western portion of the Eurasian landmass,as well as some countries on islands off its coast. 3. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. The main differences are the recognition of the pope as the head of the church, and the fact that priests in the Eastern orthodox faith are allowed to marry. Austria-Hungary is partially to blame. Manage Settings The Eastern European area bore the brunt of the Asian invasions too as first the Huns, then Avars, Slavs, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Mongols, and Turks all swept into the Balkans, Carpathian Basin, and the lands between the Black and Baltic seas each time wiping out native political powers. Live Longer: Western Europeans live longer than eastern Europeans.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,100],'questionscity_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_4',117,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); Smaller House: Eastern Europeans live in smaller houses or apartments compared to western Europeans. 2.Standard of living in Britain was usually poor, Probably OP refers the wealth of the States, not the standard of living of the population (e.g. Also the Danube is a big invasion route from the Black Sea to Germany. It is related to Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Such enemies existed in the pastthey were fighting for glory on the battlefield or victory over an enemy of the faithand one could argue that they pose a threat today as well. Cases and deaths have not been spread evenly across the region. Its easternmost border is the Ural mountains. Roma is the language of the people who used to be called Gypsies (The modern term for gypsies is "Roma."). There are some exceptions, however. Make sure to familiarize yourself with our rules and guidelines before participating. Adjusting for population size, both cases and deaths were substantially lower in the east, as shown in this comparison of the COVID-19 death rate in the two regions. None of this suggests that policy in America is ideal (it isnt) or that European nations are failures (they still rank among the wealthiest places on the planet). These differences between eastern and western Europe will help you understand the magnitude of these differences better than before.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'questionscity_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_5',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Western and Eastern Europe are on opposite sides of the continent. The Eastern and Western hemispheres of the world are vastly different in many ways. Seldom do you hear an average American complain about Poland or Estonia for not spending enough into defending Europebecause those countries, despite being . Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons. That's because the Black Death was at its peak. Today, both Judaism and the Yiddish language are scarce in this part of the world. You havent even mentioned socialism and central managed economies, the truth is that a lot of these countries were pretty 'rich' before ww2. [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Commons, Filed Under: Countries Tagged With: Eastern bloc, Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe characteristics, Eastern Europe definition, Soviet bloc, Western and Eastern Europe compare, Western Europe, Western Europe characteristics, Western Europe definition, Western vs Eastern Europe. Due to its Communist history, language barrier, poor infrastructure, poverty and just overall bad reputation, Eastern Europe has managed to deter the hoards of annoying tourists that are plaguing Western Europe. It also boasts some of the richest economies in the world with Germany being one of those countries at its forefront. You can refer to the lesson, but try to recall as many from memory as you can. Dude, the question literally asks if eastern Europe was always poorer than western europe. It started after I gave an undergraduate here a book to read about gunpowder technology, how it was invented in China and used in Japan and Southeast Asia, and how the Europeans got very good at using it, which fed into their successful conquests. See less Comments People in the former East Germany are also less optimistic than their counterparts in the former West on a variety of measures, including whether children today will grow up to be better off financially than their parents. 50 Mississippi. Most of the countries in Eastern Europe, including Romania, were never part of the Soviet Union. In 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, per-capita disposable income was 19,909 per year in the former East Germany the equivalent of about $22,500 based on the average euro-to-dollar exchange rate that year. So, I put together an economic model of how this technology has advanced to come up with what I think is the real reason why the West conquered almost everyone else. Germans in both areas say living standards in the former East have not yet caught up with those in the former West. This may have produced scepticism about the severity of the pandemic. But free markets and small government have produced decades of strong growth, and now these places are among the richest places on the planet. The romance languages form another large branch of the Indo-European languages family. What can we learn from the differences between Eastern and Western Europe? Also economically, the Western European countries are much more advanced than the eastern European countries. With so much diversity within this region, its easy to see why people from around the globe flock here every year. The Byzantium empire which included the Balkans, and Greece were the richest part of Europe prior to Ottoman conquest. For example, how did states get the ability to impose heavy taxes? Western Europe: More Catholics and Protestant Christians can be seen. Religious: Eastern Europe is more religious than Western Europe.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'questionscity_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_8',114,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); Poorer: Eastern European countries are poorer than Western European countries. Many theories purport to explain how the West became dominant. Its a sign of American prosperity that we can afford to buy more from other nations than they can afford to buy from us. Therefore, there are a lot of contradictions in this country. (In all economic statistics in this analysis, Berlin is counted in East Germany, even though the city was divided during communism and is not directly comparable to other parts of East Germany.). I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Total compensation, gross wages and salaries, and disposable (or after-tax) income have long been lower in the former East Germany than in the former West, according to the governments report. However, most central and eastern European countries have been gradually converging towards western Europe countries over the past few decades after the transition to market economies, the introduction of democracy, and the formation of the European Union. As an eastern european I want to say that while what Sowell explained might be true, the reasons he gave are minor in comparison to the economic damage that Russia and Communism caused in eastern Europe. Along with the inventions of the industrial revolution, countries have been able to gain a high economic development rate. Many scholars believe that Moldovan is simply a dialect of Romanian, while others believe it is a separate language. When its easier to travel and grow food, its easier to sell the food at a greater. The Netherlands is the country with the most time off in the world. How is your theory different? Gunpowder was really important for conquering territory; it allows a small number of people to exercise a lot of influence. Also Austria and Hungary drained ressources from the other areas (Bohemia being one of the few parts that was actually rather well off with a lot of industry). Create a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that lists and provides statistics for the religions of Eastern Europe. In 2018, the average unemployment rate was 6.9% in the six states of the former East Germany, compared with 4.8% in the 10 states of the former West Germany. Cheap travel Eastern Europe can be significantly less expensive than Western Europe. This One Major Factor Makes Germany Richer Than Italy. The key difference between Western and Eastern Europe is that Eastern Europe consists of countries that once belonged to the Soviet block, unlike the Western European countries. Why is the Eastern Europe Poorer than the Western Europe?There are many reasons, the main ones are : location (Western Europe discovered new lands, Eastern Europe faced nomads), religion, the ottomans and the communism. During the cold war period, this region was referred to as the Eastern bloc or else the Soviet bloc. The Polish Lithuanian commonwealth was extremely powerful and wealthy by controling the rivers and by extension farmland and trade between Baltic and Black Seas. However, over the past 20 years, most of the nations of Eastern Europe have joined the . Between these two regions, a myriad of differences can be viewed regarding the geographical location, culture, economy, etc. See here for the complete series: I love listening to Dr. Sowell's wonderful explanations for everything. Press J to jump to the feed. Nationalism, therefore, was an important element in the culture of Eastern Europe for a long time, sometimes leading to major wars. This shows that eastern European countries took the opportunity to act quickly. Their situation relative to Western Europe has not become better 70 years after WWII. Eastern Europe: Most people follow Orthodox Christianity or Islam. Eastern Europe is generally poorer than Western Europe. And I mean apocalyptic. The continent of Europe can be divided into two regions as the western and eastern Europe. @media (max-width: 1171px) { .sidead300 { margin-left: -20px; } } Yes, there are lots of conventional explanationsindustrialization, for examplebut on closer inspection they all fall apart. the Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Turkey (western-most part). 8. Western Europe is incredibly rich in culture from rich cuisine (French cuisine is divine and Im going to include Portuguese cuisine too) to traditional festivals still being held. It is difficult to point out the geographical division between the western and eastern regions of Europe although it is believed that the Caucasus Mountains, Ural River and mountain lay the boundary for Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe: Eastern Europe is comparatively less advanced regarding the economy. Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language that is distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. What are the Five Themes of Geography? crochet cardigan size chart on carolina thunderbirds salary; why is eastern europe poorer than western europe? All countries in the region have seen significant increases in cases and deaths. Its language is related to Italian, Spanish, and French, making the Romanians the only Latin people in Eastern Europe. Unofficial site of Thomas Sowell, Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? Caltech's Philip Hoffman, the Rea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics and professor of history, has a new explanation: the advancement of gunpowder technology. The climate varies greatly from country to country because it encompasses such a large area of land for an area thats not very populated which leads to different types of vegetation across the region. QuotidianPain 2 yr. ago I don't think Atlantic trade is the sole reason though. Even the Catholic Church held a different view from the eastern church. Breathtaking nature Last, but definitely not least, nature in Eastern Europe is stunning. This is why Eastern Europe, in general, is poorer than countries in Western, Central, and Northern Europe. These are the countries that are in Eastern Europe: Russia (Partly in Asia). However, the South Slavs themselves didn't have it easy, being subjugated by Franks, Bulgars and Byzantines, and later Magyars, Ottomans, Romanians, Austrians, Soviets, etc. In the former East, 42% of adults say the next generation will be better off, compared with 50% in the West who say this. We live much more better than Latin America, the Middle East, Africa or India for 2.Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? For Western Europe, it was the Scandinavian Vikings who preyed upon river cities and traffic. And the more that the political leaders spend, the better their chances of defeating other leaders and, in the long run, of dominating the other cultures. Both regions have different economic structures and political systems. The rest of Europe at that time was really no wealthier than China, the Middle East, or South Asia. The GDP of Romania in year 2017 is $467 billion and PPP is approximately $25000. They have distinct cultures, languages, traditions, and cuisine. Answer (1 of 7): The time lapse. The Czech Republic acted very late, for example, imposing stricter measures at the end of October, even though cases and deaths had been soaring upwards during the month. Even before the Holocaust, Jews faced terrible discrimination from the Christian-majority populations in which they lived. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Western Europe is home to the oldest living population in the world. Heres another map, concentrating just on Northern Europe.