CroatiaCapital: Zagreb. Independent since 1991. One of the states that came out of the breakup of Yugoslavia. In the European Union since 2013. Joined the United Nations in 1992.
GreeceCapital: Athens. The Balkan peninsula's southern tip and thousands of islands. Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria are to the north and Turkey to the east. In the European Union since 1981. Joined the United Nations in 1945.
ItalyCapital: Rome. A peninsula, plus Sicily and Sardinia. The Alps run along its land border. It surrounds San Marino and Vatican City. One of the six founders, in 1957, of what is now the European Union. Joined the United Nations in 1955.
MaltaCapital: Valletta. In the European Union since 2004. Joined the United Nations in 1964.
PortugalCapital: Lisbon. Spain is its only land neighbor. The Azores and Madeira, out in the Atlantic Ocean, belong to it. In the European Union since 1986. Joined the United Nations in 1955.
SloveniaCapital: Ljubljana. Independent since 1991. One of the states that came out of the breakup of Yugoslavia. In the European Union since 2004. Joined the United Nations in 1992.
SpainCapital: Madrid. It covers most of the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is to the west. The Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands belong to it. In the European Union since 1986. Joined the United Nations in 1955.
Other 7
AlbaniaCapital: Tirana. Outside the European Union. Joined the United Nations in 1955.
AndorraCapital: Andorra la Vella. Landlocked. Outside the European Union. Joined the United Nations in 1993.
Bosnia and HerzegovinaCapital: Sarajevo. Independent since 1992. One of the states that came out of the breakup of Yugoslavia. Joined the United Nations in 1992.
MontenegroCapital: Podgorica. Independent since 2006. Before that it stayed in one state with Serbia after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Joined the United Nations in 2006.
North MacedoniaCapital: Skopje. Landlocked. Independent since 1991, after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Called the Republic of Macedonia until 2019. Joined the United Nations in 1993.
San MarinoCapital: San Marino. Landlocked, and surrounded by Italy on every side. Outside the European Union. Joined the United Nations in 1992.
SerbiaCapital: Belgrade. Landlocked. Joined the United Nations in 2000. It stayed in one state with Montenegro after the breakup of Yugoslavia, until 2006.
How this list was compiled: All 48 are member states of the United Nations: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states (membership and the years of joining), checked 2026-09-19. The regions follow the United Nations geoscheme, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/, checked 2026-09-19: it files 43 of the 48 under Europe, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia and Turkey under Western Asia. The list of countries, the capitals, and the notes on the countries with land in both Europe and Asia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_in_Europe, checked 2026-09-19. The 27 members of the European Union and their years of joining, and the date the United Kingdom left: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_state_of_the_European_Union, checked 2026-09-19. Landlocked countries, the doubly landlocked one and the country surrounded by Italy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landlocked_country, checked 2026-09-19. The 15 post-Soviet states: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Soviet_states; the states that came out of Yugoslavia and their years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia; the end of Czechoslovakia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_Czechoslovakia; all checked 2026-09-19. Vatican City, Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and the island territories (Åland, the Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man) are drawn and not asked, because none is a member state of the United Nations. Positions and sizes in the hints were read off the drawing. Hints and detail lines written for this site. Neighbors and their number: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_number_of_land_borders, checked 2026-09-19. Seas, mountains, islands and directions in the detail lines: the opening paragraphs of the Wikipedia articles on Belarus, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain, checked 2026-09-19. Reykjavík as the northernmost capital of a sovereign state: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reykjav%C3%ADk; East Thrace as 3 percent of Turkey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Thrace; Kyiv on both banks of the Dnieper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyiv; the bridge between Sweden and Denmark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge; all checked 2026-09-19. No detail line lists the neighbors of a country where one of them is across a line the points file flags. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes (scale 1:50,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection centred on 53°N 15°E. Outlines simplified; small islands are left out. 6 places are too small to draw at this scale and shown as a dot. Licence: public domain (Natural Earth terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/)
How it works
This blank map of Southern Europe numbers its 14 countries, from Portugal and Spain through Italy to the Balkans and Greece. The rest of Europe is drawn without numbers.
Read the full guide
Blank, numbered or named
The sheet opens blank. Choose Numbered to put a number on each of the 14 countries of Southern Europe, or Named for their names, then press Print this map; the answer key prints on its own sheet.
Small countries
Andorra, San Marino and Malta are too small to write inside, so each has a ring joined by a line. San Marino lies wholly inside Italy, and Andorra sits in the Pyrenees between France and Spain.
Work east from Portugal and Spain, then Italy, then down the Balkan countries from Slovenia to Greece.
Questions and answers
Which countries are in Southern Europe?
In the United Nations list, the 14 on this map: Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Italy, San Marino, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Greece.
Is Vatican City on the map?
It is too small to draw at this scale. It lies inside Rome, so write it in beside Italy if your list includes it.
Which is the smallest country numbered?
San Marino, which lies inside Italy near the Adriatic coast. Malta, an island south of Sicily, is next.