Europe.

• Position: Population, head of governmnet and political system followed - Table

Tony Blair has said that he will step down as Prime Minister of the UNITED KINGDOM within the next year. Blair has been a close ally of President Bush, sending British troops to Afghanistan and Iraq--and earning him a good deal of criticism at home. It remains to be seen whether Blair's successor will be as supportive of American policy.

Much of Europe, including FRANCE, is struggling with how to integrate growing Muslim populations into largely homogeneous societies. (Last year, France endured weeks of riots in Muslim suburbs outside Paris and other cities.) Europe is also dealing with Islamic terrorism, much of it apparently "homegrown," including deadly attacks on SPAIN'S railways in 2004 and LONDON'S subways and buses in 2005. Expanding the European Union and migration within the EU are also key issues: ROMANIA and BULGARIA, both former Soviet bloc nations, will likely join next. Meanwhile, debate continues over admitting TURKEY, a Muslim country that straddles Europe and Asia.

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EUROPE URBAN AREA (SQ MI) POP. % POP. RISE COUNTRY POPULATION %/YEAR CAPITAL ALBANIA 11,100 45 TIRANA 3,200,000 0.8 ANDORRA 174 92 ANDRODA 100,000 0.7 LA VELLA AUSTRIA 32,378 54 VIENNA 8,300,000 0 BELARUS 80,154 72 MINSK 9,700,000 -0.6 BELGUIM 11,787 97 BRUSSELL 10,500,000 0.1 BOSNIA & 19,741 43 SARAJEVO HERZEGOVINA (1) 3,900,000 0.1 BULGARIA 42,822 70 SOFIA 7,700,000 -0.5 CROATIA 21,830 56 ZAGREB 4,400,000 -0.2 CZECH REPUBLIC 30,448 77 PRAGUE 10,300,000 -0.1 DENMARK 16,637 72 COPENHAGEN 5,400,000 0.2 ESTONIA 17,413 69 THALLINN 1,300,000 -0.2 FINLAND 130,560 62 HELSINKI 5,300,000 0.2 FRANCE 212,934 76 PARIS 61,200,000 0.4 GERMANY 137,830 88 BERLIN 82,400,000 -0.2 GREECE 50,950 60 ATHENS 11,100,000 0 HUNGARY 35,919 65 BUDAPEST 10,100,000 -0.3 ICELAND 39,768 93 REYKJAVIK 300,000 0.8 IRELAND 27,135 60 DUBLIN 4,200,000 1 ITALY 116,320 90 ROME 59,000,000 0 LATVIA 24,942 68 RIGA 2,300,000 -0.5 LIECHTENSTEIN 62 21 VADUZ 40,000 1 LITHUANIA 25,174 67 VILNIUS 3,400,000 -0.4 LUXEMBOURG 999 9.1 LUXEMBOUG 500,000 0.4 MACEDONIA 9,927 59 SKOPKE 200,000 0.2 MALTA 124 91 VALLETTA 400,000 0.2 MOLDOVA 13,012 45 CHISINAU 4,000,000 -0.2 MONACO 1 100 MONACO 30,000 0.6 MONTENEGRO 5,333 NA PODGORICA 600,000 0.3 NETHERLANDS 15,768 65 AMSTERDAM 16,400,000 0.3 NORWAL 125,050 78 OSLO 4,700,000 0.3 POLAND 124,807 62 WARSAW 38,100,000 0 PORTUGAL 35,514 53 LISBON 10,600,000 0.1 ROMANIA 92,042 55 BUCHAREST 21,600,000 -0.2 RUSSI 6,592,819 73 MOSCOW 142,300,000 -0.6 SAN...