EU, EEA, EFTA and Schengen Area countries
What are the 27 countries that are Member States of the European Union (EU)? Which countries make up the EEA and the EFTA? Which countries are members of the Schengen Area? See the lists of countries below.
The 27 EU Member States
The EU is a political and economic union of Member States that are located in Europe. There are 27 Member States of the EU:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- The Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
The 30 EEA countries
EEA stands for European Economic Area. The EEA aims to strengthen trade and economic relations between each of the EEA countries. There are 30 EEA countries:
- The 27 EU Member States
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
The 4 EFTA countries
EFTA stands for European Free Trade Association. It is a regional trade organisation and a free trade area between each of the Member States. It has 4 Member States:
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
- Switzerland
The 27 Schengen Area countries
In the Schengen Area there are no passport or border controls at the borders within the area. The Schengen Area is made up of 23 of the 27 EU Member States plus the 4 countries that form the EFTA:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania are EU Member States but are not part of the Schengen Area.
Partial members of the Schengen area
- Bulgaria
- Romania
As of 31 March 2024 air and sea border controls between the Schengen member states and Bulgaria and Romania will be lifted, but land border checks will remain in place.