Schengen Area

The Schengen Area (English: /ˈʃɛŋən/ SHENG-ən, Luxembourgish: [ˈʃæŋən] ^ⓘ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished many passport and many other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.

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Schengen Area

Map of the Schengen Area   Schengen Area   Countries de facto participating   Members of the EU committed by treaty to join the Schengen Area in the future
Policy of	European Union
Type	Open border area
Established	26 March 1995
Members	27 states  Austria  Belgium  Croatia  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Iceland†  Italy  Latvia  Liechtenstein†  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Norway†  Poland  Portugal  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden  Switzerland† † - not an EU member
Area	4,368,693 km2 (1,686,762 sq mi)
Population	423,264,262
Density	97/km2 (251/sq mi)
GDP (Nominal)	US$15 trillion[1]

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Of the 27 EU member states, 23 participate in the Schengen Area. Of the four EU members that are not part of the Schengen Area, three—Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania—are legally obligated to join the area in the future; Ireland maintains an opt-out, and instead operates its own visa policy. The four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, are not members of the EU, but have signed agreements in association with the Schengen Agreement. Also, three European microstates—Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City—maintain open borders for passenger traffic with their neighbours, and are therefore considered de facto members of the Schengen Area due to the practical impossibility of travelling to or from them without transiting through at least one Schengen member country.[2]

The Schengen Area has a population of more than 423 million people and an area of 4,368,693 square kilometres (1,686,762 sq mi).[3] About 1.7 million people commute to work across an internal European border each day, and in some regions these people constitute up to a third of the workforce. Each year, there are 1.3 billion crossings of Schengen borders in total. 57 million crossings are due to transport of goods by road, with a value of €2.8 trillion each year.[4][5][6] The decrease in the cost of trade due to Schengen varies from 0.42% to 1.59% depending on geography, trade partners, and other factors. Countries outside of the Schengen Area also benefit.[7] States in the Schengen Area have strengthened border controls with non-Schengen countries.[8]