Demographics
Population:
Total population of Eastern Europe is about 880,624,454. The population of each country is different, not only the national stock, which is the basis of statehood, but also the course of demographic processes and patterns, the structure of employment conditions and living standards.
The average population density in the region amounts to 12 people at 1 km2 and within countries varies considerably. There are sparsely populated northern, forest, desert and mountain areas.
Language:
The languages of Eastern Europe are, for the most part, Slavic languages - like Russian and Polish. However, other language groups have also found purchase in Eastern Europe. Hungarian language is a part of the Uralic language group. Romanian is a Latin language. The Slavic languages themselves can be broken into more specific categories.
The West Slavic languages comprise Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbian, and Old Church Slavonic. Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, and Macedonian are classified as South Slavic languages. And making up the East Slavic languages are Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian.
Religion:
The two main religions within countries in Eastern Europe are Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. Religious areas are clearly divided between the West Slavic and East Slavic regions.
Over time nations with West Slavic origins increasingly patterned their thought and institutions on Western models in areas of thought ranging from philosophy, artistic style, literature, and architecture to government, law, and social structure, Eastern Slavs developed their culture influenced by the once one of the most powerful Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire).
For example, while Western Slavic people use Latin alphabet, Eastern Slavic people use Cyrillic (a larger alphabet inspired by and mixing Greek and Latin characters). South Slavs are split in that respect, with the Catholic Slovenes and Croats (as well as the Muslim Bosnians) using the Latin alphabet, while the Orthodox Serbs and Bulgarians use the Cyrillic alphabet.