There is no official tangible border to divide east and west Europe, but major differences between the two regions do exist.
In prior history, Western Europe was greatly influenced by Great Britain and the United States democratic and capitalistic ideals while Eastern Europe was influenced by the Soviet Union and communism. Also, present-day Western Europe is largely more economically stable than its eastern counterpart. Western Europe has a significant Christian population (due to the Roman Catholic Church’s influence) while Eastern Europe is largely considered to be Orthodox.