Eurozone is the geographic area that uses the euro currency. The term Eurozone is a synonym to the informal terms "euroland", the "eurogroup", or the "euro area".

The euro is the single currency used in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Spain. Slovenia joined the eurozone on 1 January 2007. Malta and Cyprus joined eurozone on 1 January 2008. Slovakia joined eurozone in 2009.

These 16 countries together are frequently referred to as the Eurozone.

Eurozone

When talking about the eurozone, people usually refer to the 15 (16) states, but technically there is more to eurozone than that.

Outside of the area covered by the map, the euro is the legal currency of the French overseas possessions of French Guiana, Réunion, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Mayotte, and the uninhabited Clipperton Island and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. Euro is also used in the Portuguese autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira. And, the eurozone includes also the Spanish Canary Islands.

Although euro is not legal tender in Denmark and the United Kingdom, the euro is accepted in some stores throughout both countries. Euro is officially used in the Republic of Ireland, so you can find it being used in large cities near the border with the Republic of Ireland. Some people include even the UK and Denmark in the eurozone. Similarly, the euro is widely accepted in Switzerland.