Europe's coronavirus death toll passed 170,000 on Thursday, with the lion's share of deaths recorded in the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain, according to an AFP tally at 1230 GMT Thursday. 

A model of a customs road sign is seen at the mock border of the United Kingdom and the European Union, a visitors look at a model of Big Ben, during the reopening of the 'Mini-Europe' theme park of small-scale models of European capitals and their landmarks, in Brussels on May 20, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

With 170,032 deaths out of 1,957,819 cases, Europe is the hardest hit continent by the pandemic that has swept the globe since it first emerged in China in December. 

Britain has the highest death toll in Europe with 35,704 fatalities, followed by Italy with 32,330, France with 28,132 and Spain's 27,888.

The tallies are collated using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO).