Nordic countries

The Nordic countries—often called the Nordics or Norden—span a geographical and cultural area across Northern Europe, North America, and the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. This region includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, plus the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and the autonomous region of Åland. While these places share a lot in terms of lifestyle, history, religion, and social and economic structures, they are not a single country or federation today.

In the 19th century, the Scandinavist movement aimed to merge Denmark, Norway, and Sweden into one nation. That idea later evolved into modern Nordic cooperation after Norway gained independence from Sweden, Finland became independent in the early 20th century, and Iceland voted in a 1944 constitutional referendum. Since 1962, this cooperation has been governed by the Helsinki Treaty, which provides the framework for the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The Nordic countries consistently rank near the top on measures like education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development. Each nation has its own economic and social model—sometimes quite different from its neighbors—but they all share elements of the Nordic model to some degree. This model features a mixed market economy, strong labor unions, and a universal welfare system funded by high taxes, which aims to boost individual autonomy and social mobility. There’s also significant income redistribution, a commitment to private ownership, and generally low social unrest.

North Germanic peoples make up over three-quarters of the region’s population, making them the largest ethnic group. Baltic Finnic peoples are the majority in Finland. Other groups include the Greenlandic Inuit, the Sami people, and recent immigrants and their descendants. Historically, Norse paganism was the main religion, but it gave way to Roman Catholicism after the Christianization of Scandinavia. Following the Protestant Reformation, Lutheran Christianity became dominant and remains the state religion in several Nordic countries.

Linguistically, the area is diverse, with three unrelated language families: North Germanic, Finno-Ugric, and Eskimo-Aleut. Still, a shared linguistic heritage contributes to Nordic identity. Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish are mutually intelligible and serve as the working languages of the region’s political bodies. Swedish is a mandatory subject in Finnish schools, Danish is required in Faroese schools, and Danish is also taught in Icelandic schools.

The combined area of the Nordic countries is large, but about half of it consists of uninhabitable ice caps and glaciers, mostly in Greenland. As of September 2021, the region had over 27 million people. In English, “Scandinavia” is sometimes used as a synonym for the Nordic countries, but it more accurately refers to the three monarchies of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Geologically, the Scandinavian Peninsula includes mainland Norway and Sweden, plus the northernmost part of Finland.

The term “Nordic countries” came into common use after the founding of Foreningen Norden. It derives from the local term “Norden,” used in North Germanic languages, which means “The North(ern lands).” Unlike “Nordic countries,” “Norden” is singular. The demonym is “nordbo,” literally “northern dweller.”

Related regional terms include: - **Scandinavia**, which usually refers to the cultural and linguistic group of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, or the Scandinavian Peninsula (mainland Norway, Sweden, and northwesternmost Finland). Outside the Nordic region, it’s sometimes used as a synonym for the Nordic countries. Pliny the Elder first recorded the name, describing a “large, fertile island in the North” (possibly Scania). - **Fennoscandia**, covering the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland, the Kola Peninsula, and Karelia. This term is mostly used in geology for the Fennoscandian Shield. - **Cap of the North**, which includes the provinces and counties of Lapland in Finland; Finnmark, Nordland, and Troms in Norway; and Lapland and Norrbotten in Sweden. This Arctic area lies around and north of the Arctic Circle, within Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. - **Barents Region**, formed by the Cap of the North plus Northern Ostrobothnia and Kainuu in Finland, the Swedish provinces of Lapland, Västerbotten, and Norrbotten, and the Russian oblasts of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and the republics of Karelia and Komi. This area cooperates through the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and Barents Regional Council.

**List**: Sovereign states and associated territories and other areas.

**History**: Little evidence remains from the Stone, Bronze, or Iron Ages in the Nordic countries—just a few stone, bronze, and iron tools, some jewelry and ornaments, and stone burial cairns. One important exception is a widespread collection of stone drawings called petroglyphs. The Goths, who originated in southern Scandinavia and later split into Visigoths and Ostrogoths, were among the Germanic peoples linked to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.