Northern Europe as defined by the United Nations^[1] (marked blue):

  Northern Europe

  Western Europe

  Eastern Europe

  Southern Europe

Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. However, the United Nations report published in 2011 defines Northern Europe as including the following 10 countries and dependent regions^[1].

•  Denmark
  •  Faroe Islands
•  Estonia
•  Finland
  •  Åland Islands
•  Iceland
•  Ireland
•  Latvia
•  Lithuania
•  Norway
  • Svalbard and Jan Mayen
•  Sweden
•  United Kingdom
  •  Guernsey
  •  Isle of Man
  •  Jersey

The subset of the countries and territories listed above, all of whom are members of the Nordic Council, are also known as the Nordic countries. Before the establishment of the Nordic Council in 1952, the term 'Nordic', or 'Northern', was commonly used to also refer to the Lutheran Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia, as well as the northern sections of European Russia.

The United Kingdom and Ireland are sometimes included in Western Europe^[2]; as is Iceland for historal, cultural, linguistic and political reasons (compare Greenland which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but is geographically located in America, and is often considered to be in Northern Europe or the Nordic Countries, though rarely Scandinavia proper). The Baltic states are sometimes included in Eastern Europe due to their recent occupation by the Soviet Union.^[3]

History[link]

A map of Northern Europe after Ptolemy.

A Dutch map of Northern Europe, printed in 1601.

Historically, when Europe was dominated by the Mediterranean region (i.e. the Roman Empire), everything not near this sea was termed Northern Europe, including Germany, the Low Countries, and Austria. This meaning is still used today in some contexts, such as in discussions of the Northern Renaissance. In medieval times, the term (Ultima) Thule was used to mean a mythical place in the extreme northern reaches of the continent.

Northern Europe:[1]
Country	Area (km²)	Population (2011 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital	GDP (PPP) $M USD	GDP per capita (PPP) $ USD
Åland (Finland)	1,527	28,007	18.1	Mariehamn	(Finland)
Denmark	43,098	5,564,219	129	Copenhagen	$204,060	$36,810
Faroe Islands (Denmark)	1,399	48,917	35.0	Tórshavn	(Denmark)
Estonia	45,227	1,340,021	29	Tallinn	$27,207	$20,303
Finland	336,897	5,374,781	16	Helsinki	$190,862	$35,745
Guernseyd[›]	78	65,573	836.3	St Peter Port	$2,742	$41,815
Iceland	103,001	318,452	3.1	Reykjavík	$12,664	$39,823
Ireland	70,273	4,581,269	65.2	Dublin	$188,112	$42,076
Isle of Mand[›]	572	80,085	140	Douglas	$2,719	$33,951
Jerseyd[›]	116	92,500	797	Saint Helier	$5,100	$55,661
Latvia	64,589	2,067,900	34.3	Riga	$38,764	$17,477
Lithuania	65,200	3,221,216	50.3	Vilnius	$63,625	$19,391
Norway	324,230	4,905,200	15.1	Oslo	$256,523	$52,229
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (Norway)	61,395	2,572	0.042	Longyearbyen	(Norway)
Sweden	449,964	9,354,462	20.6	Stockholm	$341,868	$36,459
United Kingdom	243,610	62,008,048	254.7	London	$2,256,830	$38,376
Total	1,811,176	99,230,679	54.8		$3,591,077	$36,226

Geography[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

A satellite photograph of Northern Europe

Northern Europe consists of the Scandinavian peninsula, the peninsula of Jutland, the Baltic plain that lies to the east and the many islands that lie offshore from mainland northern Europe, Greenland and the main European continent. The area is defined by the volcanic islands of the far northwest, notably Iceland and Jan Mayen, the mountainous western seaboard, extending from the mountainous sections of Great Britain & Ireland to the Scandinavian mountains, the central north mountains and hills of Sweden (which are the foothills of the Scandinavian mountains) and the large eastern plain, which contains, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

The region has a south west extreme of just under 50 degrees north and a northern extreme of 81 degrees north. The entire region's climate is affected by the Gulf Stream which has a mild influence on the climate. From the west climates vary from maritime and maritime subarctic climates. In the north and central climates are generally subarctic or Arctic and to the east climates are mostly subarctic and temperate/continental. As the climate and relief varies vegetation is also extremely variable, with sparse tundra in the north and high mountains, boreal forest on the north-eastern and central regions temperate coniferous forests (formerly of which a majority was in the Scottish highlands and south west Norway) and temperate broadleaf forests growing in the south, west and temperate east.

With the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland, Northern European countries are known for harsh winters. For example, the Winter of 2010-2011 in Europe began already in November. Temperatures can reach as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius in some parts of Northern Europe.^[4]

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	Europe portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Northern Europe

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

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