Nordics

The Nordics, or Nordic countries, refer to a cultural and geographic region in Northern Europe traditionally associated with five sovereign states: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The region also includes autonomous territories connected to Denmark and Finland—the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland—and, as a cultural concept, may extend to the Sami homeland of Sápmi across Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

Geography and society: The Nordics span diverse landscapes, from Denmark’s low-lying plains to Norway’s fjords and Iceland’s volcanic terrain, with extensive coastlines, forests, and mountains. The region consistently ranks highly on human development and quality-of-life indicators. Linguistically, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese are North Germanic languages, while Finnish belongs to the Finnic branch; English is widely used as a second language.

Economy and governance: The Nordic model combines market economies with expansive welfare states, high taxation, universal public services, and strong labor rights. Cooperation is organized through the Nordic Council (founded 1952) and the Nordic Council of Ministers. EU membership varies: Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are EU members; Iceland and Norway participate in the single market through the European Economic Area and Schengen; Greenland and the Faroe Islands maintain autonomous arrangements outside the EU. Åland is an autonomous Finnish region within the EU.