Northern Europe

Proposal by the Standing Committee on Geographical Names to delimit Northern Europe (green)

UN division of Europe (Northern Europe blue)

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia in winter

Northern Europe is a comprehensive term for all northern European countries .

Associated states

Colloquially in Germany, the term "Northern Europe" mostly refers to the Nordic countries . The affiliation of countries such as Iceland , Norway , Sweden , Denmark and Finland is undisputed .

Further definition of the term

The Baltic states of Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania , the north of European Russia and the northern part of the United Kingdom ( Scotland ) are also often included. If one draws the borders even further, Ireland , Flanders , the Netherlands and the lowlands of northern Germany and Poland could also be seen as part of northern Europe.

Affiliation with northern Germany

In the natural (shaped by the last glacial period ), historical and architectural context, northern Germany is sometimes also viewed as part of northern Europe, for example in various contributions on the North German Broadcasting Corporation .

Country groups

Politically, Northern Europe can be divided as follows:

• Scandinavia with Norway , Sweden and Denmark (excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland).
• The Nordic countries belonging to Europe , which means the Scandinavian countries as well as the Faroe Islands , Finland and Iceland . Greenland is part of the Nordic countries, but not part of Europe.
• Within the EU , Denmark , Finland , Belgium , the Netherlands and Sweden are part of the so-called northern group .
• Baltic states with Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania .
• Northeast Europe with Northwest Russia .
• The term North West Europe is rarely used in the German language and includes the United Kingdom and Ireland , sometimes also Brittany , Normandy , Flanders and the Netherlands . In Germany, however, all of these countries are generally seen as part of Western Europe .

Language families

Linguistically, these areas belong either to the Germanic , Finno-Ugric , Slavic , Baltic or Celtic families .

Definition of the UN

According to the UN division, the Northern Europe region includes in alphabetical order Åland , Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Guernsey and Jersey , Iceland , Ireland and Man, the Channel Islands , Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Svalbard with Jan Mayen and the United Kingdom (Great Britain).

Web links

Commons : Northern Europe  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Northern Europe  Travel Guide

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Güstrow is referred to as part of Northern Europe in the NDR article
2. ↑ The fortress Dömitz is referred to in the article of the NDR as a fortress in Northern Europe
3. ^ Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings. The United Nations Statistics Division, April 1, 2010, accessed September 18, 2010 .