Northern Europe

Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as:

• (Finland)
• Channel Islands: and
• (Denmark)
• Ireland
• Svalbard and Jan Mayen (Norway)

Nordic countries or Nordic region include only a subset of the mentioned countries.

Before the 19th century, the term 'Nordic' or 'Northern' was commonly used to mean Northern Europe in a sense that included the Nordic countries, European Russia, the Baltic countries (at that time Livonia and Courland) and Greenland. The United Kingdom and Ireland are sometimes considered part of Northern Europe, but could also be included in Western Europe.

Earlier eras

In earlier eras, 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:
Country	Area (km²)	Population (2008 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital
Åland (Finland)	1,552	26,008	16.8	Mariehamn
Denmark	43,094	5,470,919	124.6	Copenhagen
Estonia	45,226	1,342,409	31.3	Tallinn
Faroe Islands (Denmark)	1,399	48,500	32.9	Tórshavn
Finland	336,593	5,301,992	15.3	Helsinki
Guernsey	78	65,573	828.0	St Peter Port
Iceland	103,000	316,252	3.1	Reykjavík
Ireland	70,280	4,339,000	60.3	Dublin
Isle of Man	572	80,058	129.1	Douglas
Jersey	116	95,871	773.9	Saint Helier
Latvia	64,589	2,366,515	36.6	Riga
Lithuania	65,200	3,601,138	55.2	Vilnius
Norway	324,220	4,725,116	14.0	Oslo
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (Norway)	62,049	2,868	0.046	Longyearbyen
Sweden	449,964	9,142,817	19.7	Stockholm
United Kingdom	244,820	60,587,300	246.0	London

References and notes