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Northern Europe

Northern Europe is the northern part of the European continent. At various times this region has been defined variously, but today it is generally seen to include:

• The Nordic countries, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as well as Åland, Svalbard, the Faroe Islands and occasionally Karelia and Kola Peninsula
• The Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands (see also Western Europe)
• Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
• Areas bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, e.g. north-western Russia, northern Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and northern Germany.

The United Nations Statistics Division defines Northern Europe as:

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.

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 semi-mythical place in the extreme northern reaches of the continent.

In a European Union context, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands are often seen as belonging to a Northern group.

Danevirke and the English Channel are often considered dividing lines between the North and South of Europe, since at least in the west, much below them was once ruled by the Franks under Charlemagne and much above it was once ruled by the Kingdom of England under Canute the Great.

Today the term is of subjective nature with its meaning usually determined by the geo-political outlook of the speaker. This also means that the definition of the term is largely socio-political as there is no rationale to include England as being part of Northern Europe while excluding the Netherlands.