Facts about Nordic Countries

Interesting Facts for Kids

Here are some interesting Facts about Nordic Countries for Kids.

The Nordic countries include these five countries in Northern Europe: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. 

Denmark

Finland

Iceland

Norway

Sweden

The Nordic countries are situated in the northern part of Europe. These five countries are all close to the Arctic Circle. 

Map with the five Nordic Countries

The climate in the Nordic countries ranges from temperate to subarctic. Some of the northern locations of the Nordic countries experience the midnight sun with long daylight hours during summer and polar nights with long periods of darkness in winter.

The Northern Lights, a wonderful nature spectacle can best be admired on clear autumn and winter nights.

Typical Northern Lights in the sky

The Nordic countries feature diverse landscapes, including mountains, forests, fjords, lakes, and coastlines. Norway is known for its deep fjords and rugged mountainous terrain, while Finland and Sweden are renowned for its numerous lakes and extensive forest cover.

Fjord view

The Nordic countries are located along the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic Ocean: The ocean influences heavily the economy with maritime industries and trade routes. Cultural traditions originate from fishing and seafaring communities. The Sami are the indigenous people living in the northern regions of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Sami people - image by Dreakrawi/ shutterstock.com

Facts about Nordic Countries
Geo Superlatives

• The largest country of the Nordic countries is Sweden which covers a land area as big as
• Norway has the longest coastline among the Nordic countries spanning over 83,000 km/ 51,574 miles.
• The highest peak in the Nordic countries is Galdhøpiggen in Norway with an elevation of 2,469 m/ 8,100 ft above sea level.
• Iceland stands out as the most volcanically active country with the highest concentration of active volcanoes among the Nordic countries
• Sognefjord in Norway is the deepest and longest fjord in the Nordic countries

Sognefjord

Country Facts about the Nordic Countries

Denmark

• Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries and borders Germany and Sweden.
• The smallest of the Nordic countries is also the most densely populated country of the Nordic region housing about 5.9 million people.
• Denmark is about twice the size of Bolivia or the state of Massachusetts/ USA.
• Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and has a population of 1.3 million people. 
• The official language is Danish - and in some regions also Greenlandic, Faroese or German is spoken
• Denmark is a monarchy with Margrethe II as Queen of Denmark since 1972 and is the world’s longest serving female head of state.
• The kingdom of Denmark is spread over 443 islands. Only 72 of these islands are inhabited.
• The official language of Denmark is Danish. Denmark is member of the European Union (EU) but they kept their currency called Danish krone. 
• Greenland, belonging to Denmark, is considered part of the European continent while geographically Greenland is part of the North American continental plate. 

Finland

• Finland is a huge country but only is sparsely populated.
• Lakes and rivers cover about 10% of the country’s land area.
• Only about 5.5 million people live in Finland. About 1.1 million people live in the capital city Helsinki.
• Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish
• Finland is member of the European Union (EU) and uses the euro as currency.

Iceland

• Iceland is the least densely populated independent nation of the Nordic countries. 
• The island is located south of the Arctic Circle.
• Iceland is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and experiences significant volcanic activity which leads to the formation of geysers, hot springs, and unique geological features. 
  
• Only about 3.5 million people live in Iceland.
• Home to about 330,000 people, more than half of all inhabitants live in the capital city Reykjavík. 
• Iceland is not a member of the European Union (EU) and their currency is the Icelandic krona.

Norway

• Norway has land borders with Finland, Sweden and Russia. 
• Norway is a constitutional monarchy with King Harald V as their monarch since 1991. 
• About 5.4 million people live in Norway where about 1.4 million people live in the capital city Oslo.
• Whereas Norway is not a member of the European Union (EU), they are part of the euro zone and use the euro as their currency. 

Sweden

• Sweden is the largest country of the Nordic countries and shares land borders with Norway and Finland. 
• Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with King Carl XVI Gustaf who celebrated being king of Sweden for 50 years in 2023.
• The most populous country of the Nordic countries is Sweden. 
• 11.5 million people live in Sweden and of these about 2.4 million people live in the capital city Stockholm. 
• Sweden is member of the European Union (EU) but they kept their currency called Swedish krona. Swedish is the official language and there are some minority languages such as Finnish or Sami.

Facts about Nordic Countries
Islands

The islands of Greenland, Faroe and Åland are usually included.

Greenland

• Greenland is the world's largest island.
• In the Greenlandic language, Greenland is called Kalaallit Nunaat which means "Land of the People".
• 56,000 people live on the arctic island that is located about 3,400 km/ 2,110 miles off the Danish north western coastline.
• Politically, the country belongs to Denmark that is an independent country on the European continent. Geographically, the island of Greenland is located on the North American continent.
• Greenland is a district of Denmark since 1953 and has its own local government.
• Nuuk is the capital of Greenland. 
• 80% of Greenland is covered by ice and snow and most people live along the coastline. 
• Greenlandic is recognised as an official language in Denmark.

Faroe

• The Faroe islands are located between Iceland and Norway. 
• These islands belong to Denmark and are  called 'sheep islands' because on the islands live about twice as many sheep than people. 
• Denmark's Faroe archipelago consists of 18 islands in the North Atlantic Sea. 
• The largest lake on the Faroer archipelago is Lake Sorvagsvatn which you can see below.

Åland

• Åland has 6,757 islands that lie between Sweden and Finland in the Atlantic Ocean. 
• The islands belong to Finland. Åland is an autonomous region of Finland with its own parliament. 
• The largest island of Åland is called Fasta Åland. The capital of Åland is called Mariehamn and is located on this island.
• About 30,000 people live on these islands. 
• The population of Åland speaks Swedish which is the official language on the islands. 

Resources for Facts about Nordic Countries

These are useful resources for Facts about Nordic Countries:

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. "Official Website of Denmark." Denmark.dk. Last accessed 13 October 2023
• Government of Greenland. "Explore Greenland." Visit Greenland. Last accessed 13 October 2023
• Nordic Council. "Facts about Nordic Countries." Norden. Last accessed 13 October 2023

Popular Pages

Norway Facts

Sweden Facts

Denmark Facts

Finland facts

Iceland Facts

European Union Facts

Food in Sweden

Landmarks in Europe

Images on Facts about Nordic Countries for Kids: shutterstock, sxc.hu, wikicommons and own images.

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