The countries of Northern Europe. general characteristics

The territory of the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula and the Baltic, the peninsula of Jutland, the plains of Fennoscandia, the islands of Iceland and Spitsbergen make up the northern part of Europe. The living population in these parts is 4% of the inhabitants of the whole European composition, and the area of the territory is 20% of the whole of Europe.

8 small states located on these lands are the countries of Northern Europe. The largest country of the eight is Sweden, and the smallest is Iceland. According to the state system, only three countries are constitutional monarchies - Sweden, Norway and Denmark, the rest are republics.

Northern Europe. Member countries of the European Union :

• Estonia;
• Denmark;
• Latvia;
• Finland;
• Lithuania;
• Sweden.

The Nordic countries - NATO members - Iceland and Norway.

The countries of Northern Europe. Population

On the whole territory of Northern Europe, men live 52%, and women - 48%. In these parts, the population density is considered to be the lowest in Europe and in the densely populated southern regions no more than 22 people per 1 m2 (in Iceland - 3 people / m2). This contributes to the severe northern climatic zone. More evenly settled territory of Denmark. The urban part of the northern European population is mainly concentrated in the metropolitan areas. The natural growth rate of this area is considered low and is about 4%. Most of the inhabitants profess Christianity - Catholicism or Protestantism.

Northern countries of Europe. Natural resources

Northern European countries have large deposits of natural resources. In the Scandinavian Peninsula, iron, copper, molybdenum ores are mined, in the Norwegian and North Seas - natural gas and oil, in the Spitsbergen archipelago - coal. Scandinavian countries have rich hydro resources. Here a big role is played by nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power stations. Iceland uses thermal waters as a source of electricity.

The countries of Northern Europe. Agricultural complex

The agro-industrial complex of the Northern European countries consists of fishing, farming and animal husbandry. Mainly meat - dairy direction prevails (in Iceland - sheep breeding). Among crops grown grain - rye, potatoes, wheat, sugar beet, barley.

Economy

Many indicators of economic development show that the Nordic countries are leading the world economy. The level of unemployment and inflation, public finances and growth dynamics are significantly different from other European areas. No wonder the North European model of economic growth is recognized as the most attractive in the world community. Many indicators were influenced by the effectiveness of the use of national resources and foreign policy. The economy of this model is based on high-quality exported products. This applies to the production of metal products and goods from pulp and paper, timber processing industry, machine building industry, and also ore deposits. The main trading partners of the Nordic countries in foreign trade are Western European countries and the United States. Three quarters of the structure of Iceland's exports is the fishing industry.