The Barents region is the eastern region of the Arctic and includes Russian, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish land territory composed of 14 counties. It is regarded as the European gateway to the Arctic and the Barents Sea is controlled by Russia and Norway as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The geographical borders of the Barents region stretch from the northern Norwegian coast in the west to the Russian city Vorkuta in the east. This vast territory covers an area of 1 755 800 km², which equals the combined area of France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
The Barents Sea borders the Norwegian and Greenland Sea in the west, the Arctic Sea in the north and the Kara Sea in the east.
For an interactive and detailed map of the region and its subregions, please click here.
The region is characterized by its remoteness, harsh climate and varied nature with the Scandinavian mountain chains in the west, the Arctic tundra in the Kola Peninsula, the Nenets Area and Novaja Zemlja in the east. The midnight sun lights up the region twenty-four seven from May to July and in the wintertime the northern lights can be seen on the pitch-black sky. Furthermore, no other parts of Europe contain as much forests, fish, minerals, oil and gas. All this components of the region creates the backbone for economic and business development in the Barents region.