What does the word ‘Arctic’ mean? It depends who you ask

At Arctic Today, we are often challenged with the question: what is the Arctic? What does it include and where do you draw the line? Against that background, I read with great interest the Swedish government’s new Arctic Strategy report.

The report starts with a definition of the word Arctic. This was no easy task, requiring several paragraphs and multiple terms. 

I google-translated the text, exposing where we, at times, can get lost in translation. For example, two separate terms in Swedish (Höga Nord and Nordkalotten) both mean High North in English, but are used in different contexts.

More than 40 languages are spoken in the Arctic. I wonder how many different words each language has for the region. For now, we can look at Sweden’s Arctic Policy “dictionary,” as defined by the government.

Below is the translated excerpt from the Swedish report. Behind each term in bold, I have inserted the original Swedish word used.

(The strategy report is only available in Swedish at the moment. That means half of the Arctic region will have to pull out their translation tool to read it.) 

Skr 2025/26: 268. Section 1.2: The following definitions are used in this strategy:

There are several different definitions of what is considered the Arctic region. The boundaries are drawn in different ways within different scientific areas or political agreements. 

The Arctic (Arktis) refers to the land, air and sea areas north of the Arctic Circle. When the Arctic Council was established in 1996, the members of the Council determined that the world’s eight Arctic states (Arktiska stater) are Denmark, Finland, the United States, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia and Sweden.

In Sweden and other Arctic countries, areas south of the Arctic Circle are often also considered Arctic due to similarities in climatological, natural, living and socio-economic conditions. Which areas are included may differ depending on the context. 

In this strategy, the Northern Areas (nordområderna) refer to areas in Finland, Norway and Sweden that are characterised by Arctic and subarctic climatic conditions. For the Swedish part, it includes the counties of Norrbotten and Västerbotten.

The European Arctic (europeiska Arktis) refers to the territories of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

The High North (Höga Nord) refers to those parts of the Arctic that are part of the area of ​​responsibility of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander (SACEUR). The High North includes the Allied territories on the North Sea, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, as well as the Greenland Sea, the northernmost part of the North Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea and the so-called GIUK gap between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. 

The expression High North (Höga Nord) and its English equivalent are used primarily when referring to NATO, but also appear in other contexts.

The High North (Nordkalotten) refers to the counties of Finnmark, Nordland and Troms in Norway, Norrbotten County in Sweden, the province of Lapland in Finland and the county of Murmansk in Russia.

In this strategy, subarctic areas (subarktiska områden) refer to areas around the Arctic Circle where subarctic climatic conditions prevail. Operating in subarctic areas requires special defence capabilities that differ from Arctic defence capabilities. 

The High Arctic (Högarktis) refers to the northernmost parts of the Arctic where an arctic climate prevails.

The Arctic is undergoing major changes. The region has evolved from a low-voltage area to an arena for great power rivalry and is increasingly a geostrategic focus for both Arctic and non-Arctic states. The new geopolitical situation in the Arctic needs to be understood from three main perspectives – security policy conflicts, economic interests and climate change – and how these interact with each other.

You can read the report here.

As one of the last Arctic states to present a new strategy, there is nothing new or surprising about the Swedish strategy. Rather, it is a confirmation of the country’s alignment with Arctic states, EU Arctic states, NATO Arctic states and Nordic Arctic states.

It’s nice to see Sweden leaning into Arctic cooperation.

Marybeth Sandell is the editor-in-chief of Arctic Today