Northern Europe

==Demographics==
[[File:AtlEurRelig.jpg|thumb|right|Map of Europe showing the largest religions by region. Islam is represented in green, Eastern Orthodox Christianity in blue, Roman Catholicism in purple, and the other colors represent branches of Protestantism.]]
Countries in Northern Europe generally have developed economies and some of the highest standards of living in the world. They often score highly on surveys measuring quality of life, such as the [[Human Development Index]]. Aside from the United Kingdom, they generally have a small population relative to their size, most of whom live in cities. The quality of education in much of Northern Europe is rated highly in international rankings, with [[Estonia]] and [[Finland]] topping the list among the [[Programme for International Student Assessment|OECD]] countries in Europe.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

===Language===
[[Germanic languages]] are widely spoken in Northern Europe with [[North Germanic languages]] being the most common first language in the Faroe Islands ([[Faroese language|Faroese]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faroeislands.fo/arts-culture/language/ |title=The Faroese Language |website=faroeislands.fo |access-date=27 June 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816183723/https://www.faroeislands.fo/arts-culture/language/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Iceland ([[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]),<ref>{{cite web |title=Act [No 61/2011] on the status of the Icelandic language and Icelandic sign language |url=http://eng.menntamalaraduneyti.is/media/MRN-pdf/Icelandic-Language-Act-tr-260711.pdf |publisher=[[Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (Iceland)|Ministry of Education, Science and Culture]] |access-date=15 November 2013 |page=1 |quote=Article 1; National language – official language; Icelandic is the national language of the Icelandic people and the official language in Iceland. Article 2; The Icelandic language — The national language is the common language of the Icelandic general public. Public authorities shall ensure that its use is possible in all areas of Icelandic society. All persons residing in Iceland must be given the opportunity to learn Icelandic and to use it for their general participation in Icelandic society, as further provided in leges speciales. |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011124402/https://eng.menntamalaraduneyti.is/media/MRN-pdf/Icelandic-Language-Act-tr-260711.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Denmark ([[Danish language|Danish]]),<ref name="Ethnologue">{{cite book |editor1-first=M. Paul |editor1-last=Lewis |year=2009 |title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |edition=16th |publisher=SIL International. |location=Dallas, Texas |isbn=978-1-55671-216-6 |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/ |access-date=27 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227170852/http://www.ethnologue.com/ |archive-date=27 December 2007 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Norway ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]])<ref name="Vikor">{{cite web|url=http://www.sprakrad.no/Tema/Fakta/|author=Vikør, Lars|author-link=Lars Vikør|title=''Fakta om norsk språk''|access-date=9 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203190655/http://www.sprakrad.no/Tema/Fakta/|archive-date=3 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Sweden ([[Swedish language|Swedish]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Parkvall |first1=Mikael |title=Sveriges språk. Vem talar vad och var? |journal=RAPPLING 1. Rapporter Från Institutionen för Lingvistik Vid Stockholms Universitet |date=2009 |page=24 |url=http://www.xn--sprkfrsvaret-vcb4v.se/sf/fileadmin/PDF/Parkvall_spraakstatistik.pdf |access-date=1 January 2023 |archive-date=20 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920233246/http://www.xn--sprkfrsvaret-vcb4v.se/sf/fileadmin/PDF/Parkvall_spraakstatistik.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[West Germanic language]] [[English (language)|English]] is the most common first language in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, however, the West Germanic language [[Scots (language)|Scots]] is also spoken as a minority language in parts of Scotland and Ireland.<ref name="Facts about Jersey">{{Cite news |date=30 November 2015 |title=Facts about Jersey |work=[[Government of Jersey]] |url=https://www.gov.je/Leisure/Jersey/Pages/Profile.aspx |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221081233/https://www.gov.je/Leisure/Jersey/Pages/Profile.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="English in UK">{{cite web |title=Languages – Languages |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/uk.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102173300/http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/uk.shtml |archive-date=2 November 2020 |access-date=1 January 2023 |website=BBC}}</ref><ref name="Ranelagh">{{cite book |last1=Ranelagh |first1=John |title=A Short History of Ireland |date=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-46944-9 |page=118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfx0VGIXiPYC&pg=PA118 |language=en |access-date=1 January 2023 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918133912/https://books.google.com/books?id=xfx0VGIXiPYC&pg=PA118 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="UNESCO Languages"/> Beyond this, the [[Finnic languages]] of [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]] are the most common first languages of Finland<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sprakinstitutet.fi/sv/om_sprak/sprak_i_finland |language=sv |title=Språk i Finland |trans-title=Language in Finland |date= |website=[[Institute for the Languages of Finland]] |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=4 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104021948/https://www.sprakinstitutet.fi/sv/om_sprak/sprak_i_finland |url-status=live }}</ref> and Estonia<ref>{{cite web |title=The Estonian Language |url=http://www.estonica.org/en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/ |website=Estonica.org |access-date=15 October 2022 |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703043901/http://www.estonica.org/en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/ |url-status=live }}</ref> respectively. The [[Baltic languages]] of [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] and [[Latvian language|Latvian]] are the most common first languages of Lithuania<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rodiklių duomenų bazė |title=Oficialiosios statistikos portalas |url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize/?hash=ea516958-db7e-431f-931e-0f42e7f9e6bc&portletFormName=visualization#/ |website=osp.stat.gov.lt |language=lt-LT |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=4 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104021935/https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize/?hash=ea516958-db7e-431f-931e-0f42e7f9e6bc&portletFormName=visualization#/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Latvia<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dažādu tautu valodu prasme |url=http://www.vvk.lv/index.php?sadala=129&id=389 |website=vvk.lv |language=lv |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011121119/http://www.vvk.lv/index.php?sadala=129&id=389 |url-status=live }}</ref> respectively. A number of [[Celtic languages]] are spoken in the British Isles including the [[Brittonic languages|Brythonic]] [[Welsh language|Welsh]] and the [[Goidelic]] [[Scots Gaelic]] and [[Irish language|Irish]]. The Celtic languages [[Cornish language|Cornish]] and [[Manx language|Manx]] have been revived since becoming classed as extinct, being now spoken to a limited extent in [[Cornwall]] and the Isle of Man respectively.<ref name="UNESCO Languages">{{cite web |title=Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026/PDF/187026eng.pdf.multi |website=unesdoc.unesco.org |access-date=31 December 2022 |pages=39–40,164–165,182–183 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920200715/https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026/PDF/187026eng.pdf.multi |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Norman language|Norman languages]] of [[Jèrriais]] and [[Guernésiais]] are spoken in Jersey and Guernsey, though are listed as endangered due to the increasing prominence of English in the islands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/8649|title=Endangered Languages Project – Jèrriais|language=en|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211112813/http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/8649|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sallabank |first=Julia |date=1 July 2013 |title=Can majority support save an endangered language? A case study of language attitudes in Guernsey |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.794808 |journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=332–347 |doi=10.1080/01434632.2013.794808 |s2cid=144265439 |issn=0143-4632 |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918133916/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01434632.2013.794808 |url-status=live }}</ref>

While not the most common first languages in any country, [[Sámi languages]] such as [[North Sámi]], [[Lule Sámi]] and [[South Sámi]] are spoken in the transnational region of [[Sápmi]] and are listed as endangered.<ref name="UNESCO Languages"/>

===Religion===
{{See also|Reformation#Reformation outside Germany|label1=§ Reformation outside Germany}}
During the [[Early Middle Ages]], the [[Roman Catholic Church]] expanded into Northern Europe and spread [[Christianity]] among the [[Germanic peoples]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tanner |first1=Norman |title=New Short History of the Catholic Church |page=41}}</ref> Christianity reached the peoples of [[Scandinavia]] and the [[Baltic region]] in later centuries. The [[Latin alphabet]] <!-- replacing the [[runic alphabet]] in parts of [[Scandinavia]] and [[England]] -->along with the influence of [[Western Christianity]] spread northward from [[Rome]], leading to written [[English language|English]], [[German language|German]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], [[Latvian language|Latvian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Estonian language|Estonian]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Sami languages]]. The [[Sámi]] were the last peoples to be converted in the 18th century.<ref>Kenneth Scott Latourette, ''A history of expansion of Christianity. Vol 2. The thousand years of uncertainty: AD 500–AD 1500'' (1938) pp. 106–43.</ref>