Finnmark (Northern Sami: Finnmárku; Kven: Finmarku; Finnish: Ruija) is a former county in the northern part of Norway, scheduled to become a county again on 1 January 2024, when it will be demerged back to the counties Finnmark and Troms. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland (Lapland region) to the south, and Russia (Murmansk Oblast) to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea (Atlantic Ocean) to the northwest, and the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean) to the north and northeast. Since 2002, it has had two official names: Finnmark (Norwegian) and Finnmárku (Northern Sami). It is part of the Sápmi region, which spans four countries, as well as the Barents Region, and is the largest and least populated county of Norway. Situated at the northernmost part of continental Europe, where the Norwegian coastline swings eastward, Finnmark is an area “where East meets West,” in culture as well as in nature and geography. Vardø, the easternmost municipality in Norway, is located farther east than the cities of Saint Petersburg and Istanbul.
Alta, Tana, Berlevåg and Loppa municipalities had population increases during Q1 in 2021. The name Finnmark derives from the Old Norse form of the name Finnmǫrk: the first element is finn(ar), the Norse name for the Sámi people. The last element is mǫrk which means “woodland” or “borderland”. In Norse times the name referred to the land of the Sami people, or any places where Sámi people lived. The coat of arms is black with a gold-colored castle tower: the design is from 1967 and shows the old Vardøhus Fortress, historically on the eastern border with Russia. As Svalbard is not considered a county, Finnmark is the northernmost and easternmost county in Norway; it is Norway’s largest county and, with a population of about 75,000, it is also the least populated of all Norwegian counties. Finnmark has a total coastline of 6,844 kilometres, including 3,155 kilometres of coastline on the islands. Nearly 12,300 people or 16.6% of the county’s population in 2000 was living in the 100-meter belt along the coastline. The nature varies from barren coastal areas facing the Barents Sea, to more sheltered fjord areas and river valleys with gullies and tree vegetation: about half of the county is above the tree line, and large parts of the other half are covered with small Downy birch. The interior parts of the county are part of the great Finnmarksvidda plateau, with an elevation of 300 to 400 m, with numerous lakes and river valleys. The plateau makes up 36% of the county’s area and is famous for its tens of thousands of reindeer owned by the Sami, and swarms of mosquitos in mid-summer. Stabbursdalen National Park ensures protection for the world’s most northern pine forest.
The Tana River, which partly defines the border with Finland, gives the largest catch of salmon of all rivers in Europe, and also has the world record for Atlantic salmon, 36 kg. In the east, the Pasvikelva defines the border with Russia. There are eleven airports, but only Alta Airport, Lakselv-Banak Airport, and Kirkenes-Høybuktmoen Airport have direct flights to Oslo. In addition, Lakselv-Banak Airport in Porsanger is used for training by the Royal Norwegian Air Force and other NATO allies, in conjunction with the nearby Halkavarre shooting range. People have lived in Finnmark for at least 10,000 years (see Komsa, Pit-Comb Ware culture and Rock carvings at Alta). The destiny of these early cultures is unknown, but three ethnic groups have a long history in Finnmark: the Sami people, the Norwegian people, and the Kven people. Of these, the Sami probably were the first people to explore Finnmark.
