# Baltic region

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Geographical region in Europe

Not to be confused with [Baltic states](/source/Baltic_states).

Countries surrounding the [Baltic Sea](/source/Baltic_Sea)

The **Baltic Sea Region**, alternatively the **Baltic Rim countries** (or simply the **Baltic Rim**), and the **Baltic Sea countries/states**, refers to the general area surrounding the [Baltic Sea](/source/Baltic_Sea), including parts of [Northern](/source/Northern_Europe), [Central](/source/Central_Europe) and [Eastern Europe](/source/Eastern_Europe).[1][2][3] Unlike the "[Baltic states](/source/Baltic_states)", the Baltic region includes all countries that border the sea.

## Etymology

Main article: [Baltic (name)](/source/Baltic_Sea#Etymology_and_nomenclature)

The first to name it the *Baltic Sea* ([Latin](/source/Latin_language): *Mare Balticum*) was 11th century German chronicler [Adam of Bremen](/source/Adam_of_Bremen).

## Denotation

Depending on the context the *Baltic Sea Region* might stand for:

- The countries that have shorelines along the Baltic Sea: [Denmark](/source/Denmark), [Estonia](/source/Estonia), [Finland](/source/Finland), [Germany](/source/Germany), [Latvia](/source/Latvia), [Lithuania](/source/Lithuania), [Poland](/source/Poland), [Russia](/source/Russia), and [Sweden](/source/Sweden).

- The group of countries that are members of the inter-governmental *[Baltic Assembly](/source/Baltic_Assembly)* and *[Baltic Council of Ministers](/source/Baltic_Council_of_Ministers)*,[4] and generally referred to by the shorthand, [Baltic states](/source/Baltic_states):[5][6][7] Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and [Kaliningrad Oblast](/source/Kaliningrad_Oblast) of Russia, exclaved from the remainder of Russia.[8]

- Historic [East Prussia](/source/East_Prussia) and the historical [lands](/source/Nation) of [Livonia](/source/Livonia), [Courland](/source/Courland) and Estonia ([Swedish Estonia](/source/Swedish_Estonia) and [Russian Estonia](/source/Russian_Estonia)).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

- The former [Baltic governorates](/source/Baltic_governorates) of [Imperial Russia](/source/Imperial_Russia): Today's Estonia and Latvia (excluding parts of modern Eastern Latvia that were part of [Vitebsk Governorate](/source/Vitebsk_Governorate)).[9]

- The countries on the historical [British](/source/British_Empire) trade route through the Baltic Sea, i.e. including the [Scandinavian Peninsula](/source/Scandinavian_Peninsula) ([Sweden](/source/Sweden) and [Norway](/source/Norway)).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

- The [negotiating members](/source/Warsaw_Accord) of the Grand [Baltic Entente](/source/Baltic_Entente) also known as the Baltic League: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland.[10]

- Members of the [Council of the Baltic Sea States](/source/Council_of_the_Baltic_Sea_States) (CBSS),[11] are the countries[a] with shorelines along the Baltic Sea, in addition to [Norway](/source/Norway), [Iceland](/source/Iceland) and the [European Commission](/source/European_Commission).

- The islands of the [Euroregion](/source/Euroregion) [B7 Baltic Islands Network](/source/B7_Baltic_Islands_Network), which includes the islands and archipelagos [Åland](/source/%C3%85land) (autonomous region of [Finland](/source/Finland)), [Bornholm](/source/Bornholm) ([Denmark](/source/Denmark)), [Gotland](/source/Gotland) ([Sweden](/source/Sweden)), [Hiiumaa](/source/Hiiumaa) (Estonia), [Öland](/source/%C3%96land) ([Sweden](/source/Sweden)), [Rügen](/source/R%C3%BCgen) ([Germany](/source/Germany)), and [Saaremaa](/source/Saaremaa) (Estonia).[13]

- On historic [Scandinavian](/source/Scandinavian_languages) and [German](/source/German_language) maps, the *Balticum* sometimes includes only the historically or culturally German-dominated lands, or provinces, of Estonia, [Livonia](/source/Livonia), [Courland](/source/Courland) and [Latgale](/source/Latgale) (corresponding to modern [Estonia](/source/Estonia) and Latvia), [East Prussia](/source/East_Prussia), [Samogitia](/source/Samogitia) (corresponding to modern Western Lithuania) as well as sometimes [Pomerania](/source/Pomerania), [Kashubia](/source/Kashubia), while the historically less-Germanized [Eastern Lithuania](/source/Lithuania_proper) is occasionally excluded.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

- In geology, the [Baltic Shield](/source/Baltic_Shield) includes [Fennoscandia](/source/Fennoscandia), parts of northwestern Russia and the northern Baltic Sea.[14][15]

## See also

- [Baltia](/source/Baltia) (Roman mythology)

- [Baltic states](/source/Baltic_states)

- [Baltoscandia](/source/Baltoscandia)

- [Council of the Baltic Sea States](/source/Council_of_the_Baltic_Sea_States)

- [List of Intangible Cultural Heritage elements in Northern Europe](/source/List_of_Intangible_Cultural_Heritage_elements_in_Northern_Europe)

- [Nordic identity in Estonia](/source/Nordic_identity_in_Estonia)

- [Northern Dimension](/source/Northern_Dimension)

- [North Sea Region](/source/North_Sea_Region)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** State members of CBSS: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden.[12]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Baltic Sea"](https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-Sea). *Britannica*. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region"](https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/cooperation/macro-regional-strategies/baltic-sea_en). *European Commission*. Retrieved 9 July 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Programme Factsheet"](https://interreg-baltic.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2024.01.08_IBSR_FactSheet.pdf) (PDF). *Interreg Baltic Sea Region*. January 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Unity_4-0)** Republic of Estonia; Republic of Latvia; Republic of Lithuania (1994). [*Declaration on Unity and Co-operation by the Republic of Estonia, Republic of Latvia and Republic of Lithuania*](https://web.archive.org/web/20190507094857/https://vm.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/web-static/063/1990_05_12_deklaratsioon_Balti_yhtsusest_ja_koostoost.pdf) (PDF). Council of Baltic States. Archived from [the original](https://vm.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/web-static/409/2003_11_28_BMN_pohikiri_allkirjadega_eng.pdf) (PDF) on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-EB-Baltic_5-0)** Misiunas, Romuald J; Bater, James H (25 May 2006). "Baltic states". [*Encyclopædia Britannica*](https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-states) (Online ed.). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080611102707/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-37264/Baltic-states) from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-LatviaFA_6-0)** Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia. ["Co-operation among the Baltic States"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081204065713/http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/eu/BalticSeaRegion/BalticStates/). *Republic of Latvia*. Archived from [the original](http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/eu/BalticSeaRegion/BalticStates/) on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-EstoniaFA_7-0)** Republic of Estonia. ["Baltic Cooperation"](https://vm.ee/en/baltic-cooperation). *Ministry of Foreign Affairs*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170506193534/http://www.vm.ee/en/baltic-cooperation) from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-GSEn_ПЭР_8-0)** «The Baltic region includes the Baltic republics and the Kaliningrad region of the RSFSR "» — *[Baltic region](http://bse.sci-lib.com/article{{{1}}}.html)* in the *[Great Soviet Encyclopedia](/source/Great_Soviet_Encyclopedia)* (in Russian) – via Great Scientific Library

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Gibson, Catherine (29 March 2022). *Geographies of Nationhood: Cartography, Science, and Society in the Russian Imperial Baltic*. Oxford University Press. pp. 6–7. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/oso/9780192844323.003.0001](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Foso%2F9780192844323.003.0001). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780192844323](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780192844323).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Townsend, Mary Evelyn (September 1921). *The Baltic States*. The Institute of international education.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ecCBSS_11-0)** [European Commission](/source/European_Commission). ["CBSS - Council of Baltic Sea States"](https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/organisation/cbss-council-baltic-sea-states_en). *knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu*. European Union. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215704/https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/organisation/cbss-council-baltic-sea-states_en) from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021. The Council of the Baltic Sea States is an overall political forum for regional inter-governmental cooperation. The Members of the Council are the eleven states of the Baltic Sea Region as well as the European Commission.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Council of the Baltic Sea States. ["CBSS - About Us"](https://cbss.org/organisation/about-us/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210510051511/https://cbss.org/organisation/about-us/) from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-b7charter_14-0)** B7 Steering Committee (8 September 2004). ["Charter of the B7"](https://discomap.eea.europa.eu/map/Data/Milieu/OURCOAST_098_Baltic/OURCOAST_098_Baltic_Doc2_BalticSevenCharter.pdf) (PDF). *B7 Baltic Islands Network*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210614094138/https://discomap.eea.europa.eu/map/Data/Milieu/OURCOAST_098_Baltic/OURCOAST_098_Baltic_Doc2_BalticSevenCharter.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_numeric_names:_authors_list))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-EB2004_15-0)** Dunbar, Moira (2004). "Arctic: Geology". [*Encyclopædia Britannica*](https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic#ref57843). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220824100437/https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic#ref57843) from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Beck2008_16-0)** Beckholmen, Monica; Tirén, Sven A (September 2008). ["The geological history of the Baltic Sea: A review of the literature and investigation tools"](https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/servlets/purl/963502). *Swedish Radiation Safety Authority - Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2000-0456](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2000-0456). Report number: 2009:21. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181220/https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/servlets/purl/963502) from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

## Further reading

- Norbert Götz. ["Spatial Politics and Fuzzy Regionalism: The Case of the Baltic Sea Area."](https://balticworlds.com/spatial-politics-fuzzy-regionalism/) *Baltic Worlds* 9 (2016) 3: 54–67.

- Maciejewski, Witold, ed. (2002). *The Baltic Sea region: cultures, politics, societies*. Uppsala: Baltic University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-91-973579-8-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-91-973579-8-2).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Baltic region](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Baltic_region).

- [Official website](https://cbss.org) of the Council of the Baltic Sea States

- [The Baltic Sea Information Centre](https://web.archive.org/web/20080208170859/http://itameri.kyamk.fi/e.html) (archived 8 February 2008)

- [EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy](http://balticsea-region-strategy.eu/) (EUSBSR) – a strategy aiming to accelerate the integration of the region

- [The Baltic University Programme](https://web.archive.org/web/20100610233030/http://www.balticuniv.uu.se/index.php) – a university network focused on a sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region (archived 10 June 2010)

- [Baltic Sea Region Spatial Planning Initiative VASAB](https://www.vasab.org/)

- [Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007–2013](http://eu.baltic.net/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210412230308/http://eu.baltic.net/) 12 April 2021 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

- [Vifanord](https://portal.vifanord.de/) – a digital library that provides scientific information on the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as the Baltic region as a whole.

v t e Countries bordering the Baltic Sea Denmark Estonia Finland Åland Lapland Germany Schleswig-Holstein Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Latvia Lithuania Poland West Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship Russia Kaliningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast Sweden

v t e Earth's primary regions and subregions Worlds Down Under New World Old World Three/Four Worlds First World Second World Third World Fourth World Hemispheres Eastern Hemisphere Northern Hemisphere Southern Hemisphere Western Hemisphere Land and water hemispheres Landmasses Africa-Eurasia Eurasia America Antarctica Australia Zealandia submerged Continents Africa North Maghreb Sub-Saharan Central East Horn Great Lakes Southern West Antarctica East Antarctica Antarctic Plateau Transantarctic Mountains West Antarctica Antarctic Peninsula Asia East Northeast Southeast Mainland Maritime Central Aral Sea Aralkum Desert Caspian Sea North Siberia Ural Russian Far East Northeast South Indian subcontinent Subregions West Arabian Peninsula Caucasus South Caucasus Levant Dead Sea Levantine corridor Levantine Sea Near East Other regions Himalayan Himalayan states Indian region Inner Asia Greater Central Asia Europe Eastern Balkans Caucasus North Caucasus South Caucasus Southern Russia European Russia Southeastern Northern Baltic British Isles Nordic Northwestern Scandinavia Scandinavian Peninsula Southern Mediterranean Middle East Italy Italian Peninsula Southeastern Balkan Peninsula Southwestern Iberian Peninsula Western Atlantic Low Countries Northwestern Other regions Central Europe By language Celtic Germanic Romance Slavic Macaronesia North America Northern America Californias Greenland Great Lakes Pacific Northwest Western North America United States Appalachia Bible Belt Eastern East Coast Northern Southeast Southwest U.S. Census regions South South Atlantic West South Central East South Central Northeast Middle Atlantic New England West Pacific Mountain Midwest East North Central West North Central Canada Atlantic Canadian Prairies Central Eastern Northern Western Middle America Aridoamerica Northern Mexico Mesoamerica Bajío Huasteca Tierra Caliente Valley of Mexico Caribbean Greater Dutch Western West Indies Central America Northern Triangle Mosquito Coast Oceania Australasia Australia Mainland Australia New Guinea Tasmania Zealandia Melanesia Island Melanesia Micronesia Near Oceania Polynesia Remote Oceania South America Amazon Plain Amazon Basin Amazon Rainforest Andean States Brazilian Highlands Caribbean South America Colombian Venezuelan The Guianas Southern Cone Patagonia Tierra del Fuego Geopolitical regions Global East Heartland North Northeast Northwest South Southeast Southwest West Asia-Pacific Far East Pacific Asia Sinosphere Greater China Indosphere Greater India Europe, the Middle East and Africa Mediterranean Greater Middle East Middle East and North Africa Middle East Arab world Mashriq Maghreb Greater Iran Iranian Plateau Americas Anglo Dutch French Latin America and the Caribbean Latin Ibero Hispanic Portuguese Islands By continent Africa Americas North America Caribbean Central America South America Antarctica Asia Europe by area by population Oceania Australia New Zealand By ocean Arctic Atlantic Baltic Sea Black Sea Caribbean Sea Irish Sea Mediterranean Sea Adriatic Sea Aegean Sea Ionian Sea Indian Persian Gulf Pacific East China Sea South China Sea Southern Oceans Antarctic/Southern Antarctic Convergence Arctic Atlantic Indian Pacific Great Barrier Reef Mariana Trench Challenger Deep Ring of Fire World Ocean Other waterbodies Lakes lists Rivers Seas Rim Arctic Atlantic Indo-Mediterranean Indian Ocean Mediterranean Pacific Polar Antarctic Arctic Tectonic plates African Plate Antarctic Plate Arabian Plate Caribbean Plate Cocos Plate Eurasian Plate Indo-Australian Plate Australian Plate Indian Plate Juan de Fuca Plate Nazca Plate North American Plate Pacific Plate Philippine Sea Plate Scotia Plate Somali Plate South American Plate Continents of Earth / List of seas / Physical Earth

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Baltic region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_region) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_region?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.