The Barents Region

1. Territory and Population

Total population: approx. 5.3 million people

The surface area of the Barents Region, 1 755 800 sq. km, equals the combined area of France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The population density is on average only 3,5 inhabitants per square kilometre. It varies from 0,3 (Nenets) to 8 (Oulu) inhabitants. Comparisons; France 106 inhab./sq. km, Netherlands 375 inhab./sq. km.

The Saamì people is at home in all four states that belong to the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC). The regional co-operation includes two more indigenous peoples: the Nenets and the Vepsian.

The largest city in the Barents Region (in 2011) is Archangelsk (Russia) with 356 000 inhabitants followed by Murmansk with a population of 307 000. The largest Nordic city in the region is Oulu (Finland) with 144 000 inhabitants followed by Umeå (Sweden) with a population of 114 000.

The “youngest” part of the Barents Region is Arctic Norway and Swedish Västerbotten where most inhabitants are between 20 and 29 years old. In the remaining part of the Barents Region the largest population group is that of persons aged between 40 and 49.

2. Key Events in the History of the Region

East-West border crossing trade and relations in this area go back all the way to the Stone Age. Archaeological findings indicate periods of most intensive exchange. Any map tells how the Sami have influenced the names of lakes, mountains and places in all four states in the Region. One finds words such as “jokk”, “jaur” and “tunturi” on all sides of the borders. Key events in recorded history are:

• 890 - Norwegian Viking chieftain Ottar reports to the English king Alfred the Great that most of the area was sparsely populated by hunters and fishers that he called “Ter-Lapps”.
• 1000-1200 - The first Russian state, Novgorod, gradually takes over the territories along the coast of the White Sea.
• 1300-1500 - Military expeditions are sent from Karelia to Norway and vice-versa in attempts to dominate the region.
• 1553 - The English explorer Richard Chancellor arrives at the river Dvina and establishes trade Moscow-Britain via this northern river.
• 1570-1595 - Swedish raids against northern Karelia and the Kola Peninsula.
• 1584 - Archangel, i.e. Arkhangelsk, is founded at the estuary of the Dvina river, greatly due to foreign trade, and soon dominates the Russian part of the region.
• 1596-1597 - The final voyage of  the Dutch explorer Willem Barents, who never reached the Far East but who made important discoveries in the Arctic. Much later, in 1878 the Finnish-Swedish explorer Adolf Nordenskiöld manages to sail through the North-East Passage.
• 1740-1918 - - Intensive and mutually advantageous trade between Arctic Norway and Northwest Russia (the Pomor trade) that even led to a common “language”: Russenorsk.
• 1944 - German troops that tried three years to reach the ice-free port of Murmansk were driven out of Finnish Petsamo and Norwegian Kirkenes by the Soviet Army.
• 1987 - The General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party Mikhail Gorbachev encourages a new form of co-operation between the East and West in the North.
• 1993 - The Kirkenes Declaration is signed, establishing the Barents Euro-Arctic Council.
• Read more on the history from here .

3. Natural Resources

The Barents Region is Europe’s richest region as far as natural resources are concerned. Both the figures for unexploited and exploited minerals, gas and oil deposits are staggering. More than one third of the Nordic part and more than half of the Russian part of the Region belong to the same huge forest belt. The most significant tree species are pine, spruce and birch. The northern location with slow growth gives high quality timber.

The Kola Peninsula has some of the most important mineral deposits in all Russia. More than 700 different minerals - one quarter of all known minerals on earth - have been found in this region and form the basis for most settlements in the County of Murmansk. Swedish Norrbotten has deposits of iron ore of international significance. Arkhangelsk and Komi have important bauxite and fluorite deposits as well as valuable diamond deposits. Finnish Kainuu also has deposits of ores, although mostly unexploited at the present time.

The Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea and the County of Arkhangelsk abound in oil and gas. Important deposits have been found, especially in the Timan-Pechora river area in Nenets and Komi. The oil and gas resources offer great potential for the future economic development. Arkhangelsk has considerable reserves of coal. The main part of the Region’s nature and energy resources have not yet been developed.

More information and links  to natural resources.

4. Infrastructure, Industry and Tourism

Hydro-electric power is produced in the whole Barents Region, except for Arkhangelsk. Almost all electric energy in the Nordic part of BEAR comes from hydro-electric power stations. Electric energy in Murmansk mainly comes from the Kola nuclear power plant.

The road and railway systems are well-developed in the Nordic part of BEAR while the rail network in NW Russia is better developed than the roads. There is a general lack in the whole Region of roads and railways that run east-west, although this deficit is now being addressed. Some east-west flight connections within the Region were established with the inception of the BEAC.

Manufacturing accounts for 55-70 per cent of the GDP in the Russian part of the Barents Region while the same sector in the Nordic parts of the Region accounts for 13-33 per cent. About 7 per cent of the total work force is employed in agriculture, forestry, fishing and reindeer husbandry. The military has been a significant employer in e.g. Finnish Kajaani, Norwegian Bardu, Russian Severomorsk and Swedish Boden.

The EU is the main trade partner of the Russian Barents counties, but the trade between the Nordic countries and NW Russia could be much higher.

Exotic and unique tourist areas such as Lapland, the North Cape, the Solovetsky Islands and the home of Santa Claus are found in the Barents Region.

See for more information on business and tourism  in the region.