About this publication

State of the Nordic Region 2026

Editors: Maria Bobrinskaya and Thomas Niedomysl

Authors: Karina Berbert Bruno, Debora Pricila Birgier, Ágúst Bogason, Maja Brynteson, Hjördis Gudmundsdottir, Timothy Heleniak, Anna Lundgren, Daniel Pils, Nora Sánchez Gassen, Elin Slätmo, Madelene Sonesson, Carlos Tapia, Hedda Thomson Ek and Patrik Tornberg

Data and maps: Karina Berbert Bruno, Debora Pricila Birgier, Hjördis Gudmundsdottir, Timothy Heleniak, Daniel Pils, Nora Sánchez Gassen, Elin Slätmo, Madelene Sonesson, Hedda Thomson Ek and Patrik Tornberg

Nordregio Report 2026:2
ISBN: 978-91-8001-189-1 (digital)
ISBN: 978-91-8001-190-7 (PDF)
ISBN: 978-91-8001-191-4 (print)
ISSN: 1403-2503
DOI: http://doi.org/10.6027/R2026:2.1403-2503

Layout: Agger Grafisk Design
Communication: Miia Itänen, Annika Östman and Marija Zelenkauske
Cover photo: iStock
Print: Allduplo

Printed in Sweden

Acknowledgements

State of the Nordic Region 2026 report has been developed by Nordregio with Maria Bobrinskaya and Thomas Niedomysl as the editors. Nora Sánchez Gassen, Anna Lundgren and Carlos Tapia coordinated the writing process with researchers and GIS analysts from Nordregio. Miia Itänen and Annika Östman oversaw the communication activities related to the report. Mette Agger Tang and Marija Zelenkauske contributed to the layout process.

In addition to the editors and authors from Nordregio, Gustaf Norlén, Johan Flink and Linus Owman gave valuable inputs and comments in the review process. We also want to thank Rolf Elmér, Nordregio Director, and the Nordregio board - Kasper Lykke Kirkelund Søndergaard, Erik Vieth Pedersen, Maria Eriksson, Olli Voutilainen, Björn Ingi Óskarsson, Katarina Fellman, and Eyðun Christiansen - as well as colleagues at the NCM secretariat and committees for their support.

About Nordregio and Nordic cooperation

Nordregio is a leading Nordic and European research centre for regional development and planning, established by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 1997. We conduct solution-oriented and applied research, addressing current issues from both a research perspective and the viewpoint of policymakers and practitioners. Operating at the international, national, regional, and local levels, Nordregio’s research covers a wide geographic scope, with an emphasis on the Nordic and Baltic Sea Regions, Europe, and the Arctic.

Nordic cooperation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. Nordic co-operation has firm traditions in politics, the economy, and culture. It plays an important role in European and international collaboration and aims at creating a strong Nordic community in a strong Europe. Nordic cooperation seeks to safeguard Nordic and regional interests and principles in the global community and position the Nordic Region as one of the most integrated and sustainable regions in the world.

Nordregio
P.O. Box 1658
SE-111 86 Stockholm, Sweden
nordregio@nordregio.org
www.nordregio.org