Arctic Ocean countries
The six countries with an Arctic Ocean coast, five of which ring the ocean itself, and Iceland, whose north coast faces it across the Greenland Sea.
6 countriesAs of September 2026Short notes, not sourcedSuggest a correction
The Arctic is the smallest and shallowest of the world’s oceans, about 14 million km², and much of it is covered by sea ice, thickest in winter and thinnest in September. The ice has shrunk sharply since satellite records began in 1979, and the summer Arctic may be almost ice-free within decades.
As the ice retreats, shipping routes along the coasts of Russia and Canada, and the oil, gas and fish of the Arctic, are becoming easier to reach. Five countries, the Arctic Five, ring the ocean, and they agreed in 2008 that the law of the sea, not a new treaty, would settle their claims to its seabed.
The Arctic Five5
RussiaHas about half of the ocean’s coastline. It planted a flag on the seabed at the North Pole in 2007, and claims much of the seabed along the Lomonosov Ridge.
CanadaIts Arctic Archipelago holds the Northwest Passage, which Canada counts as its own waters and others as an international strait.
United StatesThrough Alaska’s north coast, on the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.
DenmarkThrough Greenland, whose Cape Morris Jesup is one of the northernmost points of land on Earth.
NorwayIts northern coast and the Svalbard islands face the Barents Sea. Warm Atlantic water keeps its ports free of ice all year.
The sixth1
IcelandIts north coast faces the Greenland Sea, which is often counted as part of the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Circle touches only its island of Grímsey.
Close calls
Finland and Sweden
Both reach well north of the Arctic Circle and are on the Arctic Council, but neither has an Arctic Ocean coast: Norway and Russia lie between them and the sea.
Where the ocean ends
The line between the Arctic and the Atlantic is drawn differently by different bodies. Counted narrowly, it passes north of Iceland, which is why Iceland is sometimes left off the list.
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