Finnmark (ˈfɪ̀nːmɑrk; Finnmárku ˈfinːmaːrku; Finmarku; Ruija ˈrui̯jɑ; Финнмарк) is a former county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024.
On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouring county of Troms to form the new Troms og Finnmark county. On 1 January 2024, the county will be demerged back to the counties Finnmark and Troms, after a decision made by parliament on 15 June 2022.
By land, it bordered 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.
The county was formerly known as Finmarkens amt or Vardøhus amt. Starting in 2002, it had two official names: Finnmark (Norwegian) and Finnmárku (Northern Sami). It was 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.
Four municipalities (of the district's 18) had population increases during Q1 in 2021: Alta, Tana, Berlevåg, Loppa.
HedmarkTelemark and Marches
The name, Finnmark, derives from the Old Norse Finnmǫrk: The first element is finn(ar), the Norse name for the Sámi people, and 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 place where Sámi people lived.
The coat of arms is black with a gold-colored castle tower—its blazon reads, "Sable, a single-towered castle Or". The design is from 1967 and shows the old Vardøhus Fortress, historically on the eastern border with Russia.
Finnmark is the northernmost and easternmost county in Norway (Svalbard is not considered a county).