Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined region of Europe, overlapping northern and western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically.
Geographically, Northwestern Europe usually consists of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Northern Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.Luxembourg, Northern France,Southern Germany, and Switzerland are also often considered part of the grouping.Austria is also sometimes defined as Northwestern Europe, though less frequently.Southern France is not regarded as northwestern, and it is usually geographically and culturally considered part of the Mediterranean region or Southern Europe. Due to its geographically eastern position and unique status as a Finnic language country, Finland is sometimes geographically and culturally excluded from Northwestern Europe. Similarly, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, although considered part of Northern Europe, are excluded due to their geographically eastern positions and connections to the rest of Eastern Europe. The term is helpful when discussing issues of climate or biology.