Relationship dossier
Finland
Norway
Relationship assessment
Close Nordic partners with growing defense and security cooperation
Finland toward Norway
+70Finland cooperates with Norway through Nordic defense cooperation and NATO. Finland’s 2023 accession to NATO strengthened the framework for security coordination with Norway.
Norway toward Finland
+70Norway cooperates with Finland through Nordic defense cooperation and NATO, and supported Finland’s accession to NATO in 2023.
Overall relationship
+70The relationship is characterized by sustained Nordic cooperation and aligned security interests, reinforced by Finland’s NATO membership and Norway’s support for its accession. Participation in shared defense frameworks provides a durable basis for cooperation, alongside coordination on northern regional concerns.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Finland and Norway maintain a close relationship grounded in sustained Nordic cooperation and increasingly integrated security ties. Both participate in NORDEFCO, and Norway supported Finland’s accession to NATO, which Finland joined in 2023. Their cooperation also includes practical coordination on northern and Arctic issues. No major bilateral dispute is prominent in the relationship.
Key developments
Finland joined NATO, bringing it into the alliance alongside Norway; Norway supported Finland’s accession.
Finland and Norway cooperate through NORDEFCO, the Nordic Defence Cooperation framework.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral defense cooperation beyond Nordic and NATO frameworks are unclear.
- The extent of current bilateral coordination on Arctic and Sámi-related issues is uncertain.