The Arctic (often misspelled as “artic”) is the polar region at the very top (north) of the Earth, centered on the North Pole and the Arctic Ocean.

Where the Arctic is

  • The Arctic occupies the northernmost part of the planet, surrounding the North Pole and covering the Arctic Ocean plus the far north of several continents.
  • It is commonly defined as the area north of the Arctic Circle, a line of latitude at about 66.5° north of the equator.

Countries in the Arctic

  • Land within the Arctic belongs to eight main states: Canada, the United States (Alaska), Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland.
  • These areas include northern coastal regions and islands such as Greenland, Svalbard, and northern Alaska, all bordering or reaching into the Arctic Ocean.

What the Arctic includes

  • The region includes sea ice, the Arctic Ocean, tundra landscapes, and northern forests, together making up roughly 4% of Earth’s surface.
  • Around 4 million people live in the Arctic, including many Indigenous communities who have adapted to its extreme cold and seasonal light and darkness.

TL;DR: “Where is the artic?” → It is the northern polar region of Earth, mostly everything north of the Arctic Circle, centered on the Arctic Ocean and shared by eight countries.