The difference between being Scandinavian and Nordic:
Have you ever been corrected in Finland when you called a Finn "Scandinavian"? Or perhaps this has happened to you in Iceland? Is Denmark a Nordic country? Are the Danes actually Scandinavians?
Although in the rest of the world the words "Scandinavian" and "Nordic" are happily used in similar manner and are interchangeable, in northern Europe they are not. Europeans love to magnify even the smallest difference between neighbouring countries and you will probably be corrected if you don't use the words in their appropriate context. The problem comes when even Europeans themselves can't agree on the meaning of "Scandinavian" and "Nordic"...
Where is Scandinavia:
Greeks and Romans were the first to write about Scandinavia. They knew little about the region, which was populated by tribes from Germania. Geographically speaking, the Scandinavian peninsula is a territory shared by Norway, Sweden and northern Finland. The Scandinavian countries would therefore only be Norway and Sweden in that case.
Linguistically, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish have a common word called "Skandinavien" which refers to the ancient territories of the Norsemen, and for most people in these three countries "Scandinavia" consists only of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. This one is considered to be the most commonly accepted definition of "Scandinavia".
However, Iceland was also a Norse territory and Icelandic belongs to the same linguistic family as Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. And so do the Faroe Islands. Therefore, you will find that many non-Scandinavian travelers connect Scandinavia to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.
And finally, Swedish language is also spoken partially in Finland and reciprocally, the Finnish language is spoken in Norway and Sweden. Again, we have a new definition, which would include Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland.
Culturally and historically, the north of Europe has been the political playground of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Finland was a part of the kingdom of Sweden, and Iceland belonged to Norway and Denmark. Besides a common history, politically and economically these five countries have followed a similar model known as the Nordic welfare state since the 20th century.
What are the "Nordic countries":
In such a state of linguistic and geographical confusion, the French came to help us all and invented the term "Pays Nordiques" or "Nordic Countries", which has become a common term to bring together Scandinavia, Iceland and Finland under the same umbrella.
The Baltic countries and Greenland:
The Baltic countries are the three young Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Neither the Baltic countries nor Greenland are considered Scandinavian or Nordic. However, there is a close relation between the Nordic countries and the Baltics and Greenland: The Baltic republics have been strongly influenced, culturally and historically, by the Scandinavian countries.
The same applies to Greenland, a territory which is closer to America than to Europe, but that belongs politically to the kingdom of Denmark. Half of Greenland's historical and cultural heritage is Scandinavian and therefore these strong ties often bring Greenland together with the Nordic countries.
