The current state of the social sphere in many countries, including Russia, is one of  the sensitive issues in  their socio-economic development. On  the one hand, the population’s demands for the availability of quality social services and the expansion of their spectrum are growing, and on the other, states are not always able to satisfy these requirements due to  the lack of  necessary financial, technological and innovative resources. Such situation leads to the necessity of finding ways and instruments that expand the capabilities of states to meet the social needs of the population. One of such instruments is a public-private partnership, which has already established itself in many sectors of the economy, including the social sphere. The aim of the study is to expand knowledge of public-private partnerships in the social sphere of the European Arctic countries and to determine the possibility of using this experience in the Russian Arctic territories. The research involves methods of logic and content analysis, also the case study method is used. The study has proved that in order to solve problems in the social sphere, cooperation between the state and business is an extreme necessity. Social problems are especially acute in territories with extreme living conditions, which include the Russian Arctic. And it is in the Arctic where there are conditions for the development of public-private partnership, since the interests of business and the state coincide in increasing the level of social development of territories. Business needs educated, qualified, healthy labor potential, adapted to the conditions of the Arctic, ensuring an increase in the efficiency of companies’ activities, and the state needs conditions that ensure a high quality of life for the population, national interests and sustainable development of th e Arctic territories.