Greenland is an
autonomous territory
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree o ...
in the
Kingdom of Denmark
The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...
. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
. Citizens of Greenland are full
citizens of Denmark and
of the European Union. Greenland is one of the
Overseas Countries and Territories
The special territories of members of the European Economic Area (EEA) are the 32 special territories of EU member states and EFTA member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside t ...
of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and is part of the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
.
It is the
world's largest island, and lies between the
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
and Atlantic oceans, east of the
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, which is, by itself, much larger ...
. It is the location of the northernmost point of land in the world;
Kaffeklubben Island
Kaffeklubben Island or Coffee Club Island (; ) is an uninhabited island lying off the northern shore of Greenland. It contains the undisputed northernmost point of land on Earth.
History
Kaffeklubben Island does not appear to have ever been ...
off the northern coast is the world's
northernmost undisputed point of land—
Cape Morris Jesup
Cape Morris Jesup () is a headland in Peary Land, Greenland.
Geography
Cape Morris Jesup is the northernmost point of mainland Greenland, the northernmost point of any mainland, and the northernmost land point on Earth except for the small isl ...
on the mainland was thought to be so until the 1960s. The capital and largest city is
Nuuk
Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...
.
[ Economically, Greenland is heavily reliant on aid from Denmark, amounting to nearly half of the territory's total public revenue.
Though a part of the continent of ]North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with the Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an kingdoms of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and Denmark for more than a millennium, beginning in 986.[The Fate of Greenland's Vikings](_blank)
, by Dale Mackenzie Brown, ''Archaeological Institute of America'', 28 February 2000 Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by circumpolar peoples
Circumpolar peoples and Arctic peoples are umbrella terms for the various indigenous peoples of the Arctic region.
Approximately four million people are resident in the Arctic, among which 10 percent are indigenous peoples belonging to a vast nu ...
whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen
The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...
from Norway settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century (having previously settled Iceland), and their descendants lived in Greenland for 400 years until disappearing in the late 15th century. The 13th century saw the arrival of Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
.
From the late 15th century, the Portuguese attempted to find the northern route to Asia, which ultimately led to the earliest cartographic depiction of its coastline. In the 17th century, Dano-Norwegian
Dano-Norwegian (Danish language, Danish and ) was a Koine language, koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Denmark–Norway, Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1 ...
explorers reached Greenland again, finding their earlier settlement extinct and reestablishing a permanent Scandinavian presence on the island. When Denmark and Norway separated in 1814, Greenland was transferred from the Norwegian to the Danish crown. The 1953 Constitution of Denmark
The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark (), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution (, , ), is the constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark, applying equally in the Realm of Denmark: Denma ...
ended Greenland's status as a colony, integrating it fully into the Danish state. In the 1979 Greenlandic home rule referendum, Denmark granted home rule
Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...
to Greenland. In the 2008 Greenlandic self-government referendum, Greenlanders voted for the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Naalakkersuisut
The Naalakkersuisut or the Government of Greenland () is the chief executive body, the cabinet and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. As an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is a p ...
(Greenlandic government). Under this structure, Greenland gradually assumed responsibility for a number of governmental services and areas of competence. The Danish government retains control of citizenship, monetary policy, security policies, and foreign affairs. With the melting of the ice due to global warming
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
, its abundance of mineral wealth, and its strategic position between Eurasia
Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...
, North America and the Arctic zone, Greenland holds strategic importance for the Kingdom of Denmark, NATO, and the EU.
Most residents of Greenland are Inuit. The population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, strongly influenced by climatic and geographical factors, and the rest of the island is sparsely populated. With a population of 56,583 (2022), Greenland is the least densely populated country in the world. Greenland is socially progressive, like metropolitan Denmark; education and healthcare are free, and LGBTQ rights in Greenland
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Greenland are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world, relatively similar to those in Denmark proper in Europe. Same-sex sexual activity is legal, with an equa ...
are some of the most extensive in the world. Sixty-seven percent of its electricity production comes from renewable energy, mostly from hydropower
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
.
Etymology
The early Norse settlers named the island ''Greenland''. In the Icelandic sagas
The sagas of Icelanders (, ), also known as family sagas, are a subgenre, or text group, of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives primarily based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early elev ...
, the Norwegian Erik the Red
Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color o ...
was exiled from Iceland with his father, Thorvald, who had committed manslaughter. With his extended family and his thrall
A thrall was a slave or Serfdom, serf in Scandinavia, Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The status of slave (, ) contrasts with that of the Franklin (class), freeman (, ) and the nobleman (, ).
Etymology
Thrall is from the Old Norse ...
s , he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers.["How Greenland got its name"](_blank)
. ''The Ancient Standard''. 17 December 2010. The ''Saga of Erik the Red
The ''Saga of Erik the Red'', in (), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions in two manuscripts: ''H ...
'' states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favourable name."
The name of the territory in the Greenlandic language
Greenlandic, also known by its Endonym and exonym, endonym Kalaallisut (, ), is an Inuit languages, Inuit language belonging to the Eskaleut languages#Internal classification, Eskimoan branch of the Eskaleut languages, Eskaleut language family. ...
is , .Stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
, p. 89 The Kalaallit
Kalaallit are a Greenlandic Inuit ethnic group, being the largest group in Greenland, concentrated in the west. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the Indigenous of Greenland ().Hessel, 8 The Kalaallit (singular: ) a ...
are the Greenlandic Inuit
The Greenlandic Inuit or sometimes simply the Greenlandic are an ethnic group and nation Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous to Greenland, where they constitute the largest ethnic population. They share a common #History, ancestry, ...
who inhabit the territory's western region. The Greenlandic Inuit term ''Nunaat'' does not include waters and ice.
History
Early Palaeo-Inuit cultures
In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Palaeo-Inuit cultures known primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Palaeo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500 BC. From about 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and western Greenland was inhabited by the Saqqaq culture
The Saqqaq culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in southern Greenland. It was named after the settlement of Saqqaq, the site of many archaeological finds. The Saqqaq were the longest-residing residents of Greenland in all of history.
Timeframe
T ...
. Most finds of remains from that period have been around Disko Bay
Disko Bay (; Christensen, N.O. & al.Elections in Greenland". ''Arctic Circular'', Vol. 4 (1951), pp. 83–85. Op. cit. "Northern News". ''Arctic'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar 1952), pp. 58–59.) is a large bay on the western coast of Greenland. ...
, including the site of Saqqaq, for which the culture is named.
From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture
Independence I was a culture of Paleo-Eskimos who lived in northern Greenland and the Canadian Arctic between 2400 and 1900 BC. There has been much debate among scholars on when Independence I culture disappeared, and, therefore, there is a marg ...
existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small-tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne
Deltaterrasserne ("Delta Terraces") is a pre-Inuit occupation archaeological site located near the head of Jørgen Brønlund Fjord on the Peary Land peninsula in northern Greenland. It is one of the largest archaeological sites in Peary Land, and ...
, appeared. About 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture
The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from to between and , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in ...
emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture
Independence II was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that flourished in northern and northeastern Greenland from around 700 to 80 BC, north and south of the Independence Fjord. The Independence II culture existed in roughly the same areas of Greenland as ...
in northern Greenland. It is unknown whether the Dorset people ever encountered the later Thule people
The Thule ( , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by 1000 AD and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the ...
. The people of the Dorset culture lived mainly by hunting whales
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
and reindeer
The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
.
Norse settlement
From 986, the west coast was settled by Icelanders
Icelanders () are an ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland. They speak Icelandic, a North Germanic language.
Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 CE when the (parliament) met for th ...
and Norwegians
Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...
, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements—the Eastern Settlement
The Eastern Settlement ( ) was the first and by far the larger of the two main areas of Norse Greenland, settled by Norsemen from Iceland. At its peak, it contained approximately 4,000 inhabitants. The last written record from the Eastern Settl ...
, the Western Settlement
The Western Settlement ( ) was a group of farms and communities established by Norsemen from Iceland around 985 in medieval Greenland. Despite its name, the Western Settlement was more north than west of its companion Eastern Settlement and was ...
, and the Middle Settlement—on fjords near the southwestern tip of the island. They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants, who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with those of the Thule culture, who entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of Norway. Bouvet I ...
. The Kingdom of Norway entered a personal union with Denmark in 1380, and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...
.
The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð
Brattahlíð (), often anglicised as Brattahlid, was Erik the Red's estate in the Eastern Settlement Viking colony he established in south-western Greenland toward the end of the 10th century. The present settlement of Qassiarsuk, approximatel ...
, thrived for centuries, before disappearing in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age
The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. It was not a true ice age of global extent. The term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939. Mat ...
. Except for some runic inscriptions, the only contemporary records or historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...
that survive from the Norse settlements are of their contact with Iceland or Norway. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy, the bishops of Gardar, and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the '' Konungs skuggsjá'' (''The King's Mirror'') describes Norse Greenland
Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a Medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries.
Norse may also refer to:
Culture and religion
* Nors ...
's exports, imports, and grain cultivation.
Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and are not primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland. Those accounts are closer to primary for more contemporaneous accounts of late Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archaeological sites. Interpretation of ice-core and clam-shell data suggests that between AD 800 and 1300 the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland had a relatively mild climate, several degrees Celsius warmer than usual in the North Atlantic[Arnold C. (June 2010) "Cold Did In the Norse", ''Earth Magazine''. p. 9.] with trees and herbaceous plant
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition o ...
s growing and livestock being farmed. Barley
Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores show that Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times in the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".
These Norse settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning about the turn of the 14th century—as much as lower than modern summer temperatures. The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was probably abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during this cold period.
Theories drawn from archaeological excavations at Herjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of soil erosion
Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the Topsoil, upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, Atmosphere of Ea ...
resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic
A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the ''Skræling
(Old Norse and , plural ) is the name the Norse Greenlanders used for the peoples they encountered in North America (Canada and Greenland). In surviving sources, it is first applied to the Thule people, the proto-Inuit group with whom the Nors ...
s'' (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"). Recent archaeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonization had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy. More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as walrus ivory
Walrus ivory, also known as morse, comes from two modified upper canines of a walrus. The tusks grow throughout life and may, in the Pacific walrus, attain a length of one metre. Walrus teeth are commercially carved and traded; the average wa ...
, the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.
Other explanations of the disappearance of the Norse settlements have been proposed:
# Lack of support from the homeland.
# Ship-borne marauders (such as Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
, English, or German pirates), rather than ''Skræling
(Old Norse and , plural ) is the name the Norse Greenlanders used for the peoples they encountered in North America (Canada and Greenland). In surviving sources, it is first applied to the Thule people, the proto-Inuit group with whom the Nors ...
s'', could have plundered and displaced the Greenlanders.
# They were "the victims of hidebound thinking and of a hierarchical society dominated by the Church and the biggest land owners. In their reluctance to see themselves as anything but Europeans, the Greenlanders failed to adopt the kind of apparel that the Inuit employed as protection against the cold and damp or to borrow any of the Inuit hunting gear."
# That portion of the Greenlander population willing to adopt Inuit ways and means intermarried with and assimilated into the Inuit community. Much of the Greenland population is mixed Inuit and European ancestry. It was impossible in 1938 when Stefansson wrote his book to distinguish between intermarriage before the European loss of contact and after the contact was restored.
# "Norse society's structure created a conflict between the short-term interests of those in power, and the long-term interests of the society as a whole."
Thule culture (1300–present)
The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Palaeo-Inuit Dorset culture
The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from to between and , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in ...
have been found in the present population of Greenland. The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sled
A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow, a practice known as mushing. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for Sled dog racing, dog sl ...
s and toggling harpoon
The toggling harpoon is an ancient weapon and tool used in whaling to impale a whale when thrown. Unlike earlier harpoon versions which had only one point, a toggling harpoon has a two-part point. One half of the point is firmly attached to the ...
s.
There is an account of contact and conflict with the Norse population, as told by the Inuit. It is republished in ''The Norse Atlantic Sagas'', by Gwyn Jones. Jones reports that there is also an account of perhaps the same incident, of more doubtful provenance, told by the Norse side.
1500–1814
In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real
Gaspar Corte-Real (1450–1501) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Exploration, explorer who, alongside his father João Vaz Corte-Real and brother Miguel Corte-Real, Miguel, participated in various exploratory voyages sponsored by the Portuguese ...
to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in Tordesillas, Spain, on 7 June 1494, and ratified in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian (geography) ...
, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador
Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...
and Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to Ercole I d'Este
Ercole I d'Este (English: ''Hercules I''; 26 October 1431 – 25 January 1505) was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505. He was a member of the House of Este. He was nicknamed ''North Wind'' and ''The Diamond''.
Biography
Ercole was born in 143 ...
, Duke of Ferrara
This is a list of rulers of the estates owned by the House of Este, Este family, which main line of Marquesses (''Marchesi d'Este'') rose in 1039 with Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan. The name "Este" is related to the city where the family came ...
, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The ''Cantino'' planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.
In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history.
A member of the H ...
sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish-Norwegian sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall.
After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Dano-Norwegian government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark-Norway asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721 a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Dano-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede
Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Denmark–Norway, Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary priest who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a succes ...
was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede
Paul or Poul Hansen Egede (9 September 1708 – 6 June 1789) was a Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian theologian, missionary, and scholar who was principally concerned with the Church of Denmark, Lutheran mission among the Kalaallit people in Green ...
in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.
Treaty of Kiel to World War II (1814–1945)
When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel
The Treaty of Kiel () or Peace of Kiel ( Swedish and or ') was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the other side on 14 January 1814 ...
severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land
Erik the Red's Land () was the name given by Norwegians to an area on the coast of eastern Greenland occupied by Norway in the early 1930s. It was named after Erik the Red, the founder of the first Norse or Viking settlements in Greenland in the ...
in July 1931, claiming that it constituted ''terra nullius
''Terra nullius'' (, plural ''terrae nullius'') is a Latin expression meaning " nobody's land".
Since the nineteenth century it has occasionally been used in international law as a principle to justify claims that territory may be acquired ...
''. Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...
, which decided against Norway.
Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The United States' occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling cryolite
Cryolite ( Na3 Al F6, sodium hexafluoroaluminate) is a rare mineral identified with the once-large deposit at Ivittuut on the west coast of Greenland, mined commercially until 1987.
It is used in the reduction ("smelting") of aluminium, in pest ...
from the mine at Ivittuut
Ivittuut (formerly, Ivigtût) ( Kalaallisut: "Grassy Place") is an abandoned mining town near Cape Desolation in southwestern Greenland, in the modern Sermersooq municipality on the ruins of the former Norse Middle Settlement.
Ivittuut is one ...
. In World War II, the United States military used as a code name for Greenland, where they kept several bases named "Bluie (East or West) (sequential numeral)". The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq
Narsarsuaq (lit. ''Great Plain'';''Facts and History of Narsarsuaq'', Narsarsuad Tourist Information old spelling: ''Narssarssuaq'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 123 inhabitants in 2020. There is a thr ...
and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports.
During this war, the system of government changed: Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Eske Brun ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dog sleds. They detected several German weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...
s and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of W ...
briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
.
Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government
The Cabinet of Denmark (), officially the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark (), is the national cabinet of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has been the chief executive body and the government of the Danish Realm—Denmark proper together with the F ...
had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the '' Landsrådene'', recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...
with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.
Home rule and self-rule (1945–present)
Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. Greenland was a colony, and it was believed that this society would be subjected to exploitation or even eradication if the country was opened up. Therefore, a strict monopoly on Greenlandic trade was maintained, until it was abolished in 1950. With the G-50 report from 1950, the first steps toward the modernization of Greenland were taken. Greenland was to become a modern welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...
modelled after Denmark proper.
With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended, and the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an ''amt'' (county), and thus fully integrated into Denmark like all other Danish counties. Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation — or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and some lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s.
As in metropolitan Denmark, Greenland has seen significant expansion of the welfare state in the postwar era. Education and healthcare are free, and LGBTQ rights in Greenland
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Greenland are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world, relatively similar to those in Denmark proper in Europe. Same-sex sexual activity is legal, with an equa ...
are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world. In 1987, the University of Greenland was founded to provide Greenlanders with higher education in their own language and country.
Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical
Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of states: ''de facto'' independen ...
interest in Greenland and in 1946 offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000; Denmark firmly rejected the offer, as Greenland was seen as an integral part of the Danish kingdom, important to its history and national identity. In 1951 Denmark and the United States signed the Greenland Defense Agreement, which allowed the United States to keep its military bases in Greenland, and to establish new bases or "defence areas" if deemed necessary by NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. The U.S. military could freely use and move between these defence areas, but was not to infringe upon Danish sovereignty in Greenland. The United States greatly expanded Thule Air Base
Pituffik Space Base ( ; ; ), formerly Thule Air Base (), is a United States Space Force base located on the northwest coast of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark under a defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. 150 United Stat ...
between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO defence strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century
Camp Century is an abandoned Arctic United States military scientific research base in Greenland, situated east-northeast of Pituffik Space Base. When built, Camp Century was publicized as a demonstration for affordable ice-cap military outposts ...
from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable. The missiles were never fielded, and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government was not aware of the programme's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking in the declassified documents for records related to the crash of a nuclear-equipped B-52 bomber near the Thule air base in 1968.
In 1973, an amicable border dispute between Denmark and Canada arose over the ownership of Hans Island
Hans Island (Inuktitut and , ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; , ; , ) is an island in the centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait in the high Arctic region, split between the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian territory of Nunavut a ...
, a small island in Nares Strait
Nares Strait (; ) is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that connects the northern part of Baffin Bay in the Atlantic Ocean with the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basi ...
directly between Greenland and the Canadian territory of Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...
. The island remained in dispute until 2022, when both countries agreed to split the disputed island roughly in half.
Due to political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979. A referendum was held on 17 January 1979. This gave Greenland limited autonomy, with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark
The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The Danish monarch remains Greenland's head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), as it did not agree with the EEC
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on sealskin
Sealskin is the skin of a seal.
Seal skins have been used by the peoples of North America and northern Eurasia for millennia to make waterproof jackets and boots, and seal fur to make fur coats. Sailors used to have tobacco pouches made from ...
products.
Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence". On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of its judicial affairs, policing matters, and natural resource
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
s. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
.[Description of the Greenlandic Self-Government Act on the webpage of the Danish Ministry of State](_blank)
"The Self-Government Act provides for the Self-Government authorities to assume a number of new fields of responsibility, such as administration of justice, including the establishment of courts of law; the prison and probation service; the police; the field relating to company law, accounting and auditing; mineral resource activities; aviation; law of legal capacity, family law and succession law; aliens and border controls; the working environment; as well as financial regulation and supervision, cf. Schedule I and II in the Annex to the Self-Government Act." Denmark maintains control of the territory's foreign affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
and defence matters, and upholds an annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish kroner. As Greenland begins to collect revenues from its natural resources, this grant will gradually be diminished; this is generally considered to be a step toward the territory's eventual full independence from Denmark. In 2012, Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at a historic ceremony. In February 2024, Naalakkersuisut released a policy document outlining the territory's goal of asserting greater autonomy in international affairs. The strategy emphasizes Greenland's right to influence decisions that impact its future. Key objectives include strengthening relations with Arctic North America, promoting regional peace, enhancing security cooperation within the Kingdom of Denmark and NATO, and addressing the growing global interest in the Arctic from major powers such as the United States, Canada, Russia, and China.
Since 2019, U.S. president Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
has claimed that the U.S. should control Greenland, stating that its residents "want to be with us", despite 85% opposition by Greenlandic adults. The Danish government called Trump's claims "absurd" and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen
Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been the Prime Minister of Denmark, prime minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Social Democrats (Denmark)#Leaders of the Social Democrats, leader of the Social Democr ...
emphasized that Greenland is not for sale. Denmark's minister of defence Troels Lund Poulsen
Troels Lund Poulsen (born 30 March 1976) is a Danish politician, who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark and leader of . He also serves as Minister of Defence. He previously served as Minister for the Environment from 2007 to 2010, Minist ...
has said that Trump cannot demand a part of Denmark's territory, and Greenland's prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Trump will not get Greenland. The Greenland government has accused the United States of foreign interference in its affairs, and Greenland's then-prime minister Múte Bourup Egede
Múte Inequnaaluk Bourup Egede (; born 11 March 1987) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Greenland from 2021 to 2025. He has also served as Chairman of the Inuit Ataqatigiit since December 2018, and a Member of t ...
said "until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working very closely, but that time is over." In April 2025, the New York Times reported that plans to claim Greenland were now official U.S. policy, to be accomplished through public relations and social media, and by persuading Greenlanders with cash payments. In April 2025, U.S. Pituffik Space Base
Pituffik Space Base ( ; ; ), formerly Thule Air Base (), is a United States Space Force base located on the northwest coast of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark under a defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. 150 United Stat ...
commander Susannah Meyers was fired for undermining U.S leadership after she wrote an e-mail in which she disagreed with U.S. vice president JD Vance
James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman, August2, 1984) is an American politician, author, attorney, and Marine Corps veteran who is the 50th vice president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...
's assessment of Greenland's security.
Geography
Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Over 80% of Greenland lies north of the Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circl ...
. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...
to the north, the Greenland Sea
The Greenland Sea ( Danish: ''Grønlandshavet'') is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Gre ...
to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
to the southeast, the Davis Strait
The Davis Strait (Danish language, Danish: ''Davisstrædet'') is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The ...
to the southwest, Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; ; ; ), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a s ...
to the west, the Nares Strait
Nares Strait (; ) is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that connects the northern part of Baffin Bay in the Atlantic Ocean with the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basi ...
and Lincoln Sea
Lincoln Sea (; ) is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from Cape Columbia, Canada, in the west to Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland, in the east. The northern limit is defined as the great circle line between those two headlands. It is co ...
to the northwest. The nearest countries to Greenland are Canada, with which it shares a maritime border
A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...
, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay, as well as a shared land border on Hans Island
Hans Island (Inuktitut and , ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; , ; , ) is an island in the centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait in the high Arctic region, split between the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian territory of Nunavut a ...
; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park; it is the largest
Large means of great size.
Large may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics
* Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers
* Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (or ...
constituent country by area in the world and is the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic
Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...
in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...
, and the largest in North America.
The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...
was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is an ice sheet which forms the second largest body of ice in the world. It is an average of thick and over thick at its maximum. It is almost long in a north–south direction, with a maximum width of at a latitude ...
, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached . In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from . The total area of Greenland is (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is an ice sheet which forms the second largest body of ice in the world. It is an average of thick and over thick at its maximum. It is almost long in a north–south direction, with a maximum width of at a latitude ...
covers (81%) and has a volume of approximately . The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld
Gunnbjørn Fjeld is the highest mountain in Greenland, Denmark, and north of the Arctic Circle. It is a nunatak, a rocky peak protruding through glacial ice. Gunnbjørn Fjeld is ranked 9th by topographic isolation.
Geography
Gunnbjørn Fjeld i ...
at of the Watkins Range ( East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than in elevation.
Below the ice there is a series of canyons, the biggest called Greenland's Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon of Greenland is a tentative canyon of record length discovered underneath the Greenland ice sheet as reported in the journal ''Science'' on 30 August 2013 (submitted 29 April 2013), by scientists from the University of Bristol l ...
which was formed by flowing rivers of water from the repeated cycle of ice melting and new ice forming.
Near the coast elevations rise suddenly and steeply.
The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord
Ilulissat Icefjord () is a fjord in western Greenland. Located 250 km north of the Arctic Circle, the Ilulissat Icefjord runs west from the Greenland ice sheet to Disko Bay just south of the town of Ilulissat. Ilulissat Icefjord was declared a ...
, at Greenland's Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon of Greenland is a tentative canyon of record length discovered underneath the Greenland ice sheet as reported in the journal ''Science'' on 30 August 2013 (submitted 29 April 2013), by scientists from the University of Bristol l ...
and south of Nordostrundingen.
All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park (, ) is the world's largest national park and the 10th largest protected area (the only larger protected areas consist mostly of sea). Established in 1974, the Northeast Greenland national park expanded to its p ...
.
At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte
Eismitte, also called Mid-Ice in English, was a meteorological station established, in the middle of the Greenland Ice Sheet, by the 1930-31 German Greenland Expedition. The venture took place from July 1930 until August 1931, and established ...
, North Ice
North Ice was a research station of the British North Greenland Expedition (1952 to 1954) on the inland ice of Greenland. The coordinates of the station were , at an altitude of above sea level. The British North Greenland Expedition had its mai ...
, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp
Summit Camp, also known as Summit Station, is a year-round staffed research station near the apex of the Greenland ice sheet. The station is located at above sea level.
The population of the station is typically five in wintertime and reac ...
on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord
Jørgen Brønlund Fjord or Brønlund Fjord is a fjord in southern Peary Land, northern Greenland.
It was named after polar explorer Jørgen Brønlund by the Danmark expedition.
Geography
It runs roughly from NW to SE with its mouth located at ...
was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.
The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land
Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the nor ...
, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet.
In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named " Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: ''Warming Island''), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented:
Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century.
Northernmost land
The northernmost point of land on Earth was long thought to be Cape Morris Jesup
Cape Morris Jesup () is a headland in Peary Land, Greenland.
Geography
Cape Morris Jesup is the northernmost point of mainland Greenland, the northernmost point of any mainland, and the northernmost land point on Earth except for the small isl ...
at the northern tip of mainland Greenland. However, in 1969 a Canadian team surveyed Kaffeklubben Island
Kaffeklubben Island or Coffee Club Island (; ) is an uninhabited island lying off the northern shore of Greenland. It contains the undisputed northernmost point of land on Earth.
History
Kaffeklubben Island does not appear to have ever been ...
(latitude 83° 39′ 45″ N), which was first recorded in 1900 and first visited in 1921, and determined that its northernmost point is 750 m north of Cape Morris Jesup. It is thus the northernmost undisputed permanent land.
Other points have been claimed to be the northernmost point, with dispute over the title arising from ice sheet
In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacier, glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice s ...
s, water movement and inundation, and storm activity that may build, shift, or destroy banks of gravelly moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
material. In 1978 Uffe Petersen, a member of the Danish Geodetic Institute, discovered Oodaaq Island at 83° 40' 32.5" N. Its last confirmed sighting was in 1979. In 2003, a small protrusion of rocks and boulders, in length and width, was discovered by Arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt
Dennis Schmitt is an American veteran explorer, adventurer and composer.
Early life
Schmitt grew up in Berkeley, California, the son of mixed German and American parentage. His father was a plumber. Displaying early aptitude with languages, mu ...
and his team at latitude 83° 42' N and unofficially named 83-42
83-42 was a rocky ice floe in the Arctic Ocean. It is also sometimes referred to as Eklipse 0, or Schmitt’s Island, after its discoverer, Dennis Schmitt. It measures and in height, and lies from the North Pole. When it was discovered in 2 ...
. Whether this land is permanent is uncertain; a 2022 bathymetric survey determined that it was likely ''not'' connected to the seafloor, but rather rocky material on top of sea ice, and thus not land.
Climate change
The Greenland ice sheet always loses some mass from ice calving
Ice calving, also known as glacier calving or iceberg calving, is the breaking of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier.Essentials of Geology, 3rd edition, Stephen Marshak It is a form of ice ablation or ice disruption. It is the sudden release ...
at its coasts, but it used to balance this on average by the accumulation of snowfall. However, Greenland has been warming since around 1900, and starting in the 1980s, the losses became larger than the gains. After 1996, Greenland has not had a single year when it did not lose mass on average. In the 2010s, the Greenland ice sheet melted at its fastest rate during at least the past 12,000 years, and is on track to exceed that later in the century. In 2012, 2019 and 2021, so-called "massive melting events" occurred, when practically the entire surface of the ice sheet was melting and no accumulation took place. During the 2021 event, rain fell at Greenland's highest point for the first time in recorded history, an event so unexpected that the research station at the summit had no rain gauge
A rain gauge (also known as udometer, ombrometer, pluviometer and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and Hydrology, hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation in a predefined area, over a set period of t ...
s for the occasion.
As with the ice loss elsewhere, the melting of Greenland contributes to sea level rise. Between 2012 and 2017, this melting added an average of 0.68 mm per year, equal to 37% of sea level rise from land ice sources (excluding thermal expansion of water from the continual increase in the ocean heat content
Ocean heat content (OHC) or ocean heat uptake (OHU) is the energy absorbed and stored by oceans, and is thus an important indicator of global warming. Ocean heat content is calculated by measuring ocean temperature at many different locations and ...
). By the end of the century, the melting of Greenland alone will add between ~ if the temperature change is kept below , to around if the most intense climate change scenario
A climate change scenario is a hypothetical future based on a "set of key driving forces".IPCC, 2022Annex I: Glossary an Diemen, R., J.B.R. Matthews, V. Möller, J.S. Fuglestvedt, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Méndez, A. Reisinger, S. Semenov (eds) In ...
with ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
is followed. Under this scenario, the worst case for Greenland melting could reach of sea level rise equivalent. The large quantities of fresh meltwater
Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...
also affect the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is the main ocean current system in the Atlantic Ocean.IPCC, 2021Annex VII: Glossary [Matthews, J.B.R., V. Möller, R. van Diemen, J.S. Fuglestvedt, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Méndez, S. Sem ...
(AMOC) by diluting key currents, slowing it down. Due to this meltwater input, the circulation may even collapse outright with widespread detrimental effects, although research suggests this is likely only if the highest possible warming is sustained for multiple centuries.
Greenland's ice sheet has a volume of ~. This means that if it were all to melt, global sea level would increase by ~ from that event alone. However, it also means that it will take at least 1,000 years for the ice sheet to disappear even with very high rates of global warming, and in around 10,000 years under lower rates of warming which still cross the threshold for the ice sheet's disappearance. This threshold likely lies for between and . Reducing the warming back to or lower above preindustrial levels (such as through large-scale carbon dioxide removal) would arrest the losses, but still cause greater ultimate sea level rise than if the threshold had never been exceeded. Further, itself appears to commit the Greenland ice sheet to of sea level rise.
A study published in January 2025 in the ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scie ...
'' reported an "abrupt, coherent, climate-driven transformation" from "blue" (more transparent) to "brown" (less transparent) states of lakes in Greenland after a season of both record heat and rainfall drove a state change in these systems.[ This change was said to alter "numerous physical, chemical, and biological lake features", and the state changes were said to be unprecedented.]
Geology
The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian
The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...
continent of Laurentia
Laurentia or the North American craton is a large continental craton that forms the Geology of North America, ancient geological core of North America. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent, as it is now in the form of ...
, the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less exposed coastal strips became a plateau. On these ice-free coastal strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian
The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...
, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic
The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...
and Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...
in parts of the island.
In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts and igneous intrusions, such as the Skaergaard intrusion
The Skaergaard intrusion is a layered igneous intrusion in the Kangerlussuaq area of East Greenland and is composed of various rocks and minerals including gabbro, olivine, apatite, and basalt.
History and background
The Skaergaard intrusi ...
. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...
igneous rocks, ultramafics, and anorthosites) are found on the southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites
A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic com ...
such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there are fluoride
Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an Inorganic chemistry, inorganic, Monatomic ion, monatomic Ion#Anions and cations, anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose ...
-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.
To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic
The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of ...
carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavy native iron up to in the basalts.
The palaeontology of East Greenland is specially rich, with some of the early tetrapods such as the Acanthostega
''Acanthostega'', from Ancient Greek ἄκανθα (''ákantha''), meaning "spine", and στέγη (''stégē''), meaning "roof", is an extinct genus of stem tetrapoda, stem-tetrapod, among the first vertebrates, vertebrate animals to have recogn ...
and Ichthyostega
''Ichthyostega'', from Ancient Greek ἰχθύς (''ikthús''), meaning "fish", and στέγη (''stégē''), meaning "roof", is an Extinction, extinct genus of limbed tetrapodomorpha, tetrapodomorphs from the Devonian, Late Devonian of what is ...
from the Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...
and unique Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
animals such as the phytosaur ''Mystriosuchus alleroq'' and the dinosaurs ''Issi saaneq'' and tracks.
Biodiversity
Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
, reindeer
The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
(introduced by Europeans), arctic fox
The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...
, arctic hare
The Arctic hare (''Lepus arcticus'') is a species of hare highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra and other icy biomes. The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up close to 20% of its body, and a ...
, musk ox
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. ' ...
, collared lemming
''Dicrostonyx'' is a genus of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It contains the collared lemmings or varying lemmings. They are the only North American rodents that turn completely white in winter.
It contains the following species
A species ...
, ermine, and arctic wolf
The Arctic wolf (''Canis lupus arctos''), also known as the white wolf, polar wolf, and the Arctic grey wolf, is a Subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of grey wolf native to the High Arctic tundra of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands, from Me ...
. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland
Tunu, in Danish Østgrønland ("East Greenland"), was one of the three counties (''amter'') of Greenland until 31 December 2008. The county seat was at the main settlement, Tasiilaq. The county's population in 2005 was around 3,800.
The county ...
, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island (; ) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Britain, and the total ...
. There are dozens of species of seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
and whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
s along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
or, in the case of many birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
and insects
Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...
, from Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. There are no native or free-living reptiles
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
or amphibians
Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
on the island.
Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region
The Circumboreal Region in phytogeography is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in Eurasia and North America, as delineated by such geobotanists as Josias Braun-Blanquet and Armen Takhtajan.
It is the largest floristic region i ...
within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch (''Betula pubescens
''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...
'') along with grey-leaf willow (''Salix glauca
''Salix glauca'' is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common names gray willow, grayleaf willow, white willow, and glaucous willow. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout much of Alaska, northern ...
''), rowan (''Sorbus aucuparia
''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (, also ) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family.
The tree has a slender trunk with smooth bark, a loose and roundish crown, and its leaves are pinnate in pairs o ...
''), common juniper (''Juniperus communis
''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...
'') and other smaller trees, mainly willows.
Greenland's flora consists of about 500 species of "higher" plants, such as flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s, fern
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
s, horsetail
''Equisetum'' (; horsetail) is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
''Equisetum'' is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Equisetidae, which ...
s and lycopodiophyta
The lycophytes, when broadly circumscribed, are a group of vascular plants that include the clubmosses. They are sometimes placed in a division Lycopodiophyta or Lycophyta or in a subdivision Lycopodiophytina. They are one of the oldest lineag ...
. Of the other groups, the lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...
es and bryophyte
Bryophytes () are a group of embryophyte, land plants (embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic Division (taxonomy), division referred to as Bryophyta ''Sensu#Common qualifiers, sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular pla ...
s are also found. Most of Greenland's higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal
The Circumboreal Region in phytogeography is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in Eurasia and North America, as delineated by such geobotanists as Josias Braun-Blanquet and Armen Takhtajan.
It is the largest floristic region in ...
distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage
''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 473 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...
and hawkweed
''Hieracium'' (),
known by the common name hawkweed and classically as (from ancient Greek ἱέραξ, 'hawk'),
is a genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and closely related to dandelion (''Taraxacum''), chicory (''Cichorium''), ...
are endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch.
The terrestrial vertebrates of Greenland include the Greenland dog
The Greenland Dog ( Greenlandic: ''Kalaallit Qimmiat'', Danish: ''Grønlandshund'') is a large breed of husky-type dog kept as a sled dog. They were brought from Siberia to North America by the Thule people 1,000 years ago, along with the Ca ...
, which was introduced by the Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
, as well as European-introduced species such as Greenlandic sheep
The Greenlandic sheep ( or ''sava'', ) is a breed of domestic sheep. The Greenlandic breed is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep, which exhibit a fluke-shaped, naturally short tail. The Greenlandic is a mid-sized breed, generally sh ...
, goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
s, cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
, reindeer
The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
, horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
, chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
and sheepdog
A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and con ...
, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Marine mammals
Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine env ...
include the hooded seal
The hooded seal or bladdernose seal (''Cystophora cristata'') is a large phocid found only in the central and western North Atlantic, ranging from Svalbard in the east to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the west. The seals are typically silver-grey ...
(''Cystophora cristata'') as well as the grey seal
The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...
(''Halichoerus grypus'').["Greenland". ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Eleventh Edition.] Whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
s frequently pass very close to Greenland's shores in the late summer and early autumn. Whale species include the beluga whale, blue whale
The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...
, Greenland whale, fin whale
The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as the finback whale or common rorqual, is a species of baleen whale and the second-longest cetacean after the blue whale. The biggest individual reportedly measured in length, wi ...
, humpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...
, minke whale
The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish na ...
, narwhal
The narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') is a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic. It is the only member of the genus ''Monodon'' and one of two living representatives of the family Monodontidae. The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a ...
, pilot whale
Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus ''Globicephala''. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the long-finned pilot whale (''G. melas'') and the short-finned pilot whale (''G. macrorhynchus''). The two are not readily distinguish ...
, sperm whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...
.
As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, such as Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...
and charr. The fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, sub ...
is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of territory's total exports.
Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland's animal life; they consist of both Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
Th ...
and Nearctic
The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface.
The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...
species, breeding populations of auk
Auks or alcids are birds of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the Uria, murres, guillemots, Aethia, auklets, puffins, and Brachyramphus, murrelets. The family contains 25 extant or recently extinct speci ...
s, puffin
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
s, skua
The skuas are a group of predatory seabirds with seven species forming the genus ''Stercorarius'', the only genus in the family Stercorariidae. The three smaller skuas, the Arctic skua, the long-tailed skua, and the pomarine skua, are called ...
s, and kittiwake
The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red- ...
s are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland's ducks and geese include common eider
The common eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria mollissima''), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large ( in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breed ...
, long-tailed duck
The long-tailed duck (''Clangula hyemalis'') or coween, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only member of ...
, king eider
The king eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria spectabilis'') is a large Merginae, sea duck that breeds along Northern Hemisphere Arctic coasts of northeast Europe, North America and Palearctic, Asia. The birds spend most of the year in coastal marine ...
, white-fronted goose
The greater white-fronted goose (''Anser albifrons'') is a species of goose, closely related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (''A. erythropus''). The greater white-fronted goose is migratory, breeding in northern Canada, Alaska, Gre ...
, pink-footed goose
The pink-footed goose (''Anser brachyrhynchus'') is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, and recently Novaya Zemlya. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, a ...
and barnacle goose
The barnacle goose (''Branta leucopsis'') is a species of goose that belongs to the genus ''Branta'' of black geese, which contains species with extensive black in the plumage, distinguishing them from the grey ''Anser (genus), Anser'' species. D ...
. Breeding migratory birds
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality.
The ...
include the snow bunting
The snow bunting (''Plectrophenax nivalis'') is a passerine bird in the family Calcariidae. It is an Arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere. There are small isolated populations on a few ...
, lapland bunting, ringed plover
The common ringed plover or ringed plover (''Charadrius hiaticula'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It breeds across much of northern Eurasia, as well as Greenland.
Taxonomy
The common ringed plover was Species description, f ...
, red-throated loon and red-necked phalarope
The red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus lobatus''), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a ...
. Non-migratory land birds include the arctic redpoll
The redpoll (''Acanthis flammea'') is a species of small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Acanthis''. It breeds in the Arctic and north temperate Holarctic tundra and taiga. The redp ...
, ptarmigan
''Lagopus'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily commonly known as ptarmigans (). The genus contains four living species with numerous described subspecies, all living in tundra or cold upland areas.
Taxonomy and etymology
The genus ''L ...
, short-eared owl
The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...
, snowy owl
The snowy owl (''Bubo scandiacus''), also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mo ...
, gyrfalcon
The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), also abbreviated as gyr, is a bird of prey from the genus ''Falco'' (falcons and kestrels) and the largest species of the family Falconidae. A high-latitude species, the gyrfalcon breeds on the Arctic coasts and tundra, ...
and white-tailed eagle
The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), sometimes known as the 'sea eagle', is a large bird of prey, widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which also ...
.
Government and politics
The Greenlandic government Naalakkersuisut
The Naalakkersuisut or the Government of Greenland () is the chief executive body, the cabinet and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. As an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is a p ...
holds executive power
The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law.
Function
The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...
in local government affairs. The head of the Greenlandic government is called '''' ("Premier"). Any other member of the cabinet is called a ''Naalakkersuisoq
The Naalakkersuisut or the Government of Greenland () is the chief executive body, the cabinet and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. As an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is a p ...
'' ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament is called ''Inatsisartut
The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources:
*
*
* in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parli ...
'' ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.
In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national (''Inatsisartut
The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources:
*
*
* in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parli ...
''), and kingdom (''Folketing
The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
'') levels.
Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which King Frederik X
Frederik X (Frederik André Henrik Christian, ; born 26 May 1968) is King of Denmark. He acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2024.
Frederik is the eldest son of Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. He was born during the ...
is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power
The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law.
Function
The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...
and presides over the Council of State
A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
( privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin .
Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...
, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.
Following World War II, the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
mandated that colonies should become independent, enter into free association with another country, or be fully integrated into the metropole
A metropole () is the homeland, central territory or the state exercising power over a colonial empire.
From the 19th century, the English term ''metropole'' was mainly used in the scope of the British, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portugu ...
(the former colonial power). Denmark opted in 1952 to integrate Greenland into the Danish Realm
The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...
. In 1979, the Danish government and parliament introduced home rule
Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...
for Greenland which meant that Naalakkersuisut could assume control over 17 different areas of government. Further devolution of power from Denmark to Greenland came with the "Greenland Self-Government Act" (GSGA) in 2009, that added 33 new areas of government to the pool, the Naalakkersuisut assume control over. The GSGA also resulted from a recognition in Denmark that the people of Greenland had a right to self-determination, and gave a legal section for Naalakkersuisut to trigger an independence process (Section 21, GSGA).
Greenland membership in the Council of Europe through Denmark also shows activities at international level, with the last recorded activity in January 2025 concerning a visit from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
.
Political system
The party system was dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly have argued for greater independence from Denmark.
While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialist
Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism, socialist ecology, ecological materialism, or revolutionary ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. ...
Inuit Party elected to the Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
and 2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
elections.
The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favouring increased self-governance and autonomy was passed winning 76.22% of the vote.[Greenland votes for more autonomy]
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 26 November 2008
In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), unlike Denmark, which remains a member. The EEC later became the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU, renamed and expanded in scope in 1992). Greenland retains some ties through its associated relationship with the EU. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade. Greenland is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories
The special territories of members of the European Economic Area (EEA) are the 32 special territories of EU member states and EFTA member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside t ...
(OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, though Greenland can and does receive support from the European Development Fund
The European Development Fund (EDF) was the main instrument for European Union (EU) aid for development cooperation in Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific ( ACP Group) countries and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT). Funding was provi ...
, Multiannual Financial Framework
The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) of the European Union (EU), also called the financial perspective, is a seven-year framework regulating its European Union, EU Budget of the European Union, annual budget. Proposed by the European Commiss ...
, European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...
and EU programmes.
Government
Greenland's head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
is King Frederik X
Frederik X (Frederik André Henrik Christian, ; born 26 May 1968) is King of Denmark. He acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2024.
Frederik is the eldest son of Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. He was born during the ...
. The King's government in Denmark appoints a high commissioner (''Rigsombudsmand'') to represent it on the island. The commissioner is Julie Præst Wilche
Julie Præst Wilche (born 1971 or 1972) is a Danish civil servant and diplomat. Since 2022, she serves as High Commissioner of Greenland.
Biography
Wilche trained as a nurse in Denmark before moving to Greenland in the early 1990s. In 2009, she ...
.
The Greenland constituency elects two MP representatives to the Kingdom Parliament (''Folketing
The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
et'') in Denmark, out of a total of 179. The current representatives are Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam
Aki-Matilda Tilia Ditte Høegh-Dam (born 17 October 1996) is a Greenlandic pro-independence politician who currently serves in the Folketing and concurrently in the Inatsisartut. She was elected to the Folketing during the 2019 Danish general ...
of the Naleraq
Naleraq (), previously known as Partii Naleraq, is a centrist-populist pro-independence political party in Greenland. The party favors greater cooperation with the United States. While parties such as Inuit Ataqatigiit and Siumut also favor ind ...
Party and Aaja Chemnitz Larsen
Aaja Chemnitz Arnatsiaq Larsen (born 2 December 1977) is a Greenlandic politician, who is a member of the Danish Folketing for the Inuit Ataqatigiit, representing one of the two parliament seats for Greenland.
Education and civil career
Aaja Che ...
of the Inuit Community Party.
Greenland has a national Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
that consists of 31 representatives. The government is the Naalakkersuisut
The Naalakkersuisut or the Government of Greenland () is the chief executive body, the cabinet and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. As an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is a p ...
, whose members are appointed by the premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
. The premier is the head of government
In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
, and is usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The premier is Múte Bourup Egede
Múte Inequnaaluk Bourup Egede (; born 11 March 1987) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Greenland from 2021 to 2025. He has also served as Chairman of the Inuit Ataqatigiit since December 2018, and a Member of t ...
of the Inuit Ataqatigiit
Inuit Ataqatigiit (, old spelling: , , , IA) is a democratic socialist, Greenlandic independence, pro-independence political party in Greenland. It is represented in the Folketing (the Danish parliament) by Aaja Chemnitz Larsen. Múte B. Egede ha ...
party.
Administrative divisions
Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18 municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (, ): ''Sermersooq
Sermersooq () is a municipality in Greenland, formed on 1 January 2009 from five previous, smaller municipalities. Its administrative seat is the city of Nuuk (formerly called Godthåb), the capital of Greenland, and it is the most populous ...
'' ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk
Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...
and also including all East Coast communities; ''Kujalleq
Kujalleq (Greenlandic language, Greenlandic: , ) is a municipality on the southern tip of Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The administrative center of the municipality is in Qaqortoq (formerly called Julianehåb).
Creation
The munic ...
'' ("South") around Cape Farewell; ''Qeqqata
Qeqqata (, ) is a municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in the central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,378 as of January 2020. The administrative cente ...
'' ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait
The Davis Strait (Danish language, Danish: ''Davisstrædet'') is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The ...
; ''Qeqertalik
Qeqertalik (, ) is a municipality of Greenland created in 2018 from four southern regions of the former Qaasuitsup Municipality. It is the least populated municipality at a population of 6,340, despite this it is the 2nd most densely populated m ...
'' ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay
Disko Bay (; Christensen, N.O. & al.Elections in Greenland". ''Arctic Circular'', Vol. 4 (1951), pp. 83–85. Op. cit. "Northern News". ''Arctic'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar 1952), pp. 58–59.) is a large bay on the western coast of Greenland. ...
; and ''Avannaata
Avannaata (, ) is a municipality of Greenland created on 1 January 2018 from the bulk of the former Qaasuitsup municipality. It encompasses an area of 522,700 km2 and has 10,726 inhabitants.
Geography
In the south, Avannaata is flanked ...
'' ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup
file:Qaasuitsup-montage.jpg, 400px, Clockwise from top left: Ukkusissat, Upernavik, Ilulissat Icefjord, Uummannaq
Qaasuitsup (, ''Place of Polar Darkness'') was a Municipalities of Greenland, municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 Janu ...
municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park (, ) is the world's largest national park and the 10th largest protected area (the only larger protected areas consist mostly of sea). Established in 1974, the Northeast Greenland national park expanded to its p ...
. Pituffik Space Base
Pituffik Space Base ( ; ; ), formerly Thule Air Base (), is a United States Space Force base located on the northwest coast of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark under a defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. 150 United Stat ...
is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality. As a territorial concession granted to the United States in perpetuity, it is administered by the United States Space Force
The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...
. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000.
Military
Greenland does not have its own military. As a territory of Denmark, the Danish military
The Danish Defence (; ; ; ) is the unified armed forces of the Denmark, Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its self-governing territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The military also promote Denmark's wider interests ...
is responsible for Greenland's defence and the island is within the area overseen by the NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
military alliance. The Joint Arctic Command is the Danish military branch responsible for Greenland. It includes several patrol ships, maritime patrol aircraft
A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...
, helicopters, and the elite Sirius Dog Sled Patrol
The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol (), known informally as ''Siriuspatruljen'' (the Sirius Patrol) and formerly known as ''North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol'' and ''Resolute Dog Sled Patrol'', is an Special forces, elite Denmark, Danish naval unit. It c ...
. The Danish military has personnel based at Nuuk
Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...
, Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq (; ; ) is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipalities of Greenland, municipality located at the head of the Kangerlussuaq Fjord, fjord of the same name. It was Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of G ...
, Daneborg
Daneborg (or Daneborg Station) is a station on the south coast of Wollaston Foreland peninsula of northeast Greenland, at the mouth of Young Sund emptying into Greenland Sea. Daneborg serves as the headquarters for the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, Si ...
, Station Nord, Mestersvig
Mestersvig, also called Mesters Vig, is a military outpost located in Scoresby Land, on the southwestern shore of Davy Sound in King Christian X Land, NE Greenland. It has a 1,800 m gravel airstrip .
This airport is located near the Stauning Al ...
, Grønnedal, and a liaison detachment at Thule Air Base
Pituffik Space Base ( ; ; ), formerly Thule Air Base (), is a United States Space Force base located on the northwest coast of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark under a defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. 150 United Stat ...
.
There is also one United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
base in Greenland: Pituffik Space Base
Pituffik Space Base ( ; ; ), formerly Thule Air Base (), is a United States Space Force base located on the northwest coast of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark under a defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. 150 United Stat ...
(previously Thule Air Base), which is home to the United States Space Force
The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...
's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defence Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...
(NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Deltas 2, 4, and 6. Formerly there had been several U.S. bases in Greenland. The 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement allowed the United States to keep its military bases there, and to establish new bases with the consent of Greenland and Denmark, if deemed necessary by NATO.
In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...
to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone
A nuclear-free zone is an area in which nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants are banned. The specific ramifications of these depend on the locale in question, but are generally distinct from nuclear-weapon-free zones, in that the latter only b ...
policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century
Camp Century is an abandoned Arctic United States military scientific research base in Greenland, situated east-northeast of Pituffik Space Base. When built, Camp Century was publicized as a demonstration for affordable ice-cap military outposts ...
, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome
Operation Chrome Dome was a United States Air Force Cold War-era mission from 1961 to 1968 in which Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, B-52 strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons remained on continuous airborne alert, flying routes ...
, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base
Pituffik Space Base ( ; ; ), formerly Thule Air Base (), is a United States Space Force base located on the northwest coast of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark under a defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. 150 United Stat ...
. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost.
Economy
The single most important factor in the Greenlandic economy is financial aid from Denmark, mainly in the form of the ' (block grant
A block grant is a grant-in-aid of a specified amount from a larger government to a smaller regional government body. Block grants have less oversight from the larger government and provide flexibility to each subsidiary government body in terms ...
). In 2024, the ' to Greenland was 4.3 billion kr, in of itself amounting to a third of the island's total public revenue. On top of this, the Danish state covered the expenses for i.a. judiciary and defence, which together were estimated to amount to over 1 billion kr. it subsidizes Greenland with 4.3 billion kr. annually, up from 3,6 billion kr. in 2009.
The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp
A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...
and fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
industry is by far the largest income earner. Greenland is abundant in minerals, but extraction has been limited. A state company, Nunaoil, was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland. However, in July 2021, Greenland banned all new oil and gas exploration in its territory, after government officials said that the environmental "price of oil extraction is too high".
Greenland is a very difficult place to extract natural resources, for a number of reasons, including extreme weather conditions and a strong environmentalist community. The New York Times reported in March 2025 that, despite dozens of exploratory projects, there are only two active mines in Greenland.
Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
. There is a programme to build hydropower plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant.
There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of the labour needed will be imported.
The European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
has urged Greenland to restrict development by the People's Republic of China of rare-earth
The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or rare earths, and sometimes the lanthanides or lanthanoids (although scandium and yttrium, which do not belong to this series, are usually included as rare earths), are a set of ...
mineral projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current supply. However, in early 2013 the government of Greenland said that it had no plans to impose such restrictions.
The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average economies of Europe.
Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s. Since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc
Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby
Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...
in Greenland have been discovered, promising to enhance the gemstone industry in Greenland and add a new export.
Transport
Air transport connects Greenland internally and with other nations
A nation is a type of social organization where a collective identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, territory, or societ ...
. There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel road of length between Kangilinnguit
Kangilinnguit ( Danish: Grønnedal), is a settlement and location of a former naval base in Greenland's Sermersooq municipality, located at the mouth of Arsuk Fjord in southwestern Greenland. The settlement had 160 inhabitants in 2010, most of w ...
and the now abandoned former cryolite
Cryolite ( Na3 Al F6, sodium hexafluoroaluminate) is a rare mineral identified with the once-large deposit at Ivittuut on the west coast of Greenland, mined commercially until 1987.
It is used in the reduction ("smelting") of aluminium, in pest ...
mining town of Ivittuut
Ivittuut (formerly, Ivigtût) ( Kalaallisut: "Grassy Place") is an abandoned mining town near Cape Desolation in southwestern Greenland, in the modern Sermersooq municipality on the ruins of the former Norse Middle Settlement.
Ivittuut is one ...
. In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside activities has meant that very few country roads have been built. Greenland has no passenger railways.
A one-lane dirt road designed primarily for all-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...
s (secondarily for bicycles
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
...
and hiking), is under construction between Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq (; ; ) is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipalities of Greenland, municipality located at the head of the Kangerlussuaq Fjord, fjord of the same name. It was Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of G ...
and the town of Sisimiut
Sisimiut (), also known by its Danish name Holstensborg or Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America.The term 'city' is loos ...
(Holstensborg). As of June 2023, the road was scheduled for completion in 2024. A news report in Sermitsiaq declared the road itself to be completed already in September 2021, but maintenance work and mud problems have caused delays. There are plans to extend the road to a two-lane gravel road, but a date for its construction to start has not been announced.
There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority. Most airports have short runways and can only be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
or Reykjavík-Keflavík. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and most cities, requires a plane change in Nuuk.
Nuuk Airport
Nuuk Airport (, , formerly ; ) is an international airport serving Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The airport is the hub and technical base for Air Greenland, the flag carrier airline of Greenland, linking the capital with almost all towns in t ...
(GOH) is the hub and international gateway for international and domestic airline passenger transport, after having undergone a major expansion in 2024. Air Greenland
Air Greenland Aktieselskab, A/S (formerly named Grønlandsfly and Greenlandair) is the flag carrier of Greenland, owned by the Naalakkersuisut, Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 28 aircraft, including a single Airbus A330-800 airli ...
is the flag carrier of Greenland. Additionally, Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
provides year-round services to Greenlandic airports. Seasonal and charter flights are also offered by other airlines. Until 2024, Kangerlussuaq Airport
Kangerlussuaq Airport (, , formerly ''Søndre Strømfjord Lufthavn'' in Danish) is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It was originally built as Sondrestrom Air Base (Bluie West- ...
(SFJ) was the main international gateway to Greenland, but is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas. Ilulissat Airport
Ilulissat Airport (, , originally ''Jacobshavn Lufthavn''); () is a minor international airport serving Ilulissat, Greenland, the entire Disko Bay, Disko Bay Region, the Avannaa, North and Kitaa, West Greenland. It is the 59th largest airport in ...
(JAV) and Narsarsuaq Airport (UAK) are domestic airports that also serve limited international flights to Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
and are both being reconstructed and expanded to enable larger aircraft to serve the airport by 2026, the latter in a new location closer to Qaqortoq
Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in sout ...
.
Sea passenger
A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...
transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line
Arctic Umiaq Line A/S (AUL) or Arctic Umiaq is a passenger and freight shipping line in Greenland. Its name derives from the Kalaallisut word for the traditional Inuit passenger boat, the umiak, distinguished from the kayak, used for hunting. Th ...
makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.
Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line
Royal Arctic Line Aktieselskab, A/S (RAL) or Royal Arctic is a seaborne freight company in Greenland, wholly owned by the Naalakkersuisut, Government of Greenland. It was formed in 1993, and is headquartered in Nuuk.
History
Royal Arctic Line A ...
from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe, and North America.
Tourism
Tourism increased significantly between 2015 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 77,000 per year to 105,000. One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020 and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
; one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus" (the overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid-2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen"). Greenland's goal for returning tourism is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".
Mining
Greenland is often portrayed as rich in rare-earth mineral
A rare-earth mineral contains one or more rare-earth elements as major metal constituents. Rare-earth minerals are usually found in association with alkaline to peralkaline igneous magmas in pegmatites or with carbonatite Intrusive rock, intrusiv ...
s, but experts argue this promise is largely illusory, as mining remains limited due to high costs, lack of infrastructure, and minimal local refining capacity. Although the island does contain resources, similar minerals are more abundant and accessible in other countries like the U.S., Brazil, Vietnam, and China, making Greenland an uncompetitive option. Despite a legal framework for mining, some ventures and over 30 years of Greenlandic efforts to attract American investment, success has been limited, and the belief in a quick mineral bonanza is increasingly seen as a geopolitical mirage.
Mining of ruby
Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...
deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects include iron, uranium
Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
, aluminium, nickel, platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
, tungsten
Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...
, titanium
Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
, and copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange
The Nasdaq Copenhagen, formerly known as the Copenhagen Stock Exchange (), is an international marketplace for Danish securities, including shares, bonds, treasury bills and notes, and financial futures and options.
Nasdaq Copenhagen is on ...
to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007.
Demographics
Population
In 2021, Greenland had a population of 56,421. That year, 18,800 people resided in the capital city Nuuk
Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...
. Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a relatively mild climate, especially considering the high latitude upon which it lies. Whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates, Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area around Narsarsuaq
Narsarsuaq (lit. ''Great Plain'';''Facts and History of Narsarsuaq'', Narsarsuad Tourist Information old spelling: ''Narssarssuaq'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 123 inhabitants in 2020. There is a thr ...
are sparsely populated.
The majority of the population is Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
. The historically important Moravian Brothers (''Herrnhuters'') were a congregation of faith, in a Danish context based in Christiansfeld
Christiansfeld, with a population of 2,979 (1 January 2024), is a town in Kolding Municipality in Southern Jutland in Region of Southern Denmark. The town was founded in 1773 by the Moravian Church and named after the Danish king Christian VII ...
in South Jutland, and partially of German origin, but their name does not signify they were ethnic Moravians
Moravians ( or Colloquialism, colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech language, Czech or Czech language#Common Czech, Common ...
(Czechs
The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...
).
In terms of ethnicity, the population is estimated to be of 89.5% Greenlandic, 7.5% Danish, 1.1% other Nordic and 1.9% other origins. The multi-ethnic population of European-Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
represent people of Danish, Norwegian and to a lesser degree of Faroese, Icelandic, Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
( whalers), German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and American descent.
A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture
The Thule ( , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by 1000 AD and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the ...
who arrived in the 13th century, with approximately 25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found.
Languages
Greenlandic (effectively West Greenlandic
(), also known as West Greenlandic (), is the primary language of Greenland and constitutes the Greenlandic language, spoken by the vast majority of the inhabitants of Greenland, as well as by thousands of Greenlandic Inuit in Denmark proper (i ...
), spoken by nearly 50,000 people, became the sole official language in 2009. The majority of the population speak both Danish and West Greenlandic Kalaallisut (the most populous Eskaleut language). They have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979. In practice, Danish is still widely used in administration, academia, and skilled trades and other professions. The orthography of Greenlandic, established in 1851, was revised in 1973. The literacy rate
Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
was 100% in 2007.
About 12% of the population speak Danish as their primary language. These are primarily Danish immigrants, many of whom speak Danish as their first and sometimes only language. Monolingual Danish speakers are concentrated in Nuuk and other larger towns. A debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future is ongoing. While Greenlandic was dominant in all smaller settlements, most of the multi-ethnic Inuit ancestors spoke Danish as a second language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk, Danish was more important for social matters. English is growing in importance, and is now taught from the first school year.
West Greenland has long been the most populous area of the island, and this has contributed to its variety of Greenlandic, Kalaallisut, becoming the de facto official language of Greenland. Around 3,000 people speak East Greenlandic
(), also known as East Greenlandic (), is the language of the Tunumiit in East Greenland. It is generally categorised as a dialect of Greenlandic, but verges on being a distinct language.Nicole Tersis, in Variations on polysynthesis: the Eskal ...
(Tunumiisut) and nearly 1,000 around northern Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq (), formerly known as New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The town has a population of 646 as of 2020. The population was forcibly relocated from its former, traditiona ...
speak Inuktun
Inuktun (, , ) is the language of approximately 1,000 Indigenous Inughuit (Polar Inuit), inhabiting the world's northernmost settlements in Qaanaaq and the surrounding villages in northwestern Greenland.
Geographic distribution
Apart from the t ...
. North Greenlandic is closer to the Inuit languages of Canada than it is to other Greenlandic. Each of these varieties is nearly unintelligible to the speakers of the others and some linguists consider Tunumiisut to be a separate language altogether. A UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
report labelled the other varieties as endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
, and measures are now considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialect.
Religion
The nomadic Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
were traditionally Shamanism, shamanistic, with a well-developed Inuit religion, religion primarily concerned with appeasing a vengeful and Sedna (mythology), fingerless sea goddess called Sedna who controlled the success of the seal hunting, seal and whaling, whale hunts.
The first Norse colonization of Greenland, Norse colonists worshipped the Norse religion, Norse gods, but Erik the Red
Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color o ...
's son Leif Ericson, Leif was converted to Christianity by List of Norwegian monarchs, King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar, Greenland, Garðar.
Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Danish Reformation, Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Church of Denmark, Lutherans and German Moravian missions in Greenland, Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans Egede, Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the Kalaallisut orthography, modern orthography was completed in 2000.
The major religion is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation. There are no official census data on religion in Greenland, but the Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimates that 85% of the Greenlandic population are members of her congregation. The Church of Denmark is the State religion, established church through the Constitution of Denmark
The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark (), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution (, , ), is the constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark, applying equally in the Realm of Denmark: Denma ...
.
A small Roman Catholic minority is pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. There are still Christian missionaries on the island, but mainly from Charismatic Christianity, charismatic movements Proselytism, proselytising fellow Christians.
Education
Education is organized in a similar way to Denmark. Students have ten years of mandatory primary school. This is followed by secondary education, focused on either work training or preparation for university education. There is one institution of higher learning, the University of Greenland () in Nuuk. Many Demographics of Greenland, Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere.
The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under the jurisdiction of the municipalities. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under their responsibility are run. Education is free and Compulsory education, compulsory for children aged seven to 16. The financial outlay devoted to education is 11.3% of GDP. Section 1 of the Government Ordinance on Public Schools (amended in 1997) requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction.
Education is governed by a regulation adopted in 1990 and amended in 1993 and 1994. Under this legislation, linguistic integration in primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students. The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic, cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year trial period, concluded that this bilingualism, bilingual had achieved positive results.
About 100 schools exist, in which both Greenlandic and Danish are used. Generally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses. Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is generally vocational and technical. The system is governed by Regulation No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a (bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the Greenlandic language.
Higher education is offered in Greenland: university education, training of journalists, training of primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers, training of social educators and training of nurses and nursing assistants. Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the applicant must be a Danish nationality law, Danish citizen and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years. The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three years.
Social issues
The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds List of countries by suicide rate, the highest suicide rate in the world.
Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism. The rate of alcohol consumption in Greenland peaked in the 1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark; by 2010 it had fallen slightly below that of Denmark. Alcohol prices are far higher in Greenland than in Denmark, meaning that consumption has a large social impact.
The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has been high in Greenland, reaching a peak in the 1990s when the number of AIDS-related deaths was also relatively high. Through a number of initiatives, the prevalence (along with the death rate, through efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, about 0.13% in the 2010s, below that of List of countries by HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate, most other countries.
In recent decades, Greenland’s rate of unemployment has generally been somewhat above that of Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark.
Compulsory contraception of Inuit women
In the 1960s and 1970s, at a time when the population was increasing, 4,500 Greenland Inuit women and girls (roughly half of all fertile females) were fitted with intrauterine devices (IUDs) by Danish doctors. Sometimes girls (as young as 12) were taken directly from school to have these devices inserted, without their parents' permission. The procedure was also carried out on some Inuit girls at boarding schools in Denmark. On 30 September 2022, the Danish Health Minister, Magnus Heunicke, announced a two-year investigation into the decisions leading to the practice and its implementation. Greenlandic doctors also carried out the same illegal procedures on several Inuit women after Greenland took control of its health care system in 1991.
LGBTQ rights
LGBTQ rights in Greenland
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Greenland are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world, relatively similar to those in Denmark proper in Europe. Same-sex sexual activity is legal, with an equa ...
are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world, relatively similar to those in Denmark proper in Europe. Transgender people in Greenland may change the gender designation on their official identity documents. A law passed in 2016 by decree allows legal gender changes based on self-determination. Since 2010, Greenland has had laws prohibiting hate speech against LGBTQ+ persons. Greenland’s parliament passed a Law on Equal Treatment and Anti-Discrimination in May 2024, taking effect on 1 July 2024. The law prohibits all discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, [and] gender characteristics”, among other characteristics. The law also creates an Equal Treatment Board to manage discrimination complaints and an Equality Council to promote non-discrimination.
Culture
Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit
Kalaallit are a Greenlandic Inuit ethnic group, being the largest group in Greenland, concentrated in the west. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the Indigenous of Greenland ().Hessel, 8 The Kalaallit (singular: ) a ...
, Tunumiit, Inughuit) and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are known for an art form of figures called ''tupilak'' or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the ''Ammassalik''.[#Hessel, Hessel, p. 20] Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.
Fine arts
The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve tupilaks, sculptures of figures of avenging monsters practised within shaman traditions. This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and describes an artistic figure, usually no more than tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans still use Indigenous (ecology), indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.
The history of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting developed, as well as printmaking and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the Nuuk Art Museum.
Media
Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly employed by the company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk has its own radio and television station. The television channel, Nanoq Media, was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the capital.
Only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly '' Sermitsiaq'' is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about northeast of Nuuk, and was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. The bi-weekly ''Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten'' (AG) is published every Tuesday and Thursday, in Greenlandic as ''Atuagagdliutit'' and in Danish as ''Grønlandsposten'', with all articles published in both languages.
Music
Greenland's musical heritage blends traditional Inuit forms with modern genres. The traditional Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
drum dance and song, known as ''Qilaut, qilaatersorneq'', is a cornerstone of Greenlandic culture. The ''Qilaut, qilaat'', a frame drum made from driftwood or Walrus, walrus ribs and covered with animal stomach or bladder, is played by striking the rim from underneath with a stick. These performances served various purposes, including entertainment, spiritual ceremonies, and conflict resolution through song duels, where participants would Satire, satirize each other to settle disputes. In 2021, UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
recognized Inuit drum dancing and singing as part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The arrival of Christian mission, Christian missionaries in the 18th century led to the suppression of drum dances, deemed Paganism, pagan. They were replaced by Polyphony, polyphonic choral singing, influenced by German hymns from the Moravian Church, Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. European whalers introduced instruments like the fiddle and accordion, leading to the development of ''kalattuut'', or Greenlandic polka, characterized by fast-paced dances performed during communal gatherings.
In contemporary times, Greenland has a vibrant music scene. The band Sumé (band), Sumé, active in the 1970s, pioneered Greenlandic rock music with politically charged lyrics advocating for cultural independence. Nanook (band), Nanook, formed in 2008, is a Pop rock, pop-rock band known for singing in Greenlandic and rejecting offers to switch to English, emphasizing cultural authenticity. Other notable artists include Chilly Friday (rock), Siissisoq (rock), Nuuk Posse (hip hop), and Rasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, 1979 Eurovision Song Contest in Greenlandic. Simon Lynge stands out as the first Greenlandic solo artist to release an album across the United Kingdom.
Cuisine
The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat. Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish have a large role in the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper. Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee.
Sport
Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, Team handball, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport,[#Wilcox, Wilcox and Latif, p. 110] and the Greenland men's national handball team, men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.
Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing and rock climbing, although mountain climbing and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there is a golf course in Nuuk.
Religion
The majority of Greenlanders are members of the Lutheran Church. The Church of Greenland is a diocese of the Lutheran World Federation through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark. There are 17 parishes in the Church of Greenland.
See also
* Index of Greenland-related articles
* Outline of Greenland
* Åland (Finland)
* Svalbard (Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
)
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Bardarson, I. (ed. Jónsson, F.) "Det gamle Grønlands beskrivelse af Ívar Bárðarson (Ivar Bårdssön)", (Copenhagen, 1930) .
* CIA World Factbook, 2000.
* Philip Wheeler Conkling, Conkling, P. W. ''et al.'' (2011). The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change, co-authored with Richard Alley, Wallace Broecker and George Denton, with photographs by Gary Comer, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
*
*
*
* Oldendow, Knud.(1958). "Printing in Greenland". ''Libri: International Journal of Libraries & Information Services'' 8 (3/4): 223–62.
*
* Sowa, F. (2013). ''Relations of Power & Domination in a World Polity: The Politics of Indigeneity & National Identity in Greenland.'' In: Heininen, L. ''Arctic Yearbook 2013. The Arctic of regions vs. the globalized Arctic.'' Akureyri: Northern Research Forum, pp. 184–198
www.arcticyearbook.com/ay2013
* Sowa, F. (2014). ''Greenland.'' in: Hund, A. ''Antarctica and the Arctic Circle: A Geographic Encyclopedia of the Earth's Polar Regions.'' Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, pp. 312–316.
* Konrad Steffen, Steffen, Konrad, N. Cullen, and R. Huff (2005). "Climate variability and trends along the western slope of the Greenland Ice Sheet during 1991–2004", ''Proceedings of the 85th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting'' (San Diego, California).
*
*
External links
Government of Greenland
official website (in Danish and Kalaallisut only)
Greenland
at ''Denmark.dk'', the official website of Denmark.
Visit Greenland
nbsp;– the official Tourism in Greenland, Greenlandic Tourist Board
Inuit Circumpolar Council Greenland
*
*
{{Authority control
Greenland,
Christian states
Danish dependencies
Danish Realm
Dependent territories in North America
Former Norwegian colonies
Inuit territories
Island countries
Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)
Members of the Nordic Council
Nordic countries, .
Northern America
Regions of the Arctic
Special territories of the European Union
States and territories established in 1979