Greenland | History, Population, Map, Flag, & Weather | Britannica

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• Introduction & Quick Facts
• Land
• People
• Economy
• Government and society
• Cultural life
• History
  • Early cultures
  • Erik the Red and Norse settlements
  • Danish rule
  • Increasing autonomy and the question of independence
  • Donald Trump and the Greenland crisis

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• Is Greenland a country?
• What is Greenland’s size and location?

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External Websites

• Official Tourism Site of Greenland
• Nature - Taking Greenland�s geology to another dimension
• BBC News - Greenland Profile
• Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factbook - Greenland

Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• Greenland - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• Greenland - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Greenland island, North Atlantic Ocean Ask Anything Quick Summary Homework Help Also known as: Grønland, Kalaallit Nunaat Written by Rasmus Ole Rasmussen Associate Professor of Geography, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark. Author of several studies of economic development in Greenland. Rasmus Ole Rasmussen Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 3, 2026 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Quick Summary Table of Contents Table of Contents Quick Summary Ask Anything Top Questions

Is Greenland a country?

Greenland is a self-governing overseas administrative division within the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark’s relationship with Greenland dates to 1721, and in 1953 Greenland was formally incorporated into Denmark. In 1979 Greenland was granted home rule. This means that Greenland’s government (led by the Inatsisartut, a parliament elected by adults aged 18 and older) controls most of its domestic affairs, while Denmark oversees the island’s foreign affairs and defense.

What is Greenland’s size and location?

Greenland is the world’s largest island, more than three times the size of Texas, extending 1,660 miles from north to south and more than 650 miles at its widest point. Its total area is more than 836,000 square miles (more than 2,165,000 square km). It lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, with two-thirds of its area within the Arctic Circle.

What is the primary language spoken in Greenland?

The primary language spoken in Greenland is Kalaallisut (West Greenlandic), which is the official language. It is part of the Inuit language family. Danish is also spoken as a native language by about 10 percent of the population.

What are the main economic activities in Greenland?

Greenland’s economy is primarily based on fishing, especially cod, shrimp, and halibut. Tourism has grown significantly since the 1990s, and there are efforts to diversify with mineral exploitation. The government receives substantial financial aid from Denmark.

Who are the Indigenous people of Greenland?

The Indigenous people of Greenland are primarily Inuit, identifying as Kalaallit (West Greenlanders), Inugguit (from Thule district), or Iit (East Greenlanders), depending on their region.

What is the political status of Greenland?

Greenland is a self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark. It manages most domestic affairs, and Denmark handles constitutional matters, foreign relations, and defense. Greenland’s government is led by the Inatsisartut, a parliament elected by adults aged 18 and older.

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Greenland, the world’s largest island, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean. Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat) is noted for its vast tundra and immense glaciers.

Although Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the island’s home-rule government is responsible for most domestic affairs. The Greenlandic people are primarily Inuit who, depending upon the region they are from, call themselves Kalaallit (West Greenlanders), Inugguit (from Thule district), or Iit (East Greenlanders). They call their homeland Kalaallit Nunaat (“Country of the Greenlanders”). The capital of Greenland is Nuuk (Godthåb).

Quick Facts Flag of Greenland Heads Of Government: High Commissioner (for Denmark): Mikaela Engell; Prime Minister (for Greenland): Múte Bourup Egede (Show more) Capital: Nuuk (Show more) Population: (2026 est.) 56,500 (Show more) Head Of State: Danish Monarch: Frederik X (Show more) Official Language: Greenlandic (Show more) Official Religion: Evangelical Lutheran (Lutheran Church of Greenland) (Show more) Official Name: Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenlandic)1; (Greenland) (Show more) Total Area (Sq Km): 2,166,086 (Show more) Total Area (Sq Mi): 836,330 (Show more) Monetary Unit: Danish krone (DKK) (Show more) Population Rank: (2026) 210 (Show more) Population Projection 2030: 54,200 (Show more) Density: Persons Per Sq Mi: (2026) 0.7 (Show more) Density: Persons Per Sq Km: (2026) 0.3 (Show more) Urban-Rural Population: Urban: (2023) 87.8% Rural: (2023) 12.2% (Show more) Life Expectancy At Birth : Male: (2021) 69.2 years Female: (2021) 74 years (Show more) Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate: Male: (2015) 100% Female: (2015) 100% (Show more) Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000): (2019) 2,942 (Show more) Gni Per Capita (U.S.$): (2019) 52,445 (Show more) Political Status: self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark with one legislative house (Parliament [31])2 (Show more) Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaat (Show more)

1. Called Grønland in Danish, an official language of Greenland prior to June 21, 2009.
2. A referendum approved in November 2008 endorsed the gradual expansion of Greenland’s autonomy from Denmark; the Greenland government assumed greater responsibility for local matters on June 21, 2009.

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Why Is the U.S. Interested in Greenland?

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More than three times the size of the U.S. state of Texas, Greenland extends about 1,660 miles (2,670 km) from north to south and more than 650 miles (1,050 km) from east to west at its widest point. Two-thirds of the island lies within the Arctic Circle, and the island’s northern extremity extends to within less than 500 miles (800 km) of the North Pole. Greenland is separated from Canada’s Ellesmere Island to the north by only 16 miles (26 km). The nearest European country is Iceland, lying about 200 miles (320 km) across the Denmark Strait to the southeast. Greenland’s deeply indented coastline is 24,430 miles (39,330 km) long, a distance roughly equivalent to Earth’s circumference at the Equator.

Why does Greenland look so big on some maps?

All map projections produce some distortion. The Mercator projection—which is still widely used for world maps—disproportionately exaggerates the size of landmasses that are more distant from the Equator. So Greenland, which is roughly the size of Saudi Arabia, looks like it is larger than the entire continent of Africa.

A submarine ridge no deeper than 600 feet (180 meters) connects the island physically with North America. Structurally, Greenland is an extension of the Canadian Shield, the rough plateau of the Canadian North that is made up of hard Precambrian rocks.

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Greenland’s major physical feature is its massive ice sheet, which is second only to Antarctica’s in size. The Greenland Ice Sheet has an average thickness of 5,000 feet (1,500 meters), reaches a maximum thickness of about 10,000 feet (3,000 meters), and covers more than 700,000 square miles (1,800,000 square km)—more than four-fifths of Greenland’s total land area. Layers of snow falling on its barren, windswept surface become compressed into ice layers, which constantly move outward to the peripheral glaciers; the Jakobshavn Glacier, often moving 100 feet (30 meters) a day, is among the world’s fastest glaciers. The remaining ice-free land area occupies the country’s coastal areas and consists largely of highlands; mountain chains parallel the island’s east and west coasts, rising to 12,139 feet (3,700 meters) at Gunnbjørn Mountain in the southeast. These highlands notwithstanding, most parts of the rock floor underlying the Greenland Ice Sheet are in fact at or slightly beneath current sea levels.

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Long, deep fjords reach far into both the east and west coasts of Greenland in complex systems, offering magnificent, if desolate, scenery. Along many parts of the coast, the ice sheet fronts directly on the sea, with large chunks breaking off the glaciers and sliding into the water as icebergs.

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The climate of Greenland is Arctic, modified only by the slight influence of the Gulf Stream in the southwest. Rapid weather changes, from sunshine to impenetrable blizzards, are common and result from the eastward progression of low-pressure air masses over a permanent layer of cold air above the island’s icy interior. Average winter (January) temperatures range from the low 20s F (about −7 °C) in the south to approximately −30 °F (about −34 °C) in the north. Summer temperatures along the southwestern coast average in the mid-40s F (about 7 °C) during July, while the average in the far north is closer to 40 °F (about 4 °C). Greenland experiences about two months of midnight sun during the summer. Average annual precipitation decreases from more than 75 inches (1,900 mm) in the south to about 2 inches (50 mm) in the north. Large areas of the island can be classified as Arctic deserts because of their limited precipitation.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, scientists posited that global warming was profoundly affecting not only Greenland’s climate but also its physical geography. A number of scientists noted that Greenland’s vast ice sheet was shrinking at a highly increased rate. In 2012, for example, satellites revealed that at midyear 97 percent of the ice sheet showed some signs of melting, whereas in most years the melt affected only about half of the ice sheet. Researchers were uncertain, however, if the abrupt ice loss represented a long-term trend, but in 2016, as global warming pushed the planet toward the hottest January, February, March, April, and May in its history (according to NASA), Greenland also experienced a series of record early spikes in the melting of its ice sheets.

The country’s plant life is characterized mainly as tundra vegetation and consists of such plants as sedge and cotton grass. Plantlike lichens also are common. The limited ice-free areas are almost totally devoid of trees, although some dwarfed birch, willow, and alder scrub do manage to survive in sheltered valleys in the south. Several species of land mammals—including polar bears, musk oxen, reindeer, Arctic foxes, snow hares, ermines, and lemmings—can be found on the island. Seals and whales are found in the surrounding waters and were formerly the chief source of nourishment for the Greenlanders. Cod, salmon, flounder, and halibut are important saltwater fish, and the island’s rivers contain salmon and Arctic char.