Greenland Quick FactsGreenland is the World's largest (non-continental) island, with a land area of 2.16 million sq km - which is the same as France, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium combined. Greenland owes its name to its modern era discoverer, Eric the Red, who in the late 900's named it as such in order to help entice future inhabitants. The country is approx 2,700 kms in distance from south to north, and 1,000 kms from east to west at its widest point.
85% of the country is covered by inland ice, the second largest ice cap in the World after Antarctica and rises to over 3,000 mtrs above sea level. Greenland’s total ice area of 1.8 million km² corresponds to 14 times the size of England. The ice-free area amounts to 350,000 km² – equivalent to the area of Germany. The ice contains 7-8 per cent of the world’s reserves of fresh water. Greenland has a population of approximately 56,000 only. The population, the majority of which have Inuit background, lives in towns or settlements in the ice-free parts of the country, mostly along the south-western and southern coasts. The capital of Greenland is Nuuk (Godthab) with a population of 14,000. Geographically, Greenland is part of the North American continent; geopolitically, the country is part of Europe, and nationally Greenland is part of Denmark. Canada is Greenland's closest neighbor - only 26 kms separating the two countries at its closest point. Greenland ceased to be a Danish colony in 1953, when Greenlanders became equal citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1979, the country achieved Home Rule status and authorized to have its own parliament. Denmark retains control of foreign policy, defense and the judicial system. |
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