Though a part of the continent ofNorth America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with theEuropean kingdoms ofNorway and Denmark for more than a millennium, beginning in 986.[20] Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years bycircumpolar peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada.[21][22]Norsemen from Norway settled the uninhabitedsouthern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century (having previouslysettled Iceland), and their descendants lived in Greenland for 400 years until disappearing in the late 15th century. The 13th century saw the arrival ofInuit.
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 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 1953Constitution of Denmark ended Greenland's status as a colony, integrating it fully into the Danish state. In the1979 Greenlandic home rule referendum, Denmark grantedhome rule to Greenland. In the2008 Greenlandic self-government referendum, Greenlanders voted for the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the localNaalakkersuisut (Greenlandic government).[23] 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 toglobal warming, its abundance of mineral wealth, and its strategic position betweenEurasia, 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.[24] 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),[25] Greenland is theleast densely populated country in the world.[26] Greenland is socially progressive, like metropolitan Denmark; education and healthcare are free, andLGBTQ rights in Greenland are some of the most extensive in the world. Sixty-seven percent of its electricity production comes from renewable energy, mostly fromhydropower.[27]
Etymology
The earlyNorse settlers named the islandGreenland. In theIcelandic sagas, the NorwegianErik the Red was exiled from Iceland with his father, Thorvald, who had committed manslaughter. With his extended family and histhralls(slaves or serfs), 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 itGrœnland (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers.[28][29][30] TheSaga of Erik the Red 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."[31]
The name of the territory in theGreenlandic language isKalaallit Nunaat,'land of the Kalaallit'.[32] TheKalaallit are theGreenlandic Inuit who inhabit the territory's western region. The Greenlandic Inuit termNunaat does not include waters and ice.[33]
Areas of Independence I and Independence II cultures around Independence Fjord
In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successivePalaeo-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 theSaqqaq culture. Most finds of remains from that period have been aroundDisko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, for which the culture is named.[34][35]
Summer Night Off the Greenland Coast Circa Year 1000, byCarl Rasmussen, 1875
From 986, the west coast was settled byIcelanders andNorwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements—theEastern Settlement, theWestern Settlement, and theMiddle Settlement—on fjords near the southwestern tip of the island.[20][44] 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 theKingdom of Norway.[45] The Kingdom of Norway entered a personal union with Denmark in 1380, and from 1397 was a part of theKalmar Union.[46]
The Norse settlements, such asBrattahlíð, thrived for centuries, before disappearing in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of theLittle Ice Age.[47] Except for some runic inscriptions, the only contemporary records orhistoriography 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 ofGardar, and the collection of tithes. A chapter in theKonungs skuggsjá (The King's Mirror) describesNorse Greenland's exports, imports, and grain cultivation.
The last written records of theNorse Greenlanders are from a 1408 marriage atHvalsey Church, which is now the best-preserved Norse ruin.
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.[30] 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 ofice-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[48] with trees andherbaceous plants growing and livestock being farmed.Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel.[49] The ice cores show that Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times in the past 100,000 years.[50] Similarly theIcelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".[48]
TheseNorse settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries.[51] 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 6 to 8 °C (11 to 14 °F) lower than modern summer temperatures.[52] 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, duringthis cold period.
Estimated extent of Arctic cultures in Greenland from 900 AD to 1500 AD. Coloured areas on each map indicate the extent and migration patterns over time of theDorset,Thule, andNorse cultures.
Theories drawn from archaeological excavations atHerjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because ofsoil erosion 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 frompandemic plague;[53] the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with theSkrælings (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"[47]). 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.[54] More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century aswalrus ivory,[55] 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.[56]
Other explanations of the disappearance of the Norse settlements have been proposed:
Ship-borne marauders (such asBasque, English, or German pirates), rather thanSkrælings, could have plundered and displaced the Greenlanders.[57]
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."[20][47]
That portion of the Greenlander population willing to adopt Inuit ways and means intermarried with and assimilated into the Inuit community.[58] 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."[47]
Thule culture (1300–present)
The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Palaeo-InuitDorset culture have been found in the present population of Greenland.[59] 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 asdog sleds andtoggling harpoons.
There is an account of contact and conflict with the Norse population, as told by the Inuit. It is republished inThe 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.
In 1500, KingManuel I of Portugal sentGaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of aNorthwest Passage to Asia which, according to theTreaty of Tordesillas, 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 inLabrador andNewfoundland. 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 toErcole I d'Este,Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. TheCantino planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.[60]
In 1605–1607, KingChristian IV of Denmark and Norway sent aseries of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assertDanish-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 ofCape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southwarddrifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorerJames 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 missionaryHans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of theDano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his sonPaul Egede in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred atGodthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.
When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, theTreaty of Kiel severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland asErik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constitutedterra nullius. Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to thePermanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway.[61]
Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early inWorld War II, after Denmark was occupied byNazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany.[62] The United States' occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by sellingcryolite from the mine atIvittuut.In World War II, the United States military usedBluie as a code name for Greenland, where they kept several bases named "Bluie (East or West) (sequential numeral)".[63] The major air bases wereBluie West-1 atNarsarsuaq andBluie West-8 atSøndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports.
During this war, the system of government changed:GovernorEske 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 DanishSirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dog sleds. They detected several Germanweather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich,Albert Speer briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to theUnited States Armed Forces.[64]
Greenland had a protected and very isolated society until 1940.[65] It was a colony, and it was believed that its society would be subject to exploitation or even eradication if the country was opened up. TheDanish government had maintained a strict monopoly ofGreenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scalebarter 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, theLandsrådene, recommended patience and no radical reform of the system.
Home rule and self-rule (1945–present)
Margrethe II of Denmark, during whose reign (1972–2024) Greenland received home-rule in 1979 and self-rule in 2009.Queen Margrethe II Land is named after her.
The first step towards a change of government was initiated with theGreenland Commission, which operated from 1948 to 1950. With its final report (the G-50), the first steps toward the modernization of Greenland were taken. The report recommended that Greenland become a modernwelfare state, modelled after Denmark proper and with Denmark's development as sponsor, and the trade monopoly was abolished.[66]
With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended, and the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as anamt (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. 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 ofGreenlandic independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s.[67]
As in metropolitan Denmark, Greenland has seen significant expansion of the welfare state in the postwar era. Education and healthcare are free, andLGBTQ rights in Greenland are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world. In 1987, theUniversity of Greenland was founded to provide Greenlanders with higher education in their own language and country.
The United States offered tobuy Greenland from Denmark for $100,000,000 in 1946; Denmark firmly rejected the offer, as the island was seen as an integral part of the Danish kingdom, important to its history and national identity.[68][69] 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 byNATO. The U.S. military could freely use and move between these defence areas, but was not to infringe upon Danish sovereignty in Greenland.[70] The United States greatly expandedThule Air Base between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO defence strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than 100 km (62 miles) away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secretnuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, namedProject Iceworm.[71] According to documents declassified in 1996,[72] this project was managed fromCamp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable.[73] 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 thecrash of a nuclear-equipped B-52 bomber near the Thule air base in 1968.[74]
In 1973, an amicableborder dispute between Denmark and Canada arose over the ownership ofHans Island, a small island inNares Strait directly between Greenland and the Canadian territory ofNunavut. The island remained in dispute until 2022, when both countries agreed to split the disputed island roughly in half.[75]
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, withits own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while theParliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. TheDanish monarch remains Greenland'shead of state. In 1985, Greenlandleft the European Economic Community (EEC), as it did not agree with theEEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban onsealskin products.[76]
Greenland voters approved areferendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008.[77][78] According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence".[79] On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of itsjudicial affairs, policing matters, andnatural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people underinternational law.[80] Denmark maintains control of the territory'sforeign affairs 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.[81] In 2012,Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at a historic ceremony.[2][4][82][83][84] 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.[85]
Since 2019, U.S. PresidentDonald Trump has claimed that theU.S. should control Greenland,[80] stating that its residents "want to be with us", despite 85% opposition by Greenlandic adults.[86] The Danish government called Trump's claims "absurd" and confirmed that Greenland is not for sale. Denmark plans to spend an extra $2 billion on Arctic defence, and Greenland's government is moving to ban foreign political funding. Prime MinisterMette Frederiksen has emphasized that Greenland, part of Denmark, is not for sale.[87] Denmark's minister of defenceTroels Lund Poulsen has emphasized that Trump willnot get Greenland, and that he cannot demand a part of Denmark's territory.[88] The Greenland government has accused the United States of foreign interference in its affairs.[89] Greenland's then-prime ministerMúte Bourup Egede 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."[90] Greenland's new prime ministerJens-Frederik Nielsen said Trump will not "get" Greenland.[91] Under theDanish Penal Code, activities that unlawfully threaten Denmark's sovereignty or constitutional order, including through foreign interference or attempts to alter territorial integrity by illegal means, are criminalized under provisions relating to national security and crimes against the state.[92] In April 2025, a plan by the United States for undermining the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark through a campaign of foreign interference anddisinformation on social media became known.[93]Pituffik Space Base commander Susannah Meyers said theTrump regime's threats against the Kingdom of Denmark "are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base."[94] In August 2025,Danmarks Radio reported that at least three American men with connections toDonald Trump were being monitored by theDanish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) for attempting to infiltrate Greenland. PET stated that the purpose of such campaigns may be to create discord in the relationship between Greenland and Denmark, and that PET assesses this could be done by exploiting existing or fabricated disagreements. The American actions against Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark have been described by Danish observers ashybrid warfare.[95][96]
The lowest temperature ever recorded in theNorthern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of theGreenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached −69.6 °C (−93.3 °F).[100] In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from −5.1 to 9.9 °C (22.8 to 49.8 °F).[101] The total area of Greenland is 2,166,086 km2 (836,330 sq mi) (including other offshore minor islands), of which theGreenland ice sheet covers 1,755,637 km2 (677,855 sq mi) (81%) and has a volume of approximately 2,850,000 km3 (680,000 cu mi).[102] The highest point on Greenland isGunnbjørn Fjeld at 3,700 m (12,100 ft) of theWatkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in elevation.
Below the ice there is a series of canyons, the biggest calledGreenland's Grand Canyon which was formed by flowing rivers of water from the repeated cycle of ice melting and new ice forming.[103]Near the coast elevations rise suddenly and steeply.[104]
The iceflows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientistPaul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands.[105] This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea atIlulissat Icefjord, atGreenland's Grand Canyon and south ofNordostrundingen.
Alltowns 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.[106]
Polar explorer and anthropologistKnud Rasmussen (1879–1933), called the "father ofEskimology", was the first to explore the Greenland ice sheet bydog sled.
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,North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round stationSummit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio stationJørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.
The extreme north of Greenland,Peary Land, 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.[107] The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007.[108] Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented:
In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout theArctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath thisice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt.[109]
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.[110]
The northernmost point of land on Earth was long thought to beCape Morris Jesup at the northern tip of mainland Greenland. However, in 1969 a Canadian team surveyedKaffeklubben Island (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.[111]
Other points have been claimed to be the northernmost point, with dispute over the title arising fromice sheets, water movement and inundation, and storm activity that may build, shift, or destroy banks of gravellymoraine material. In 1978 Uffe Petersen, a member of theDanish Geodetic Institute, discoveredOodaaq Island at 83° 40' 32.5" N. Its last confirmed sighting was in 1979.[112] In 2003, a small protrusion of rocks and boulders, 35 m × 15 m (115 ft × 49 ft) in length and width, was discovered by Arctic explorerDennis Schmitt and his team at latitude 83° 42' N and unofficially named83-42.[113] Whether this land is permanent is uncertain; a 2022 bathymetric survey determined that it was likelynot connected to the seafloor, but rather rocky material on top of sea ice, and thus not land.[114]
2012 NASA graphics show the extent of a then-record melting event
Potential equilibrium states of the ice sheet in response to different equilibrium carbon dioxide concentrations in parts per million, 2023[115]
The Greenland ice sheet always loses some mass fromice calving at its coasts, but it used to balance this on average by the accumulation of snowfall.[116] However, Greenland has been warming since around 1900,[117] and starting in the 1980s, the losses became larger than the gains.[118] After 1996, Greenland has not had a single year when it did not lose mass on average.[119] 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.[120] 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.[121][122][123] 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 norain gauges for the occasion.[124]
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,[125] equal to 37% of sea level rise from land ice sources (excluding thermal expansion of water from the continual increase in theocean heat content).[126] By the end of the century, the melting of Greenland alone will add between ~6 cm (2+1⁄2 in) if the temperature change is kept below 2 °C (3.6 °F), to around 13 cm (5 in) if the most intenseclimate change scenario with ever-increasinggreenhouse gas emissions is followed.[127]: 1302 Under this scenario, the worst case for Greenland melting could reach 33 cm (13 in) of sea level rise equivalent.[128] The large quantities of freshmeltwater also affect theAtlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) by diluting key currents, slowing it down.[129][130] 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.[131][132]
Greenland's ice sheet has a volume of ~2,900,000 cubic kilometres (696,000 cu mi). This means that if it were all to melt, global sea level would increase by ~7.4 m (24 ft) from that event alone.[133] 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,[128] and in around 10,000 years under lower rates of warming which still cross the threshold for the ice sheet's disappearance.[134][135] This threshold likely lies for between 1.7 °C (3.1 °F) and 2.3 °C (4.1 °F). Reducing the warming back to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) or lower above preindustrial levels (such as through large-scalecarbon dioxide removal) would arrest the losses, but still cause greater ultimate sea level rise than if the threshold had never been exceeded.[136] Further, 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) itself appears to commit the Greenland ice sheet to1.4 m (4+1⁄2 ft) of sea level rise.[137]
A study published in January 2025 in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 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 astate change in these systems.[138] This change was said to alter "numerous physical, chemical, and biological lake features", and the state changes were said to be unprecedented.[138]
Geology
The island was part of the very ancientPrecambrian continent ofLaurentia, 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 thePrecambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into theCenozoic andMesozoic in parts of the island.
In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of floodbasalts and igneous intrusions, such as theSkaergaard intrusion. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic 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,[139] and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists ofpegmatites such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there arefluoride-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.
To the west and southwest arePalaeozoic carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavynative iron up to 25 t (28 short tons) in the basalts.[140]
Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of theCircumboreal Region within theBoreal 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) along with grey-leaf willow (Salix glauca), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), common juniper (Juniperus communis) and other smaller trees, mainly willows.
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 asAtlantic salmon andcharr.[149] Thefishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of territory's total exports.[150]
The Greenlandic governmentNaalakkersuisut holdsexecutive power in local government affairs. The head of the Greenlandic government is calledNaalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat ("Premier"). Any other member of the cabinet is called aNaalakkersuisoq ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament is calledInatsisartut ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.[155]
In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national (Inatsisartut), and kingdom (Folketing) levels.
Greenland is a self-governing entity within theconstitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in whichKing Frederik X is the head of state. The monarch officially retainsexecutive power and presides over theCouncil of State (privy council).[156][157] However, following the introduction of aparliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative andceremonial,[158] such as the formal appointment and dismissal of theprime minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.[159]
Following World War II, theUnited Nations mandated that colonies should become independent, enter intofree association with another country, or be fully integrated into themetropole (the former colonial power). Denmark opted in 1952 to integrate Greenland into theDanish Realm. In 1979, the Danish government and parliament introducedhome rule 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).[160][161][162]
The party system was dominated by the social-democraticForward Party, and the democratic socialistInuit Community Party, both of which broadly have argued for greater independence from Denmark.[when?]
While the2009 election saw the unionistDemocrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw theeco-socialistInuit Party elected to theParliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap2014 and2018 elections.[citation needed]
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" (Greenlandic:kommuneqarfiit,Danish:kommuner):Sermersooq ("Much Ice") around the capitalNuuk and also including allEast Coast communities;Kujalleq ("South") aroundCape Farewell;Qeqqata ("Centre") north of the capital along theDavis Strait;Qeqertalik ("The one with islands") surroundingDisko Bay; andAvannaata ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of theQaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporatedNortheast Greenland National Park.Pituffik Space Base is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality. As aterritorial concession granted to the United States in perpetuity, it is administered by theUnited States Space Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent[clarification needed] years the number has been below 1,000.[citation needed]
There is also oneUnited States military base in Greenland:Pituffik Space Base (previously Thule Air Base), which is home to theUnited States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control toNorth American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Deltas2,4, and6.[170] 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.[70][171]
In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission fornuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957nuclear-free zone policy.[172][74] The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, calledCamp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet.[173] On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part ofOperation Chrome Dome,crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing atThule Air Base.[174] The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination.[175] One of theH-bombs remains lost.[176][177]
The single most important factor in the Greenlandic economy is financial aid from Denmark, mainly in the form of thebloktilskud [da] (block grant). In 2024, thebloktilskud to Greenland was 4.3 billion kr, in of itself amounting to a third of the island's total public revenue.[178] 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.[179] As of 2019[update] it subsidizes Greenland with 4.3 billion kr. annually,[180] up from 3.6 billion kr. in 2009.[181]
The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports.[182] Theshrimp andfish industry is by far the largest income earner.[183] Greenland is abundant in minerals,[182] 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".[184]
Greenland is a very difficult place to extract natural resources, for a number of reasons, including extreme weather conditions and a strong environmentalist community.[185] The New York Times reported in March 2025 that, despite dozens of exploratory projects, there are only two active mines in Greenland.[185]
Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potentialhydropower. There is a programme to build hydropower plants. The first, and still the largest, isBuksefjord 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.[186]
TheEuropean Union has urged Greenland to restrict development by the People's Republic of China ofrare-earth 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.[187]
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-tradedeficit following the closure of the last remaining lead andzinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources ofruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to enhance thegemstone industry in Greenland and add a new export.[188]
Air transport connects Greenland internally and with othernations. 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 4.8 km (3 mi) length betweenKangilinnguit and the now abandoned formercryolite mining town ofIvittuut.[189] 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 forall-terrain vehicles (secondarily forbicycles and hiking), is under construction betweenKangerlussuaq and the town ofSisimiut (Holstensborg). As of June 2023, the road was scheduled for completion in 2024.[190] A news report inSermitsiaq declared the road itself to be completed already in September 2021,[191] but maintenance work and mud problems[192] 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.[193]
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 theDanish 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 toCopenhagen orReykjavík-Keflavík. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and most cities, requires a plane change in Nuuk.
Nuuk Airport (GOH) is thehub and international gateway for international and domestic airline passenger transport, after having undergone a major expansion in 2024.Air Greenland is the flag carrier of Greenland. Additionally,Icelandair provides year-round services to Greenlandic airports. Seasonal and charter flights are also offered by other airlines.[194][195] Until 2024,Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) was the main international gateway to Greenland, but is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas.[196][197]Ilulissat Airport (JAV) andNarsarsuaq Airport (UAK) are domestic airports that also serve limited international flights toIceland and are both being reconstructed and expanded to enable larger aircraft to serve the airport by 2026, the latter in a new location closer toQaqortoq.[198][199]
Seapassenger transport is served by several coastal ferries.Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.[200]
Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping companyRoyal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe, and North America.
Tourism increased significantly between 2015 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 77,000 per year to 105,000.[201] 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 theCOVID-19 pandemic;[202] 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").[203] Greenland's goal for returning tourism is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".[204]
Mining
Greenland is often portrayed as rich inrare-earth minerals, 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.[205]
Mining ofruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects include iron,uranium, aluminium, nickel,platinum,tungsten,titanium, andcopper. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on theCopenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007.
In 2021, Greenland had a population of 56,421.[206] That year, 18,800 people resided in the capital cityNuuk. 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.[207] Whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates, Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area aroundNarsarsuaq are sparsely populated.
The majority of the population isLutheran. The historically importantMoravian Brothers (Herrnhuters) were a congregation of faith, in a Danish context based inChristiansfeld inSouth Jutland, and partially of German origin, but their name does not signify they were ethnicMoravians (Czechs).
A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of theThule culture 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.[208]
A bilingual parking sign in Nuuk in Danish and Greenlandic
Greenlandic (effectivelyWest Greenlandic), spoken by nearly 50,000 people, became the sole official language in 2009.[210] The majority of the population speak bothDanish and West Greenlandic Kalaallisut (the most populousEskaleut 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,[211] wasrevised in 1973. Theliteracy rate was 100% in 2007.[183]
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.[212][failed verification]
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 speakEast Greenlandic (Tunumiisut) and nearly 1,000 around northernQaanaaq speakInuktun. North Greenlandic is closer to the Inuit languages of Canada than it is to other Greenlandic.[213] Each of these varieties is nearly unintelligible to the speakers of the others and some linguists consider Tunumiisut to be a separate language altogether.[214] AUNESCO report labelled the other varieties asendangered, and measures are now considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialect.[215]
The firstNorse colonists worshipped theNorse gods, butErik the Red's sonLeif was converted to Christianity byKingOlaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric atGarðar.
Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of theProtestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for theDanish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of theRoyal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and DanishLutherans and GermanMoravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in theChristianization of Greenland wereHans andPoul Egede andMatthias Stach. TheNew 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 themodern orthography was completed in 2000.[219][better source needed]
Education is organized in a similar way to Denmark. Students have ten years of mandatoryprimary school. This is followed by secondary education, focused on either work training or preparation for university education. There is one institution of higher learning, theUniversity of Greenland (Greenlandic:Ilisimatusarfik) in Nuuk. ManyGreenlanders 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 andcompulsory 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 allstudents. 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 thisbilingual 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 andTechnical 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 aDanish 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.
Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism.[226] 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.[227][228]
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,[229][230] below that ofmost other countries.
In recent decades, Greenland's rate of unemployment has generally been somewhat above that of Denmark;[231] in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland,[232] compared to 5.6% in Denmark.[233]
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 withintrauterine 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.[234] Greenlandic doctors also carried out the same illegal procedures on several Inuit women after Greenland took control of its health care system in 1991.[235]
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. 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.[236][237] Since 2010, Greenland has had laws prohibitinghate 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.[238]
Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit,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 calledtupilak or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in theAmmassalik.[239]Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.[240]
Fine arts
The Inuit have their own arts andcrafts tradition; for example, they carve tupilaks, sculptures of figures of avenging monsters practised within shaman traditions.[241] This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres (8 in) 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 useindigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.
Thehistory 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 asprintmaking 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, theNuuk 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.[242] 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.[243]
Only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weeklySermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about 15 km (9.5 mi) northeast of Nuuk, and was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. The bi-weeklyAtuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is published every Tuesday and Thursday, in Greenlandic asAtuagagdliutit and in Danish asGrønlandsposten, with all articles published in both languages.
Nive Nielsen in 2016, Greenlandic singer and songwriterGreenlandic filmmakerInuk Silis Høegh with members of the Greenlandic bandSumé, 2015
Greenland's musical heritage blends traditional Inuit forms with modern genres. The traditionalInuit drum dance and song, known asqilaatersorneq, is a cornerstone of Greenlandic culture.[244] Theqilaat, a frame drum made fromdriftwood orwalrus 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 wouldsatirize each other to settle disputes.[245] In 2021,UNESCO recognized Inuit drum dancing and singing as part of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[246][247][244]
The arrival ofChristian missionaries in the 18th century led to the suppression of drum dances, deemedpagan. They were replaced bypolyphonic choral singing, influenced by German hymns from theHerrnhuter Brüdergemeinde.[248] European whalers introduced instruments like the fiddle and accordion, leading to the development ofkalattuut, or Greenlandic polka, characterized by fast-paced dances performed during communal gatherings.[249][250][251]
In contemporary times, Greenland has a vibrant music scene. The bandSumé, active in the 1970s, pioneered Greenlandicrock music with politically charged lyrics advocating for cultural independence.[252]Nanook, formed in 2008, is apop-rock band known for singing inGreenlandic and rejecting offers to switch to English, emphasizing cultural authenticity.[253][254] Other notable artists includeChilly Friday (rock),Siissisoq (rock),Nuuk Posse (hip hop), andRasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the1979 Eurovision Song Contest in Greenlandic.Simon Lynge stands out as the first Greenlandic solo artist to release an album across theUnited Kingdom.[255]
The national dish of Greenland issuaasat, a soup made fromseal 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.[256] Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper.[257] 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.[258]
Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active.[259] Popular sports includeassociation football,track and field,handball andskiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport,[260] and themen's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.
The majority of Greenlanders are members of the Lutheran Church.[261] TheChurch of Greenland is a diocese of the Lutheran World Federation through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark.[262] There are 17 parishes in the Church of Greenland.[261]
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