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Greenland Tourism - Travel to Greenland

        

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The world's largest non-continental island, about 84% ice-capped, Greenland was granted self-government in 1978 by the Danish parliament. The law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs.

Table of contents

1 Geography 2 People 3 Government 4 Economy 5 Communications 6 Transportation 7 Military 8 Transnational Issues

Geography in Greenland

Location

Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada

Geographic coordinates

72 00 N, 40 00 W

Map references

Arctic Region

Area

total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (est.)

Area - comparative

slightly more than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries

0 km

Coastline

44,087 km

Maritime claims

continental shelf: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line
territorial sea: 3 NM

Climate

arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters

Terrain

flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m

Natural resources

zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas

Land use

arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Natural hazards

continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island

Environment - current issues

protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting

Geography - note

dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap

People in Greenland

Population

56,376 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 26.3% (male 7,561; female 7,284)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 20,880; female 17,489)
65 years and over: 5.6% (male 1,442; female 1,720) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate

0.03% (2002 est.)

Birth rate

16.27 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate

7.61 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate

-8.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate

17.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 68.69 years
female: 72.32 years (2002 est.)
male: 65.13 years

Total fertility rate

2.43 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

100 (1999)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

Nationality

noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic

Ethnic groups

Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (January 2000)

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran

Languages

Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English

Literacy

definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%
note: similar to Denmark proper

Government in Greenland

Country name

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland
local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat
local long form: none

Dependency status

part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979

Government type

parliamentary democracy within a constitutional monarchy

Capital

Nuuk (Godthab)

Administrative divisions

3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland

Independence

none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979)
note: foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland

National holiday

June 21 (longest day)

Constitution

5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

Legal system

Danish

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Gunnar MARTENS (since NA 1995)
note: government coalition - Siumut and Atassut
election results: Hans ENOKSEN elected prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002)
cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the Parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties
elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by Parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 3 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2006)

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 20 November 2001 (next to be held no later than November 2005); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1
election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 28.7%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 25.5%, Atassut Party 20.4%, Demokratiit 15.6%, Katusseqatigiit 5.3%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit 8, Atassut 7, Demokratiit 5, Katusseqatigiit 1
elections: last held on 3 December 2002 (next to be held by NA December 2006)

Judicial branch

High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen)

Political parties and leaders

Akulliit Party [Bjarne KREUTZMANN]; Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Daniel SKIFTE]; Demokratiit [leader NA]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH]; Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform [leader NA]; Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Hans ENOKSEN]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

International organization participation

NC, NIB

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Diplomatic representation from the US

none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Flag description

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white

Economy in Greenland

Economy - overview

The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities, it will take several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

NA%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Population below poverty line

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.6% (1999 est.)

Labor force

24,500 (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate

10% (2000 est.)

Budget

revenues: $646 million
expenditures: $629 million, including capital expenditures of $85 million (1999) (1999)

Industries

fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut), handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards, mining

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Electricity - production

250 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 100%
note: Greenland is shifting its electricity production from fossil fuel to hydroelectric power production (2000)
hydro: 0%
other: 0%
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption

232.5 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products

forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish

Exports

$264 million f.o.b. (2000)

Exports - commodities

fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%)

Exports - partners

EU (mainly Denmark) 85%, Japan 8%, US 2% (1999)

Imports

$349 million c.i.f. (2000)

Imports - commodities

machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products

Imports - partners

EU (mostly Denmark), Norway, US, Canada

Debt - external

$25 million (1999) (1999)

Economic aid - recipient

$380 million subsidy from Denmark (1999)

Currency

Danish krone (DKK)

Currency code

DKK

Exchange rates

Danish kroner per US dollar - 8.418 (January 2002), 8.323 (2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use

25,617 (yearend 1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular

12,676 (yearend 1999)

Telephone system

general assessment: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite
international: satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

30,000 (1998 est.)

Television broadcast stations

1 publicly-owned station, some local low-power stations, and three AFRTS (US Air Force) stations (1997)

Televisions

30,000 (1998 est.)

Internet country code

.gl

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1 (2000)

Internet users

20,000 (2002)

Transportation in Greenland

Railways

0 km

Highways

total: 150 km
paved: 60 km
unpaved: 90 km

Waterways

none

Ports and harbors

Aasiaat (Egedesminde), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn), Kangerlussuaq, Nanortalik, Narsarsuaq, Nuuk (Godthab), Qaqortoq (Julianehab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Tasiilaq (March 2001)

Merchant marine

total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,289 GRT/1,500 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1 (2002 est.)

Airports

15 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 5 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2002)

Military

Military - note

defense is the responsibility of Denmark

Transnational Issues in Greenland

Disputes - international

none

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