Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark and is the largest of the kingdom's three constituent parts by land area, the others being Denmark proper and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenland are citizens of Denmark. They are thus citizens of the European Union (EU), although Greenland is not part of the EU. It is the world's largest island and lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It shares a small 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) border with Canada on Hans Island. The capital and largest city is Nuuk. Kaffeklubben Island off the northern coast is the world's northernmost undisputed point of land – Cape Morris Jesup on the main island was thought to be so until the 1960s. Economically, Greenland is heavily reliant on aid from Denmark, which has averaged 5.4 billion kr. (€724 million) annually in the period 2019–2023, amounting to more than 20% of the territory's gross domestic product. Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland was politically and culturally associated with the European kingdom of Norway from 986 until the early 15th century. From the 18th century, following the union of Denmark and Norway and the establishment of the Nuuk settlement, Greenland gradually became associated with Denmark. Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by circumpolar peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen 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. From the late 15th century, the Portuguese attempted to find the northern route to Asia, which ultimately led to the earliest cartographic depiction of the coastline. In the 17th century, Dano-Norwegian explorers reached Greenland again, finding their earlier settlement extinct and reestablishing a permanent Scandinavian presence. When Denmark and Norway separated in 1814, Greenland was transferred from the Norwegian to the Danish crown. The 1953 Constitution of Denmark 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 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 (Greenlandic government). Under this structure, Greenland gradually assumed responsibility for 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, its abundance of mineral wealth, and its strategic position between Eurasia, North America, and the Arctic zone, Greenland holds strategic importance for the Kingdom of Denmark, NATO, and the European Union. Since 2025, the United States has pursued threats to annex Greenland, triggering the Greenland crisis. 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 are some of the most extensive in the world. Sixty-seven percent of its electricity production comes from renewable energy, mostly from hydropower.