Greenland

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

noun:

Greenlander(s)

adjective:

Greenlandic

at birth:

1.051 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.15 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.05 male(s)/female

total population:

1.12 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Greenland

local long form:

none

local short form:

Kalaallit Nunaat

name:

Nuuk (Godthab)

geographic coordinates:

64 11 N, 51 45 W

time difference:

UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

note: Greenland is divided into four time zones

chief of state:

Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Soeren Hald MOELLER (since April 2005)

head of government:

Prime Minister Kuupik KLEIST (since 12 June 2009)

cabinet:

Home Rule Government elected by the Parliament (Landsting) on the basis of the strength of parties; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• high commissioner appointed by the monarch;
• prime minister elected by parliament (usually the leader of the majority party)

election results:

Kuupik KLEIST elected prime minister

• Atassut Party (Solidarity) [Gerhardt PETERSEN] (a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark);
• Demokratiit [Jens B. FREDERIKSEN];
• Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Inuit Community) [Kuupik KLEIST] (a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule);
• Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List) [Anthon FREDERIKSEN] (an independent right-of-center party with no official platform);
• Siumut (Forward Party) [Alega HAMMOND] (a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark)

• 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;
• the design represents the sun reflecting off a field of ice;
• the colors are the same as those of the Danish flag and symbolize Greenland's links to the Kingdom of Denmark

name:

"Nunarput utoqqarsuanngoravit" ("Our Country, Who's Become So Old" also translated as "You Our Ancient Land")

lyrics/music:

Henrik LUND/Jonathan PETERSEN

note: adopted 1916; the government also recognizes "Nuna asiilasooq" as a secondary anthem

agriculture:

4.9%

industry:

31.9%

services:

63.2% (2007 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

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

• fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut);
• gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining;
• handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards

general assessment:

adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digital since 1995

domestic:

microwave radio relay and satellite

international:

country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 15 (12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean)) (2000)

• the Greenland Broadcasting Company provides public radio and television services throughout the island with a broadcast station and a series of repeaters;
• a few private local television and radio stations broadcast;
• Danish public radio rebroadcasts are available (2007)

total:

1

country comparison to the world: 155

by type:

passenger 1 (2010)

males age 16-49:

10,765

females age 16-49:

11,399 (2010 est.)

male:

488

female:

478 (2010 est.)

• managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland;
• Denmark (Greenland) and Norway have made submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental shelf (CLCS) and Russia is collecting additional data to augment its 2001 CLCS submission