Greenland

mean elevation:

1,792 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean; 3694 highest point: Gunnbjorn Fjeld

• especially vulnerable to climate change and disruption of the Arctic environment;
• preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting

• 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 sheet after that of Antarctica covering an area of 1.71 million sq km (660,000 sq mi) or about 79% of the island, and containing 2.85 million cu km (684 thousand cu mi) of ice (this is almost 7% of all of the world's fresh water);
• if all this ice were converted to liquid water, one estimate is that it would be sufficient to raise the height of the world's oceans by 7.2 m (24 ft)

noun:

Greenlander(s)

adjective:

Greenlandic

0-14 years:

21% (male 6,151 /female 5,962)

15-24 years:

15.1% (male 4,388 /female 4,321)

25-54 years:

40.83% (male 12,349 /female 11,209)

55-64 years:

13.5% (male 4,259 /female 3,529)

65 years and over:

9.57% (male 2,944 /female 2,579) (2018 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1.1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

1.26 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

1.15 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Greenland

local long form:

none

local short form:

Kalaallit Nunaat

note: named by Norwegian adventurer Erik THORVALDSSON (Erik the Red) in A.D. 985 in order to entice settlers to the island

name:

Nuuk (Godthaab)

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 has four time zones

• previous 1953 (Greenland established as a constituency in the Danish constitution), 1979 (Greenland Home Rule Act);
• latest 21 June 2009 (Greenland Self-Government Act) (2018)

highest courts:

• High Court of Greenland (consists of the presiding professional judge and 2 lay assessors);
• note - appeals beyond the High Court of Greenland can be heard by the Supreme Court (in Copenhagen)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges appointed by the monarch upon the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Council, a 6-member independent body of judges and lawyers;
• judges appointed for life with retirement at age 70

subordinate courts:

Court of Greenland; 18 district or magistrates' courts

chief of state:

Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Mikaela ENGELL (since April 2011)

head of government:

Premier Kim KIELSEN (since 30 September 2014)

cabinet:

Self-rule Government (Naalakkersuisut) elected by the Parliament (Inatsisartut) on the basis of the strength of parties

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• high commissioner appointed by the monarch;
• premier indirectly elected by Parliament for a 4-year term

election results:

Kim KIELSEN elected premier; Parliament vote - Kim KIELSEN (S) 27.2%, Sara OLSVIG (IA) 25.5%, Randi Vestergaard EVALDSEN (D) 19.5%, other 27.8% note - general election 24 April 2018 with KIELSEN (Siumut party) retaining largest number of seats (9)

description:

unicameral Parliament or Inatsisartut (31 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms) (2013)

elections:

last held on 24 April 2018 (next to be held by 2022) (2013)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - S 27.2%, IA 25.5%, D 19.5%, PN 13.4%, A 5.9%, SA 4.1%, NQ 3.4% other 1%;
• seats by party - S 9, IA 8, D 6, PN 4, A 2, SA 1, NQ 1 (2013)

note: 2 representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament on 18 June 2015 (next to be held by June 2019); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - IA 1, S 1

• Collabotation Party (Samarbejdspartiet) or SA [Tillie MARTINUSSEN]
• Democrats Party (Demokraatit) or D [Randi VESTERGAARD EVALDSEN]
• Forward Party (Siumut) or S [Kim KIELSEN]
• Inuit Community (Inuit Ataqatigiit) or IA [Sara OLSVIG]
• Nunatta Qitornai or NQ [Vittus QUJAUKITSOQ]
• Partii Naleraq or PN [Hans ENOKSEN]
• Solidarity Party (Atassut) or A [Siverth Karl HEILMANN]

• none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark): note - Greenland has an office in the Danish Embassy to the US;
• it also has offices in the Danish consulates of Chicago and New York

• 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

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

agriculture:

15.9%

industry:

10.1%

services:

73.9% (2015 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

• adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables, and microwave radio relay;
• microwave radio relay and satellite;
• the fundamental telecommunications infrastructure consists of a digital radio link from Nanortalik in south Greenland to Uummannaq in north Greenland;
• satellites cover north and east Greenland for domestic and foreign telecommunications;
• a marine cable connects south and west Greenland to the rest of the world, extending from Nuuk and Qaqortoq to Canada and Iceland (2017)

domestic:

28 per 100 for fixed-line subscriptions and 106 per 100 for mobile-cellular (2017)

international:

country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 15 (12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean)) (2015)

• the Greenland Broadcasting Company provides public radio and TV services throughout the island with a broadcast station and a series of repeaters;
• a few private local TV and radio stations;
• Danish public radio rebroadcasts are available (2015)

total:

8 (2017)

by type:

general cargo 1, other 7 (2017)

• no regular military forces or conscription;
• the Government of Denmark has responsibility for defense;
• as such the Danish military’s Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk is responsible for territorial defense of Greenland (2016)