Greenland (
Kalaallit Nunaat; Grønland) is the
world's largest island, located between the
Arctic and
Atlantic oceans, east of the
Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is an
autonomous territory within the
Kingdom of Denmark. Though
physiographically a part of the continent of
North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with
Europe (specifically
Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are
Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from
Alaska through
Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.
Today, the population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five
municipalities –
Sermersooq,
Kujalleq,
Qeqertalik,
Qeqqata, and
Avannaata. It has two
unincorporated areas – the
Northeast Greenland National Park and the
Thule Air Base. The latter, while under Danish control, is administered by the
United States Air Force. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent
ice sheet outside of
Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the
least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in
Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is
Sisimiut, 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Nuuk. The
Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.
Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now
Canada.
Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously
settled Iceland. These Norsemen later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with
Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly 500 years before
Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until
1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century after Norway was hit by the
Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, beginning in
1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador (later applied to
Labrador in Canada).
In the early 17th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power,
Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in
Denmark in 1953 organised in the
Danish constitution. With the Constitution of 1953, the people in Greenland became
citizens of Denmark. From 1961 Greenland joined the
European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which
Denmark joined as a founding member of the EFTA in 1960, but its membership ceased with effect from 1973 when
Denmark joined the
European Communities. In 1973, Greenland joined the
European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a
referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT (
Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC, now the
European Union (EU). The associated relationship with the EU also means that all
Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are
EU citizens.
Greenland contains the world's largest and northernmost
national park,
Northeast Greenland National Park (
Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq). Established in
1974 and expanded to its present size in
1988, it protects 972,001 square kilometres (375,292 sq mi) of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world.
In
1979, Denmark granted
home rule to Greenland; in
2008, Greenlanders
voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local
Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, aliens and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision. The Danish government still retains control of monetary policy and foreign affairs including defence. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of
DKK 3.4 billion, and to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources. The capital, Nuuk, held the
2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from
hydropower.
