Are you curious to learn some weird and wonderful facts about Greenland?
If so, excellent! You are in exactly the right place my friend…
It’s time to chat about Greenland facts.
Let’s dive right in…
Facts About Greenland
1 – Greenland is the world’s largest island with a population of 56,000 people.
2 – The capital city of Greenland is Nuuk.
3 – Greenland was originally settled by Vikings in the 10th century.
4 – In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland and it became an autonomous country within the Danish Realm on 1 May 2009.
5 – The economy of Greenland relies mostly on fishing for its livelihoods and exports fish products like cod, herring, halibut, shrimp and crab to Europe as well as North America.
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6 – Inuit are the indigenous people of Greenland, they have lived there for more than 4,000 years.
7 – Greenlanders speak an Inuit dialect called Kalaallisut which means “Kalaalit language” in English and Danish respectively.
8 – The currency is called the Danish Krone and it can be exchanged with euros or US dollars.
9 – The country’s official languages are Danish and Kalaallisut.
10 – Inuit (the native people) make up about two-thirds of the country’s population with the rest made up by Danes and other Europeans immigrants.
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11 – In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland and it became independent on March 12th, 2009. That was when Greenland became an autonomous territory within the kingdom with its own government and parliament which still exists today.
12 – Greenland was first settled by Norsemen around 500 AD.
13 – The first European settlement was established by Erik the Red in 985 AD on what would later be called Eriksfjord (now Igaliku).
14 – It has some natural resources that can be mined like coal, nickel, gold and iron ore.
15 – The average temperature in summertime is13/14 degrees celcius and below -30 degrees Celsius during winter time.
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16 – The Danes named it “Greenland” to attract settlers from Europe, who never arrived in significant numbers.
17 – Today, about 56% of Greenlanders are indigenous or descendants of migrants from Denmark and Iceland.
18 – There are few roads and cars in Greenland – in fact only a total of 150 kilometres in the entire country.
19 – It is covered by a thick ice sheet that averages between 1 and 3 kilometers (3,000 to 9,000 feet) in thickness. The ice sheet covers about 1,710,000 square kilometres of Greenland’s surface area.
20 – A large proportion of the population lives along its southern coast because it has more reliable weather than inland areas.
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21 – Inuit people have traditionally hunted whales from boats using harpoons as their primary hunting tool.
22 – There are six national parks on the island that cover about 20% of its area.
23 – There are no native species of snakes on Greenland.
24 – There are very few Catholics in Greenland – only 50 out of 56,000. Most are Protestants or atheists.
25 – It was believed that there were no living things on Greenland until 1818 when explorer John Ross found some polar bears roaming around near the eastern shoreline. There are many different types of animals in Greenland such as seals, polar bears, and caribou.
Bonus Facts
The first time that Europeans reached Greenland was during the early 10th century when Norsemen from Norway came to settle there.
Greenland has a very diverse landscape with mountains, fjords, glaciers, and coastal areas.
