Greenland is a land of snow and ice: Greenland’s giant ice sheet covers an area of nearly 1.8 million square kilometers. The ice sheet has covered large parts of Greenland for the last two to three million years and at its highest point it is around 3000 metres thick, but the ice is melting at an increasing pace.

Located between the Arctic and the Atlantic Oceans, Greenland is the world’s largest island, but it sparsely populated: Greenland’s population is just over 55 000 and mainly Inuit. Around a quarter of the population lives in Greenland’s capital Nuuk. Greenland is part of Denmark but is an autonomous region with its own parliament.

Time to Travel to Greenland:

Greenland has 3 travel seasons: spring, summer, and winter. Spring in Greenland offers lots of dog-sledding in March and April and the capital of Nuuk hosts the Snow Festival. Also, the Arctic Circle Race, the world’s toughest cross-country skiing race, takes place in Sisimiut in spring. Greenlandic summer (May - September) offers sailing and the fjords have melted so travelers can enhoy boat trips to glaciers, settlements and historical sites.

Wintertime in Greenland is for adventurers. If you want to experience the real Arctic nature, then come to Greenland between November and February. At this time of year, better than at any other, you can see the spectacular northern lights (Aurora Borealis) and enjoy long dog-sledding tours and snowmobile excursions during the dark Polar Nights.


Life at Greenland

Greenland's tough climate makes it impossible to grow vegetables or rear farm animals so there’s a long tradition of hunting. The International Whaling Committee recognizes this and it’s only one of four countries allowed aboriginal subsistence whaling.

In remote villages, people eat marine mammals and seabirds at least thirty times a month, consuming about a pound of seal and whale each week. A third of their food is wild animals, the rest is fish. Most people have their own boats and their families eat what they catch.

Restaurants are now recognizing that diners want to eat local food and these items are starting to appear on the menus. Chefs are using wild ingredients to create exciting new dishes.


Greenland Fast Facts

Country name: Greenland
Area: 2,175,600 sq km; estimated 341,600 sq km ice-free, 1,834,000 sq km ice-covered
Population: 56,000
Capital: Nuuk (Godthåb) (pop. 14,000)
People: 87% Greenlander, 13% Danish and others
Languages: Eskimo dialects, Danish, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect)
Religion: Evangelical Lutheran, shamanism
Government: Self-governing Danish territory since 1979
Head of State: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark


Major industries: fish processing (mainly shrimp), handicrafts, furs, small shipyards, tourism
Major trading partners: EU (esp. Denmark), Iceland, Japan, Norway, USA
GDP: US$945 billion
GDP per head: US$16,100
Annual growth: 0.6%
Inflation: 1.2%