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Greenland


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Greenland

Land Area 2166086km²
Land Area + Seaarea
Population 57564
Population density 0.0 / km²

Informations

Greenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat, pronounced [kalaːɬit nunaːt]; Danish: Grønland, pronounced [ˈkʁɶnˌlænˀ]) is the world's largest island, situated between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It's an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a region of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally connected with Europe (namely Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers, as well as the neighboring island of Iceland) for over a millennium. Most its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island from the 13th century.Nowadays, the population is mostly concentrated on the southwest coast, while the remainder of the island is densely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities -- Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It's 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 out of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated area in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second biggest 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, linking the various settlements and cities. 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 starting 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 came in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland wasn't formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century when Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, starting in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador (later implemented 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. Due to Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the marriage was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and has been completely integrated in the state of'The Kingdom of Denmark' in 1953 organised in the Constitution of the Realm of Denmark. With the Constitution of 1953 the people in Greenland became danish nationals (citizens) and where-until didn't hold a nationality by legislation, but still remains stateless with self-rule inside the Kingdom of Denmark (status quo). In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, the vast majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC, which was effected in 1985 and then changed its status to an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC (now the European Union (EU)). The related relationship with the EU also means that all greenlandic nationals are EU citizens.Greenland contains the world's largest and most northerly national park, Northeast Greenland National Park (Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq). Established in 1974 and enlarged to its present size in 1988, it shields 972,001 square kilometres (375,292 sq mi) of the inside and northeastern coast of Greenland and is larger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world. In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favor of their Self-Government Act, which transferred more electricity from the Danish authorities to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, judicial system, company law, accounting, and auditing; mineral resource activities; aviation; regulation of legal ability, family law and succession law; aliens and border controls; the working environment; and financial regulation and supervision, while the Danish government retains control of foreign affairs and defence. In addition, it retains control of monetary policy, providing an initial yearly subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, which is intended to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its market 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 greatest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower.

Source: Wikipedia