Before you set off to see the Northern Lights, take a look at these 14 fun facts about Greenland!
1. Greenland is actually the property of Denmark.
Greenland is a Danish territory between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
Its nearest neighbours are Canada to the west, Svalbard to the east and Norway, Iceland, United Kingdom and Ireland to the southeast.
2. Here’s how to get there with a compass.
To land your ship or plane on the beautiful island of Greenland, head for the coordinates 72.0000° N, 40.0000° W.
3. It’s not exactly the easiest land to traverse!
Roughly 80% of the terrain here is flat to rolling icecap, whilst the remaining 20% features a mountainous, rocky coast.
4. Greenland is absolutely gigantic.
The total land area of Greenland is 836,330 square miles (2,166,086 square kilometres)……that’s almost 9 times the size of the UK!
It also makes Greenland the world’s largest island!
5. However, people are very far and few between.
Greenland’s population was 56,661 in 2022…that’s less than 0.1% of the UK population!
That also makes it the least densely populated country in the world!
6. Funnily enough…
Residents here are known as Greenlanders.
7. Does Greenland have a capital city?
The capital is Nuuk; it covers an area of 266 square miles (690 square kilometres) and had a population of 17,000 in 2014.
8. Chilly stuff indeed!
Greenlanders experience an arctic to sub-arctic climate with cool summers and cold winters.
9. There are only two ways to travel.
Amazingly, there are no roads between towns in Greenland. Instead, transportation is by either boat or plane!
10. Check out Aurora Borealis!
It is possible to witness the Northern Lights on clear evenings throughout the year!
11. Speak the language?
The official language of Greenland is… Greenlandic! Danish and English are also spoken here.
12. Danish money works here, too!
Danish Krone is the official currency here.
13. Life expectancy here is actually very reasonable!
The average life span here is 70.62 years (2017).
14. And yes, Greenland exports all kinds of things!
Greenland rears sheep, reindeer and cattle and they also catch fish. No commercial crops are grown here due to the icecap and weather conditions.
Its industry consists of fish processing, mining, hides and handicrafts.
Greenland exports fish, fish products and metals.
FAQs about Greenland
Is Greenland a nice place to live?
Yes, if you can stand the deep freeze! It’s extremely cold most of the time, but the summers are surprisingly warm - for the region.
Can I buy a home in Greenland?
Bizarrely, there’s no such thing as private property in Greenland - it’s impossible even to buy your own bit of land here!
Does Greenland have cars?
Very, very few - there’s thought to be fewer than 6,000 cars registered in the whole of the country!
Do you know any fun facts about Greenland? Share them in the comments below!