Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Greenland voted in favor of increased self-rule in November 2008 and acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs when the Act on Greenland Self Government was signed into law in June 2009. Denmark, however, continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs, security, and financial policy in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government.

Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada

slightly more than three times the size of Texas

arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters

flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast

coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas

continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island

protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting

dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast; close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap

Inuit 89%, Danish and other 11% (2009)

Greenlandic (East Inuit) (official), Danish (official), English

Evangelical Lutheran, traditional Inuit spiritual beliefs

57,695 (July 2012 est.)

14.58 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

8.22 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-5.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

NUUK (capital) 15,000 (2009)

2.11 children born/woman (2012 est.)

part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979

parliamentary democracy within a constitutional monarchy

4 municipalities (kommuner, singular kommune); Kujalleq, Qaasuitsup, Qeqqata, Sermersooq

none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland)

June 21 (longest day)

(June 2009) Act on Greenland Self Government

the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply

18 years of age; universal

unicameral Parliament or Inatsisartut (Landsting) (31 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)

High Court or Eggartuussisuuneqarfia (Landsret) (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen)

Candidate List (Kattusseqatigiit) [Anthon FREDERIKSEN]; Democratic Party (Demokraatit) [Jens B. FREDERIKSEN]; Forward Party (Siumut) [Aleqa HAMMOND]; Inuit Community (Inuit Ataqatigiit) or IA [Kuupik KLEIST]; Solidarity Party (Atassut) [Gerhardt PETERSEN]

Arctic Council, NC, NIB, UPU

none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white; the design represents the sun reflecting off a field of ice; the colors are the same as those of the Danish flag and symbolize Greenland's links to the Kingdom of Denmark

The economy remains critically dependent on exports of shrimp and fish, income from resource exploration and extraction, and on a substantial subsidy from the Danish Government. The subsidy is budgeted to be about $650 million in 2012, approximately 56% of government revenues in 2012 for the year. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in Greenland's economy. Greenland's real GDP contracted about 1% in 2009 as a result of the global economic slowdown, but is estimated to have grown 2% in 2010 and 3% in 2011. The relative ease with which Greenland has weathered the economic crisis is due to increased hydrocarbon and mineral exploration and extraction activities, a high level of construction activity in the Nuuk area and the increasing price of fish and shrimp. During the last decade the Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) pursued conservative fiscal and monetary policies, but public pressure has increased for better schools, health care and retirement systems. The Greenlandic economy has benefited from increasing catches and exports of shrimp, Greenland halibut and, more recently, crabs. Due to Greenland's continued dependence on exports of fish - which accounted for 89% of exports in 2010 - the economy remains very sensitive to foreign developments. International consortia are increasingly active in exploring for hydrocarbon resources off Greenland's western coast, and international studies indicate the potential for oil and gas fields in northern and northeastern Greenland. In May 2007 a US aluminum producer concluded a memorandum of understanding with the Greenland Home Rule Government to build an aluminum smelter and a power generation facility, which takes advantage of Greenland's abundant hydropower potential. Within the area of mining, olivine sand continues to be produced and gold production has resumed in south Greenland. Tourism also offers another avenue of economic growth for Greenland, with increasing numbers of cruise lines now operating in Greenland's western and southern waters during the peak summer tourism season.

$2.133 billion (2011 est.)

$2.071 billion (2010 est.)

$2.03 billion (2009 est.)

$2.16 billion (2011 est.)

forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish

fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut); gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining; handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards

fish and fish products 89%, metals 10% (2008)

Denmark 63.4%, Japan 11.9%, China 6.3% (2011)

machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products

Denmark 58.2%, Sweden 19.7%, UK 10.3% (2011)

$36.4 million (2010)

Danish kroner (DKK) per US dollar -

276.6 million kWh (2010 est.)

239.4 million kWh (2010 est.)

137,000 kW (2009 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

3,897 bbl/day (2011 est.)

1,034 bbl/day (2008 est.)

5,376 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

555,600 Mt (2010 est.)

the Greenland Broadcasting Company provides public radio and TV services throughout the island with a broadcast station and a series of repeaters; a few private local TV and radio stations; Danish public radio rebroadcasts are available (2007)

no regular military forces

defense is the responsibility of Denmark

managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland; Denmark (Greenland) and Norway have made submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental shelf (CLCS) and Russia is collecting additional data to augment its 2001 CLCS submission