Greenland - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Greenland. 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 sheet after that of Antarctica covering an area of 1.71 million sq km (660,000 sq mi) or about 79% of the island, and containing 2.85 million cu km (684 thousand cu mi) of ice (this is almost 7% of all of the world's fresh water); if all this ice were converted to liquid water, one estimate is that it would be sufficient to raise the height of the world's oceans by 7.2 m (24 ft). Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is
Geographical data of Greenland
| Location | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 72 00 N, 40 00 W |
| Map references | Arctic Region |
| Tarrain | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast |
| Natural Resources | coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
| Natural Hazards | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
| Irrigated Land | NA |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 0 km |
| Border Countries | |
| Coastline | 44,087 km |
| Climate | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters |
| Area | |
| Total Area | 2,166,086 sq km |
| Land Area | 2,166,086 sq km (approximately 1,710,000 sq km ice-covered) |
| Water Area | |
| comparative Area | slightly more than three times the size of Texas |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 3 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
| Exclusive fishing zone | 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Gunnbjorn Fjeld 3,694 m |
| Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 1,792 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 0.6% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 0% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 0.6% (2018 est.) |
| Forest | 0% (2018 est.) |
| Other | 99.4% (2018 est.) |
Population Distribution
Settlement concentrated on the southwest shoreline, with limited settlements scattered along the remaining coast; interior is uninhabited
People and Society
In Greenland, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Greenlandic 88.1%, Danish 7.1%, Filipino 1.6%, other Nordic peoples 0.9%, and other 2.3% (2024 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | -0.05% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 13.5 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | NA |
| Physicians Density | 1.87 physicians/1,000 population (2016) |
| Hospital bed Density | 14 beds/1,000 population (2016) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.88 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.92 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | NA |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 39.4% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 10.2% of GDP (2019 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | -4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Greenlandic | Greenlander(s) |
| Languages | Greenlandic (West Greenlandic or Kalaallisut is the official language; Tunumiisut (East Greenlandic) and Inuktun (Polar Inuit Greenlandic) are two other native languages, considered dialects of Kalaallisut, spoken by approximately 10% of Greenlanders), Danish, English |
| Religions | Evangelical Lutheran, traditional Inuit spiritual beliefs |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 20.4% (male 5,964/female 5,798) |
| 15-64 years | 67.1% (male 20,050/female 18,711) |
| 65 years and over | 12.5% (2024 est.) (male 3,829/female 3,399) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 43.6 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 30 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 13.6 |
| Potential support ratio | 7.4 (2021) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 35.3 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 35.9 years |
| Female | 34.7 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 87.9% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 0.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 18,000 NUUK (capital) (2018). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.03 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.07 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 1.13 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.07 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 8.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 74.5 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 71.8 years |
| Female | 77.3 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Greenland
Want to know more about Greenland? Check all different factbooks for Greenland below.
