A Big Country but Very Few People

Greenland is a large island in the north near Canada. Even though Greenland is about one-fourth of the size of the
United States, Greenland only has about 57,000 people. That is the size of a big college or university in the United
States! Most Greenlanders are Inuit, a tribe of people who have been in Greenland for a long time, and about
8,000 people are Danish people from Denmark in Europe. Many Greenlanders, about 15,000, live in the
capital, Nuuk. The capital is so small that you can run into the prime minister (similar to a president) of Greenland
at the supermarket!
Brrrrr!
Most of Greenland (around 80 percent) is covered in ice, so most people live on the western coast, where it is the
warmest. It is not that warm, though. For most of the year, Greenland is a very cold place. In winter, most of
northern Greenland is in the dark and has no sun. In the summer, it's the opposite. There are 24 hours of sun.
Thousands of Years in a Few Seconds
Native Greenlanders have been living in Greenland for thousands of years. They are related to the people of the
north, like Native Americans in Canada and Alaska.
According to legend, around 1,000, settlers from Iceland, under Erik the Red, reached Greenland. Erik gave the
island the name Greenland and sailed back to Iceland. Calling the island Greenland was a good idea! Erik knew
people would not want to live there if they knew it was a land of ice.
Denmark controlled Greenland for hundreds of years. In World War II, Greenlanders were cut off from Denmark,
and the United States even offered to buy Greenland from Denmark in 1946. Denmark said no. Greenland and
Denmark have been arguing ever since about who controls the island. Greenlanders want to be completely
independent from Denmark.
There are no roads connecting any of the towns in Greenland
One of the more unusual Greenland facts is that due to the rugged terrain, the deep fjords that shape the
coastline, the Greenland ice sheet, and the very small population, the road system in Greenland is extremely
limited. Essentially, all roads stop on the outskirts of town.
Greenland has the purest air and water in the world
With very few people and even fewer cars and industry – you can breathe very deeply in Greenland. Clear your
lungs and drink freely from any of the streams or rivers in the country – no filter required.
Greenland is the perfect place to unplug
Although Greenland does have a mobile phone network and the internet, both are very expensive, likely much
slower than you are accustomed to, and limited to the immediate vicinity of towns and settlements.
We recommend telling your loved ones that you won’t be contactable for your trip to Greenland and use this as
the perfect excuse just to unplug and unwind.
Greenland’s larger towns are quite modern
Although Greenland’s towns are small and remote, they are surprisingly modern to many visitors. There will be at
least one supermarket stocking products imported mostly from Denmark, and the larger towns have high quality
restaurants that serve international food.
It can get quite warm during Summer
Greenland is often thought of as bitterly cold. And although it does get quite cold during the Winter, Summer can
be beautifully pleasant.
These days, it is not uncommon to experience 18-20 degrees Celsius if the sun is shining and there is not too much
wind. Bring your sunscreen!