Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada. The population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. With a population of 56,081, it is the least densely populated region in the world.
About Greenland in brief
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada. The population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. With a population of 56,081, it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city. The second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, 320 kilometres north of Nuuk. Greenland contains the world’s largest and most northerly national park, Northeast Greenland National Park. The early Norse settlers named the island as Red Red. In the Icelandic sagas, Erik Red Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter and set out in his thralls to set up a colony on the island. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in Denmark in 1953 organised in the Danish constitution. In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. The Danish government still retains control of monetary policy and foreign affairs. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of DKK 3.4billion, and expects to grow its economy based on the increased income from natural resources. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica.
It is bigger than all but all but twenty-nine countries in theWorld. It has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the World, mostly coming from hydropower. The island has the highest share of the world’s renewable energy, mostly from natural gas. It was named after the early Norse-born Icelander, Red Red Erik, who was exiled to Greenland for manslaughter in his family’s thralls for manslaughter. The first known European to reach North America was Leif Erikson, who reached Greenland and Iceland in the 10th century, 500 years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Greenland was not 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, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island in the early 17th century. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community with Denmark. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT associated with the EEC, now the European Union. All Greenlandic nationals are EU citizens. The associated relationship with the EU also means that all Greenlandic citizens areEU citizens. It protects 972,001 square kilometres of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but all but 29 countries in the world.
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This page is based on the article Greenland published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 09, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
