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
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
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, 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.

Greenland is found in North America