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Northeast of Canada. The world's largest island, about 80 percent ice-capped (at least until recently). Cool summers and cold winters. Capital: Nuuk (Godthab).
Norway claimed Greenland before 1605, the year an expedition from Denmark claimed the land for Denmark's king. Noway made another claim in 1924. In 1953 an international court ratified Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland.
Denmark controls Greenland's foreign affairs and is responsible for military defense. Denmark's parliament granted Greenland self-government that became effective in 1980.
Home rule is a parliamentary democracy.
Factbook: "... joined the European Community (now the European Union) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute over stringent fishing quotas."
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Factbook: "The economy remains critically dependent on exports of shrimp and fish and on a substantial subsidy - about $650 million in 2009 - from the Danish Government, which supplies nearly 60% of government revenues."
Estimated per capita GDP:
2007: $35,400 (ranks 33rd out of 228 countries)
Motorized boats control fishing and older kayaks are becoming extinct. Shrimp fishing has been 80 percent of Greenland's fish industry, the fish exports dominate Greenland’s export income. Greenland has a handicrafts industry, small shipyards and is developing an ice industry.
Many Inuits pursue their traditional economic activity -- hunting and fishing.
Living in an urban area: 84% (2008)
July 2009: 57,600. Growth rate 0.062 (among the lowest)
July 2008: 56,326
The Inuit people (formerly called Eskimos) are about 84 percent of the population.
2009: More leaving than arriving. A net loss of 5.99 per 1,000 population, down from 8.38 persons in 2008.
2009: 10.72 deaths
2008: 14.56
2009: 70.07 years
2008: 70.53
2005: 69.65
Estimates are that in 2002, 34.5 percent of Greenland's population accessed the internet, compared to 4 percent for Russia.
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Copyright © 2010 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.