A small population with its own language The population of Greenland is just 56,600. This equates to just 1% of the population of Denmark, or the population of a small provincial town. However, the population is scattered across small villages and settlements along a virtually never-ending coastline. If this demographic pattern and the distances were converted to European dimensions, this would correspond to 16 small towns along a coastal expanse stretching from Bergen in Norway to Sicily, with the last two towns located in the heart of Eastern Europe. The majority of Greenlanders live in western Greenland, where 16 of the territory’s 18 towns and villages and the majority of its 60 settlements are located. In eastern Greenland, however, there are two towns, Tasiilaq and Ittorqoortoormiit, as well as a number of settlements, with a combined population of 3,500. With the Local Government Reform, Greenland was divided into four new municipalities with effect from 1 January 2009. The Sermsersooq Kommunea municipality, which extends across the inland ice, is 635,600 km2 – larger than France. The small municipality of Kujalleq Kommunea in the south is 32,000 km2, which would cover the equivalent of 80% of Denmark. Kalaallisut – the Greenlandic language Eighty-eight per cent of the population of Greenland are Inuit or a mixture of Inuit and other peoples. The remaining 12% of the population are primarily of European descent, but all the continents of the world are represented in modern Greenland. Today, 20% of the population were born outside Greenland. The majority of Greenlanders speak Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) as their mother tongue, but a minority of ethnic Greenlanders, as well as the Danish minority population in Greenland, have Danish as their mother tongue. With the introduction of Home Rule in 2009, Kalaallisut was recognised as the official language of Greenland. No highways There are no highways to connect Greenland’s towns and villages. Despite this, the number of cars is relatively high. The capital, Nuuk, now has 2,840 cars distributed among 16,000 residents, and there are more than 70 km of roads in the city. Because goods cannot be transported from one town to another on land, all transportation and traffic is either by water or by air. Some towns and villages in northern and eastern Greenland are approached only twice a year. The vast distances mean that, compared to the Faroe Islands and Denmark, Greenland has a fundamentally great need for transportation – and transportation entails a relatively high level of CO2 emissions. The economy Greenland has experienced major economic expansion in the period since 1990, corresponding to 188% growth. However, during the same period, GDP growth of both the Faroe Islands and Denmark has been greater. In 2006, Greenland’s GDP was DKK 10,636 million, including the block subsidy of DKK 3,201 million. In the same year, the Faroe Islands enjoyed a slightly higher GDP: DKK 11,878 million including a block subsidy of DKK 616 million. Greenland’s block subsidy equates to approximately one-third of the territory’s GDP, whereas the Faroe Islands receive the equivalent of one-twentieth of their GDP. Distributed per capita, Greenland’s GDP is also the lowest. In 2006, GDP per capita was DKK 187,341 – by way of comparison, GDP per capita in the Faroe Islands was DKK 246,000, and in Denmark, DKK 309,770. Today, Greenland’s economy is based on a narrow commercial foundation, with the fisheries industry as the dominant sector. More than 90% of Greenland’s export is fish and shellfish, and the most important catch is currently prawns, which account for more than one-half of the value of Greenland’s exports. However, warmer sea temperatures mean prawns will be suppressed by large stocks of cod, and changes will again have to be made to fisheries. Because of the major fluctuations in fishing opportunities and prices, there is a need to develop new industries. Compared to the Faroe Islands, Greenland does a lot of trade with Denmark. In 2006, 86.1% of total exports were to Denmark, and 58.2% of imports came from Denmark. The Faroe Islands source just 29.9% of their imports from Denmark, and just 12.8% of exports go to Denmark. With the introduction of Autonomy on 21 June 2009, Greenland will be able to retain a proportion of the income from the extraction of oil, gas and minerals. This will provide the framework for developing economic self-sufficiency. Development of growth industries Greenland urgently needs to develop new growth industries to consolidate future income. Exploitation of living natural resources – especially fish and prawns – is in a weak position due to changing prices on the world market and fluctuating availability. The growth industries are linked to the non-living natural resources found underground in Greenland – oil, gas and minerals – as well as to exploitation of the strong potential for hydroelectric power. Today, four mines are in operation: a gold mine, an olivine mine, a molybdenite mine and an iron/zinc mine. Preliminary explorations are also ongoing for additional mines. Currently, there are no works to extract oil or gas, but offshore prospecting is ongoing in 13 fields off southern and western Greenland. Extraction of oil, gas and minerals as well as energy-intensive major industry are important alternatives to the fisheries industry, but all would vastly increase Greenland’s carbon emissions. Full article
