About 80% of the world's largest island is covered in ice. Inuit people first inhabited it by moving from present-day Canada 4,000-5,000 years ago. It was named by Erik the Red when he led a fleet of 25 ships from Iceland to colonise it in 985 AD.

Population: 56,000 - 90% of whom live in 16 towns.

Size: 836,000 sq miles (2.16m sq km) - roughly the same size as Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium combined.

Official language: Greenlandic - closely related to languages spoken by Inuit in Canada and Alaska.



National dish: Meat soup called suaasat which normally contains seal, whale, reindeer or seabirds.



Life expectancy: 72.9 years



Head of state: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark



Premier: Kim Kielsen



Capital city: Nuuk (population 18,000)



National anthem: Nunarput Utoqqarsuanngoravit, adopted in 1916. The first verse translates as: “Our country, which has become so old, your head is all covered with white hair. Always held us, your children, in your bosom, and gave us the riches of your coasts.”



Religion: Christianity was introduced to the island around 1000 by Erik the Red’s son Leif Eriksson.



Government: Denmark granted the island limited self-government in 1979, 26 years after it was incorporated into the country by the Danish constitution. Further powers were devolved in 2008. Economic self-sufficiency has been a stumbling block to the island gaining full independence.



EU membership: Greenland was a member of the European Union as part of Denmark from 1973 to 1985. It withdrew in 1985 after 53% of people voted to leave in a referendum called following disputes over fishing rights.



Military: There is no military force. Defence and foreign policy remain in the hands of the Danes.



Airports: 14. The first three were built in the 1940s and 50s by the US, which was handed the defence and control of Greenland while Denmark was under Nazi occupation.



Famous Greenlanders: Jesper Grønkjær, played football for Ajax, Chelsea, Atlético Madrid; Rasmus Lerdorf, co-authored the PHP programming language; Aleqa Hammond, the country’s first female prime minister.