

The other day I was reading about a kayak trip to Greenland, by a fellow blogger, and it inspired me to research Interesting facts about Greenland. These facts just make me want to visit the cold island even more!

1 Geographically Greenland is part of North America. Politically and historically it is associated with Europe and nationally it forms a part of Denmark.

2. It was granted home-rule by Denmark in 1978.

3. Greenland is the world’s largest island.

4. The population of Greenland is less than 60,000.

5. The capital of Greenland is Nuuk.

6 .Fishing and fish exporting is a major part of the Greenlandic economy, with shrimp fishing industry being by far the biggest income generator

7. Transport between cities in Greenland is by air and boat as there are no connecting roads due to the many fjords

8. 85% of Greenland is covered in ice.

9. The most active glacier in the northern hemisphere is located in Ilulissat.

10. Approximately 10-15,000 glaciers break off Greenland’s glaciers each year.

11. There are no roads connecting towns. You can only cover longer distances by air and ship.

12. The first Christian church on the North American continent was built in Greenland.

13. The ice cap of Greenland was first crossed in 1888 – on skis!

14. The sun hardy sets from May 25th to July 25th.

15. The Northern Lights can be seen on clear nights all throughout the year.

16. July is the only month when the temperature gets above the freezing point.

17. June 21, the longest day of the year, is a national holiday.

18. The official languages of Greenland are Greenlandic and Danish, but English is also widely understood.

19. Greenland is spread over an area of 2,175,900 sq km, of which around 85 percent is covered with ice.

20. The currency of Greenland is Danish krone.

21. Greenland was discovered by Vikings in the 10th century. It is believed that they named it Greenland in order to entice settlers.

22. The first Christian church on the American continent was built in Greenland.

23. Greenland was a closed and self-sufficient economy till World War II.

24. Kayak, anorak and igloo are Greenlandic words that have been adopted directly by many other languages.

25. Greenland remained a member of the EU from January 1973 to February 1985. It has been a member of NATO since 1949.

26. July is the only month in which Greenland’s temperature goes above the freezing point.

27. For beverages you’ll find Greenlandic coffee, similar to an Irish coffee, as well as Ice beer.

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Interesting Country Facts