You may have noticed that Greenland belongs to the news a lot Over the past few months, there has been a new international airport in the capital, with game-changing direct flights from the US. President Trump can’t stop talking about taking over the island. And plans for independence are intensifying. However, Greenland may wobble about the cliffs of being “discovered” by tourists seeking a new generation of adventure, and you may find there are quite a few countries you don’t know about. What is the political structure? Is it really as huge as looking at the map? And why is the President of the United States obsessed with it? This is Greenland 101 Primer.
How big Is it really Greenland?
Very, very big, but not as huge as you think. Mercator’s projection maps extend the size of the terrain towards the pole, making Greenland appear larger than Africa and Australia. In reality, it is much smaller than those countries, but it is still the largest non-continental island in the world. At 836,330 square miles, if it were between the Congo and the Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, if it was independent, it would be the 12th largest country in the world, roughly the same as north to south as the Atlantic in the United States.
How many people live in Greenland?
As of 2025, the population was hovering around 56,000 people. This means that everyone in the country can fit comfortably into many American soccer stadiums. This makes Greenland the least crowded place on the planet, with around 0.07 people per square mile. In other words, if the islands were divided equally, each islander would earn 15 square miles for himself.
What is a political structure? Is Greenland independent?
Greenland has been affected by Scandinavian colonization since the 980s. He called his discovery “Greenland” and made it sound attractive to potential future settlers. Over the centuries, colonists traveled back and forth, and in 1721 Danish missionaries established a permanent settlement in Gottseb (now Nuuk). Greenland was a territory of Denmark from 1814 to 1953, and at that time it became an overseas county within the Kingdom of Denmark.
In 1979, almost three-quarters of the population voted in a referendum for greater autonomy, with Greenland becoming a component. country Inside the Kingdom. While Greenland’s Parliament was established, its people gained more autonomy in areas such as education, health and fishing, Denmark continued to control diplomacy, defense and currency. In 2008, 76% of the country’s citizens voted for greater autonomy, which expanded Greenland’s control over its own legal system, law enforcement and the Coast Guard, increasingly voiced support for full independence.
In a New Year’s speech in 2025, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said, “Now is the time to take our country’s next step. Like other countries around the world, we must work to remove obstacles to cooperation. According to the 2009 Autonomy Agreement, Greenland is permitted to declare independence after the successful referendum that suggested that it could come as early as this spring, along with the national election.
What language does the Greenlanders speak?
Since 2009, Greenland has been Greenland’s only official language. Danish has lost its “official” status, but is still taught in school. Greenland is part of the Inuit language family and is closely linked to the languages spoken in Arctic Alaska and Canada. This is a multi-combined language. In other words, root words can be connected with a bundle of suffixes to convey information from the entire sentence in one word. As an example, popular Greenland-based content creator Qupanuk Olsen (@QSGreenland), shared a video in which her friend recites 85 letter words He was able to adjust the registration, but that was not appropriatetranslated into “They once again considered planning to launch a large consortium to build a building to make a radio station.”
So why is President Donald Trump so obsessed with purchasing Greenland?
In his first term, President Trump spoke about his desire to buy Greenland from Denmark due to his access to natural resources such as coal and uranium and its strategic location. Expansist rhetoric has been featured only this year, with Trump saying he will not rule out the use of military force to seize Greenland.
Prime Minister Egedi is not afraid of threats and “we will not be sold, we will not be sold. We must not lose a long struggle for freedom.” America’s involvement on the island dates back to World War II when Germans invaded Denmark and the US and Danish government signed a defense agreement. On Greenland’s northwest coast, it now hosts Pitafik Space Station (formerly known as the Thule Air Base), the northernmost facility of the US military. This is about 947 miles from the Arctic.
“The conversation hasn’t stopped,” says Laali Berthelsen, a local product manager based in Nuuk at HX Expeditions. “It was politically intense. But in the tourism sector, the attention was positive. Any publicity will bring more focus to Greenland and help attract more visitors.”
Greenland has a new international airport. What does that mean for tourism?
In November 2024, the capital, Nuuk, welcomed the new international airport. This promises to open the island to a new wave of tourists. In the past, the majority of arriving visitors had to fly to Iceland or Denmark, with four-hour flights from the East Coast likely heading for a full-day (or multi-day) trip. Two more airports will also be built at Ilulissat and Qaqortoq by 2026.
Starting in June, United Airlines will begin its two weekly non-stop seasonal flights from Newark to Nuke, marking the first direct connection between Greenland and the United States. Additionally, the increase in air routes has allowed Greenlanders to have more direct access to Inuit communities nearby Canada’s Arctic. For example, the new Air Greenland route connects Nuuk to Iqaluit in Nunavut in about two hours.
How do visitors come around?
There are no land routes (highways, trains) that connect the settlements throughout Greenland. In fact, only about 93 miles of roads cross the entire island, many of which are unpaved. To get from town to town, you will have to board a ferry, helicopter, or a small plane.
What impact will cruising at a new airport have?
One of the added benefits of the new airport is that it will rebuild the expedition cruise industry in the region. Historically, most Greenland itineraries began and ended in Iceland, resulting in multiple days wasted during transits across the often rough seas of the North Atlantic. (You’ll need to barely return to Greenland Waters and return home.) Now that guests can fly directly to Nuuk, cruise lines like HX will plan itineraries that can be pushed further north, allowing visitors more access to the island.
Despite the potential tourist boom, Bartelsen believes that constraints such as the number of hotel beds available will inevitably ease growth. “For land travelers, they can book flight seats only if individual guests can secure accommodation,” she says. “So, without sufficient beds, the number of visitors will be naturally limited.” For cruise guests, Bartelsen says, “We won’t be overwhelmed by the locals” as long as the number of ships arriving at the port at the same time is controlled. Instead, she says, “it will create more jobs for local people and bring more customers to shops, restaurants and other businesses in town.”
Are there any measures to avoid the overtourism pitfalls that occur at other destinations?
Greenland’s rapidly blending ice sheets and recession glaciers short for climate change and environmental destruction, with some in the industry expressing concern about the potential negative effects of excessive tourism on local residents. As a starting point, the major tour outfitters and cruise lines operating in the region are members of AECO or members of the Association of Arctic Explorations, strictly regulate experiences to limit the environmental impact and indigenous sensitivities of practice. Visit These AECO guidelines, planned in collaboration with Greenland and the Greenland Ministry of Natural and Environment, include everything from safety during polar bear encounters to restrictions on drone usage to mitigating damage to vulnerable cultural heritage items.
