Greenland Travel Guide - Key Facts

South Arctic/North Atlantic.

Central/Southern Greenland: GMT - 3 (GMT - 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
East Greenland: GMT - 1 (GMT from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
West Greenland: GMT - 4 (GMT -3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

2,166,086 sq km (836,330 sq miles).

56,375 (2005 estimate).

0.026 per sq km.

Nuuk (Godthåb). Population: 15,000 (2005).

Greenland is the world’s biggest island. The surrounding seas are either permanently frozen or chilled by the mainly cold currents caused by the meeting of the Arctic and the North Atlantic oceans. The inland area is covered with ice, stretching 2,500km (1,500 miles) north–south and 1,000km (600 miles) east–west. In the centre, the ice can be up to 3km (2 miles) thick. The ice-free coastal region, which is sometimes as wide as 200km (120 miles), covers a total of 410,449 sq km (158,475 sq miles), and is where all of the population is to be found. This region is intersected by deep fjords which connect the inland ice area with the sea. The Midnight Sun can be seen north of the Arctic Circle; the further north you are, the longer the period of the Midnight Sun. The arctic night in the winter results in a continuous twilight and, in the far north of the country, complete darkness. The Northern Lights can be seen during the autumn, winter and early spring.

Part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

HM Queen Margarethe II since 1972.

Prime Minister Hans Enoksen since 2002.

Coalition governments have controlled Greenland for the last 20-odd years. These have proved generally stable, but 2003 was an exception. The December 2002 election had returned Siumut as the largest party, forming a coalition government with Inuit Ataqatigiit (Inuit Brotherhood; IA) under the premiership of Siumut leader Hans Enoksen. However, the government fell after a month under farcical circumstances, relating to the activities of a faith-healer apparently hired to purge Government offices of evil spirits. Siumut and Enoksen remained in power, with Attasut as its coalition partner, but this government was also short-lived. It collapsed after eight months following a dispute over miscalculation of the territory’s budget. The IA has now rejoined Siumut in government.

Executive power rests with the five-member Landsstyre, excepting defence, foreign affairs and constitutional affairs for which the Danish government is responsible. Its members are drawn from the local legislature, the Landsting (known also by its Inuit title Inatsi-Satut), which has 31 members elected for four years.

The official languages are Greenlandic, an Inuit (Eskimo) language and Danish. Greenlanders connected with tourism will normally speak English.

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark majority, with small groups of Roman Catholics and other Protestant denominations.

220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Life is generally conducted at a more relaxed pace than is usual in northern Europe, as exemplified by the frequent use of the word immaqa – ‘maybe’. Until recently, foreign visitors were very rare. The name of the country in Greenlandic is Kalaallit Nunaat, meaning ‘Land of the People’. Photography: Throughout the country there is a ban on taking photographs inside churches or church halls during services. A UV or skylight filter and a lens shade should always be used. In winter, the camera must be polar-oiled. It is advisable to bring your own film. Film cannot always be developed in Greenland.