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Country Name
Greenland.
Location
It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Capital
Nuuk.
Reasons for Naming the Country
The most commonly accepted theory is that the Norwegian Viking “Erik the Red” was the first to settle on Greenland after he was exiled from Iceland for murder and set out on his journey to a relatively unexplored land in the northeast. When he arrived, he called the new land “Greenland” to attract new settlers. However, during the summer months, especially in Southern Greenland, Greenland was (and is) green. The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is Kalaallit Nunaat (“land of the Kalaallit”). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country’s western region.
Flag
The Greenland flag was adopted on June 21, 1985. The flag of Greenland consists of two equal-sized horizontal stripes; the top stripe is white and the bottom is red. On the left side of Greenland, the flag is a circle divided in half; the top half is red and the bottom is white. Each half is divided along the horizontal center of the flag. The Christiansen, the flag’s designer, said, “The large white part in the flag represents the ice cap, and the red part in the circle represents our fjords. The white part of the circle symbolizes the icebergs and the pack ice, and the large red part of the flag represents the ocean.
Language
Both Greenlandic (an Eskimo-Aleut language) and Danish have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979; most of the population can speak both languages. Greenlandic became the sole official language in June 2009, and Danish is still widely used in administration and higher education.
Religion
The major religion in Greenland is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen provides pastoral care for the Roman Catholic minority.
Currency
Danish krone (DKK).
Time Zone
±00:00 GMT
to
-04:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Devolved government within a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.
Climate
In Greenland, a former Danish territory, the climate is arctic along the north-central coasts, where the temperatures of the warmest months are around freezing (0 °C or 32 °F), and subarctic on the south-central coasts, where the average temperatures in the summer months are above freezing but still below 10 °C (50 °F). The largest settlements are located in this area, which has a relatively milder climate. Finally, there is the vast inland area, where the temperature remains around or below freezing even in the summer months. The coldest month in the center and north is usually February, but it can sometimes be March; March is usually as cold as January or even colder. In April, in the center and north, temperatures are still very low—that is, many degrees below freezing. The best time to visit Greenland is in the summer, from June to August. In June, temperatures are a bit lower, and this could be a disadvantage for the coldest areas, but in return, it’s possible to see the midnight sun in a wider area; moreover, rain and snow are a bit rarer. July is the warmest month, but rainfall starts to become a bit more frequent, at least on the southwest coast, and even more so in August. In regions with an arctic climate, and in particular along the northern coast, where what matters most is the temperature, you may prefer July and August, and especially July because it’s the least cold.
International Phone Code
+299
Internet Code
.gl