Page 52 - Untamed Iceland

Greenland

Facts & Figures
• Area: 836,330 square miles

• Capital: Nuuk (Godthab)

• Languages: 2]PPYWLYOTN BP^_ 4Y`T_ T^ _SP ZʯNTLW WLYR`LRP& /LYT^S LYO 0YRWT^S L]P
also spoken.

• Ethnicity: Inuit 88%, Danish and others 12%

• Location: Greenland is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Greenland Sea, Arctic Ocean, and
-LʯY -Ld

• Population: 57,733 (estimate)

• Religions: Evangelical Lutheran, traditional Inuit spiritual beliefs

• Time Zone: Greenland is two hours ahead of U.S. EST. When it is 6am in New York, it is
8am in Nuuk.

Politically, Greenland is connected to the Kingdom of Denmark, but in 2008 it won a measure
of independence due to a referendum on self-rule that passed with a 75% approval rating.

National Holidays: Greenland

In addition to the holidays listed below, 05/01 May Day
Greenland celebrates a number of national
05/16 General Prayer Day
holidays that follow a lunar calendar, such
L^ 0L^_P] ?Z ʭYO Z`_ TQ dZ` bTWW MP _]LaPWTYR 06/21 National Day
during these holidays, please visit www.
timeanddate.com/holidays. 12/25 Christmas Day

01/01 New Year’s Day 12/26 Boxing Day

01/06 Epiphany 12/31 New Year’s Eve

Historical Overview of Greenland
The Inuit Land of the People

Greenland, known as Kalaallit Nunaat (“land of the people”) in the Inuit language, has been
inhabited by successive waves of Inuit cultures for almost 5000 years. The earliest people came
across the narrow strait between Ellesmere Island and Thule in northern Greenland at times
when the sea was frozen. Their stories have been pieced together from the artifacts they left
behind, interpreted by archeologists and anthropologists.

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