Economy of Greenland
Currency | Danish krone (DKK, kr.) |
---|---|
calendar year | |
Country group | High-income economy[1] |
Statistics | |
Population | 56,653 (2021)[2] |
GDP | |
GDP rank | |
GDP growth |
|
GDP per capita | |
GDP per capita rank | |
GDP by sector |
|
Population below poverty line | 16.2% (2015 est.)[4] |
33.9 medium (2015 est.)[4] | |
| |
Labour force | |
Labour force by occupation |
|
Unemployment | 9.1% (2015 est.) diamond mining; handicrafts, hides, skins, small shipyards |
External | |
Exports | $407.1 million (2015 est.)[4] |
Export goods | fish and fish products 91% (2015 est.) |
Main export partners | |
Imports | $783.5 million (2015 est.) petroleum products |
Main import partners | |
Gross external debt | $36.4 million (2010)[4] |
Public finances | |
13% of GDP (2015 est.)[4] | |
+5.6% (of GDP) (2016 est.)[4] | |
Revenues | 1.719 billion (2016 est.)[4] |
Expenses | 1.594 billion (2016 est.)[4] |
Economic aid | $650 million subsidy from the Kingdom of Denmark (2012) |
The economy of Greenland is characterized as small, mixed and vulnerable.
GDP per capita is close to the average for European economies, but the economy is critically dependent upon substantial support from the Danish government, which supplies about half the revenues of the
Historical development
Except for an abortive royal colony established under Major Claus Paarss between 1728 and 1730, colonial Greenland was administered by companies under royal charter until 1908. Hans Egede's Hope Colony was organized under the auspices of the Bergen Greenland Company prior to its bankruptcy in 1727; it was succeeded by the merchant Jacob Severin (1733–1749), the General Trade Company (Det almindelige Handelskompagni; 1749–1774), and finally the Royal Greenland Trading Department (KGH; 1776–1908).
Early hopes of mineral or agricultural wealth were dashed, and open trade proved a failure owing to other nations' better quality, lower priced goods and hostility.
During the years before World War I, the KGH's independence was curtailed and the company folded into the
The KGH had
Greenland left the
Following the closure of the
Sectors of the economy
The Greenland economy is extremely dependent on exports of fish and on support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues.[18] The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy.
Governance
The largest employers in Greenland are the various levels of administration, including the central Kingdom Government in Denmark, the Local Greenland Self-Rule Government, and the municipalities. Most of these positions are in the capital
Fishing industry
The second-largest sector by employment is Greenland's fishing industry. The commercial fishing fleet consists of approximately 5,000 dinghies, 300 cutters, and 25 trawlers. While
The fish processing industry is almost entirely centered on Royal Greenland, the world's largest retailer of cold-water shrimp.[19]
Hunting and whaling
Retail
Approximately half of total sales are conducted by
Mining
Greenland is expected to be one of the world's next great mining frontiers as global warming starts to uncover precious metals from the frozen surroundings. Substantial volumes of minerals are now within reach of geological land mapping technologies, according to research conducted by GlobalData, a natural resources business intelligence provider.[26]
Energy
At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower.[27][28][29]
While the Greenland Home Rule Government has primary sovereignty over mineral deposits on the mainland,
Greenland has offered eight license blocks for tender along its west coast by
Coal used to be mined at Qullissat but this has been suspended.
Electricity generation is controlled by the state-owned
Tourism
Tourism is limited by the short summers and high costs. Access is almost exclusively by air, mainly from Scandinavia and Iceland. Some tourists arrive by cruise ship (but they don't spend much locally, since the ship provides accommodation and meals). There have been tests with direct flights from the
Tourism increased significantly between 2015 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 77,000 per year to 105,000.[36] One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020, and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;[37] one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus". (The overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid 2020, thanks to the fisheries.)[38] Visitors will begin arriving again in late 2020 or early 2021. Greenland's goal is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".[39]
Agriculture and forestry
Agriculture is of little importance in the economy but due to climate change – in southern Greenland, the growing season averages about three weeks longer than a decade ago[40] – which has enabled expanded production of existing crops[clarification needed]. At present[when?], local production accounts for 10% of potatoes consumption in Greenland, but that is projected to grow to 15% by 2020. Similarly, it has enabled new crops like apples, strawberries,[41] broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and carrots[40] to be grown and for the cultivated areas of the country to be extended[42] although even now only about 1% of Greenland is considered arable.[43] Expanded production is subsidized by the government through purchase guarantees by the state-owned Neqi A/S grocery store chain.
The only forest in Greenland is in the Qinngua Valley near Nanortalik. It is protected and not used for timber production.
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry consists mainly of sheep farming, with free-grazing flocks. Modern sheep farming methods were introduced in the early 20th century, with the first farm built in 1906.[44] The farms provide meat for local consumption and wool mainly for export. Some 20,000 lambs are slaughtered annually in Narsaq by the state-owned Neqi A/S.[19] The lack of private land ownership rights on Greenland[45] forces farmers to jointly agree to terms of land usage. In the south, there is also a small cattle farm.[46][47]
Reindeer herding has been introduced to Greenland in waves since 1952. Supervision by Scandinavian
See also
- Greenland krone
- Bank of Greenland
Further reading
- Laust Høgedahl (ed.). 2021. Greenland's Economy and Labour Markets. Routledge.
References
- ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Population, total". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ "GDP (current US$)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ "GDP growth (annual %) - Greenland". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "GDP per capita (current US$)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-87586-892-9.
- ^ "Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Greenland – Its Economy and Resources" (PDF). ARCTIC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- JSTOR 1795053.
- ^ StatBank Greenland. "Main employment for permanent residents by time, industry, gender, age, place of residence, place of birth and inventory". Accessed 19 Jan 2017.
- ^ "The Economy of Greenland is Dependent on Fishing". Danish Exporters. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- ^ a b Marquardt, Ole. "Change and Continuity in Denmark's Greenland Policy" in The Oldenburg Monarchy: An Underestimated Empire?. Verlag Ludwig (Kiel), 2006.
- ^ Del, Anden. "Grønland som del af den bibelske fortælling – en 1700-tals studie Archived July 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine" ["Greenland as Part of the Biblical Narrative – a Study of the 18th-Century"]. (in Danish)
- ^ Nielsen, Finn. "Planned reforms in Greenland". Arctic, Vol. 4, No. 1 (May 1951), pp. 12–17.
- ^ a b "Business Etiquette in Greenland". World Travel Guide. Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- OCLC 959262760.
- ^ "The World Factbook: Greenland". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Government of Greenland. "About Greenland: Resources and Industry Archived 2012-02-23 at the Wayback Machine". Accessed 30 Apr 2012.
- ^ Catches under Permit Archived 2011-08-06 at the Wayback Machine. Iwcoffice.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-11.
- ^ Catches under Objection Archived 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine. Iwcoffice.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-11.
- ^ Hovelsrud-Broda, Grete K. "Contemporary Seal Hunting Households Trade Bans and Subsidies" in At the Interface: The Household and Beyond: Monographs in Economic Anthropology, Vol. 15. Univ. Press of America, 1999.
- ^ KNI. "Om os Archived 2012-06-16 at the Wayback Machine" ["About us"]. Accessed 1 May 2012. (in Danish)
- ^ a b "Prospectivity of Greenland". Greenland Minerals and Energy, ltd. Archived from the original on 2011-02-19. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ "Greenland – the Last Frontier". Angel Mining. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ Greenland – The next mining destination, International: mining.com, 2012, retrieved 3 October 2012
- ^ Nordic Investment Bank. "Hydropower creates clean energy and jobs in Greenland". NIB. Nordic Investment Bank. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-5145-2668-2.
- OCLC 1081162368.
- which?] 2008.
- ^ Overlooking the world's largest island, The Copenhagen Post, 17 April 2008
- ^ Allagui, Slim (July 16, 2006). "Greenland Makes Oil Companies Melt". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- ^ "Oil in Greenland: Black stuff in green land". The Economist. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- ^ "Frontpage". Archived from the original on 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
- ^ Visit Greenland. "About Visit Greenland Archived 2014-01-02 at the Wayback Machine". Accessed 1 May 2012.
- ^ "Tourism Statistics Report 2019, Greenland" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Greenland's Economy Autumn 2020, Summary" (PDF). Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Greenland's economy is poised to rebound in 2021, 2 June 2020". Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Greenland Is Approaching Tourism Slowly—And Taking Lessons from Iceland, 24 March 2021". Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ a b Sarah Lyall (4 November 2007). "Greenland's broccoli is bad for our health". The Scotsman. UK. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ Gerald Traufetter. "Arctic Harvest – Global Warming a Boon for Greenland's Farmers". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ "Climatic changes and agriculture in Greenland: Plant diseases in potatoes and grass fields" (PDF). IOPscience. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ "Greenland::Economy". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- ^ Rasmus Ole Rasmussen. "Greenland". Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ Meyer, Robinson (16 August 2019). "Trump Is Thinking of Buying a Giant Socialist Island". The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ "Oversigt over får, lam, kvæg, heste og høns fordelt på kommuner – data fra husdyrtælling hos fåreholdere i år 2007, stk". Archived from the original on 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
- ^ "Johs.Pedersens kreaturtransport". www.johs-pedersen.dk.
- ^ Christine Cuyler. "Success and failure of reindeer herding in Greenland" (PDF). Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ "Isortoq Reindeer Station". Randburg.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
External links
- "Setting up a Business in Greenland", from the Greenland Home Rule Government