Greenland Economic Statistics and Indicators

19, Mar 2019, EDT. Welcome to the Greenland economic statistics pages provided by the beta version of EconomyWatch.com's Econ Stats database.

Economic Indicators For: Greenland › Change country
National or Regional Currency: Danish Krone, DKK
Year of data: 2015 › Change year
Number of Indicators Listed:
Full Dataset: From Year 1980 to 2019
Date of Last Update: 17th March 2015
Population: 57,728 (July 2014 est.)
Area: total: 2,166,086 sq km ; land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered)
Natural Resources: coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas
Capital: name: Nuuk (Godthab) ; geographic coordinates: 64 11 N, 51 45 W ; time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) ; daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October ; note: Greenland has four time zones

The economy remains critically dependent on exports of shrimp and fish, income from resource exploration and extraction, and on a substantial subsidy from the Danish Government. The subsidy was budgeted to be about $651 million in 2012, approximately 56% of government revenues that year. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in Greenland's economy. Greenland's real GDP contracted about 1% in 2009 as a result of the global economic slowdown, but is estimated to have grown marginally in 2010-13. The relative ease with which Greenland has weathered the economic crisis is due to increased hydrocarbon and mineral exploration and extraction activities, a high level of construction activity in the Nuuk area and the increasing price of fish and shrimp. During the last decade the Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) pursued conservative fiscal and monetary policies, but public pressure has increased for better schools, health care and retirement systems. The Greenlandic economy has benefited from increasing catches and exports of shrimp, Greenland halibut and, more recently, crabs. Due to Greenland's continued dependence on exports of fish - which accounted for 89% of exports in 2010 - the economy remains very sensitive to foreign developments. International consortia are increasingly active in exploring for hydrocarbon resources off Greenland's western coast, and international studies indicate the potential for oil and gas fields in northern and northeastern Greenland. In May 2007 a US aluminum producer concluded a memorandum of understanding with the Greenland Home Rule Government to build an aluminum smelter and a power generation facility, which takes advantage of Greenland's abundant hydropower potential. Within the area of mining, olivine sand continues to be produced and gold production has resumed in south Greenland, while rare-earth and iron ore mineral projects have been proposed or planned elsewhere on the island. Tourism also offers another avenue of economic growth for Greenland, with increasing numbers of cruise lines now operating in Greenland's western and southern waters during the peak summer tourism season.
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