Greenland

https://www.humantruth.info/greenland.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2013

Greenland
Status	Proto Dependency
Sovereignty	Denmark
Capital	Nuuk (Godthab)
Land Area	410 450km²₁
Location	North America, The Americas
Population
GNI
ISO3166-1 Codes	GL, GRL, 304₂
Internet Domain	.gl₃
Currency	Krone (DKK)₄
Telephone	+299₅

1. Overview

“Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Greenland voted in favor of increased self-rule in November 2008 and acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs when the Act on Greenland Self-Government was signed into law in June 2009. Denmark, however, continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs, security, and financial policy in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government.”
CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₆

“Stone Age traditions collide with modern technology to create a complex society where children eat whale blubber while watching satellite TV and hunters learn first-aid skills to qualify as guides. It´s said that once a traveller has seen the rest of the world, there´s always Greenland. But with climate change undoubtedly stirring things up in this part of the world, we don´t think you should wait that long. Nature, at its most raw and powerful, calls the shots here: the world´s biggest noncontinental island is actually more than 80% icecap, leading to the world´s sparsest population.
Few places combine such magnificent scenery, clarity of light and raw power of nature. Vast swaths of beautiful wilderness and very few roads, give adventurers the freedom to wander at will, whether on foot, by ski or dogsled.
However you travel, schedule a safety margin for unpredictable weather and leave ample time in each destination to unwind, soak up the midnight sun, watch icebergs explode, be dazzled by the magic of the aurora borealis or to try some world-beating but charmingly uncommercialised opportunities for sea kayaking, rock climbing and salmon fishing.”
"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₇

As a territory of Denmark, this territory does not have standard international statistics available for it in its own right.

2. Greenland's Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #fertility #health #overpopulation #population #yemen

Population Datasets:

This country has a fertility rate of 1.84. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population will grow, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity - the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate (two new children for each set of parents who die), which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1, once you take mortality into account₈. The highest fertility rate ever detected in a single year was in Yemen in 1985, at 8.86.₉

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best₁₀
Pos.		2022₁₀
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
18	Argentina	1.88
19	Myanmar	2.13
20	Indonesia	2.15
21	Greenland	1.84
22	Gibraltar	1.84
23	Peru	2.16
24	Venezuela	2.19
25	Romania	1.81
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

3. Greenland's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#homosexuality

Prejudice Datasets:

LGBT Equality in the 2020s Higher is better₁₁
Pos.		Total Score₁₁
1=	Germany	4.88
1=	Spain	4.88
3	Portugal	4.81
	...
45=	Faroe Islands	1.62
45=	St Helena	1.62
45=	Pitcairn Islands	1.62
45=	Greenland	1.62
45=	Guernsey	1.62
45=	Ascension Islands	1.62
45=	Gibraltar	1.62
45=	Tristan da Cunha	1.62
	The Americas Avg	0.41
	World Avg	-1.21
q=215.

Same-sex relationships have been legal since 1 January 1933, when Denmark decriminalized homosexuality and extended that reform to Greenland. Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, was not subject to Denmark´s same-sex marriage law, which was enacted in 2012. However, legislators in Greenland passed a bill in May 2015 to legalize same-sex marriage on the world's biggest island₁₂.

4. Greenland's Health

#birth_control #demographics #health #obesity #overpopulation

Compared to The Americas (2025)₁₃
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₃
1	Canada	57.4
2	Turks & Caicos Islands	62.6
3	St Martin	66.7
4	Cuba	67.0
5	USA	68.9
6	British Virgin Islands	69.7
7	Antigua & Barbuda	69.8
8	Greenland	72.3
9	Barbados	73.9
10	Costa Rica	75.4
11	Grenada	81.0
12	Uruguay	81.6
13	Colombia	84.3
	The Americas Avg	92.66
q=41.

Health (2025)₁₃
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₃
1	Monaco	12.4
2	Liechtenstein	30.1
3	San Marino	30.6
	...
47	Thailand	71.3
48	Vietnam	71.8
49	Mauritius	72.2
50	Greenland	72.3
51	Croatia	73.8
52	Barbados	73.9
53	Slovakia	74.3
54	Poland	75.3
	World Avg	96.86
q=204.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and San Marino₁₄. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are Angola, Somalia and S. Sudan₁₄.

36 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, obesity rate, its adolescent birth rate, its immunizations take-up and childhood mortality (so far). The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Mediterranean₁₄, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Africa and Melanesia₁₄.

For more, see:

"Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Health Datasets:

When it comes to public health, Greenland has exemplary public policy and a uniquely healthy culture. Greenland does better than average in terms of its fertility rate₁₀. The number of overweight adults has increased by 14% between 1976 and 2016. Greenland has had a long-term consistent fertility rate, and is one of only 22 countries to vary by less than 1.0 each decade since the 1960s. Its peak fertility rate was 2.69 in 1997.

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best₁₀
Pos.		2022₁₀
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
18	Argentina	1.88
19	Myanmar	2.13
20	Indonesia	2.15
21	Greenland	1.84
22	Gibraltar	1.84
23	Peru	2.16
24	Venezuela	2.19
25	Romania	1.81
	The Americas Avg	1.80
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

Adult Obesity Lower is better₁₅
Pos.		2022 %₁₅
1	Vietnam	2.1%
2	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	2.2%
3	Ethiopia	2.4%
	...
119	Armenia	27.9%
120	Guyana	28.0%
121	Russia	28.0%
122	Greenland	28.2%
123	Tunisia	28.3%
124	Uzbekistan	28.5%
125	Honduras	28.5%
126	UK	28.7%
	The Americas Avg	32.0%
	World Avg	24.7%
q=199.

5. Greenland's Responsibility Towards The Environment

#biodiversity #deforestation #over-exploitation #the_environment

This is derived from 21 data sets. Greenland does better than average in its forested percent change 2000-2020₁₆.

Forest Area Change 2000-2020 Higher is better₁₆
Pos.		Total₁₆
1	Guernsey	82.6%
2	Bahrain	75.2%
3	Iceland	64.7%
	...
104=	St Martin	0.0%
104=	St Kitts & Nevis	0.0%
104=	Monaco	0.0%
104=	Greenland	0.0%
104=	Falkland Islands	0.0%
104=	Mali	0.0%
104=	Gibraltar	0.0%
104=	St Barthelemy	0.0%
	The Americas Avg	-2.1%
	World Avg	-0.1%
q=234.

6. Greenland's Modernity and Learning

#the_internet

Technology and Information Datasets:

Internet Users Higher is better₁₇
Pos.		2016₁₇
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
59=	Argentina	69%
60	Trinidad & Tobago	69%
61	Malaysia	69%
62	Greenland	67%
63	Portugal	67%
64	Brazil	66%
65	St Kitts & Nevis	66%
66	Dominica	66%
	The Americas Avg	56.4%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake Higher is better₁₈
Pos.		2017 Ratio₁₈
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
153=	San Marino	0.0
153=	Cayman Islands	0.0
153=	Andorra	0.0
153=	Greenland	0.0
153=	Brunei	0.0
153=	Aruba	0.0
153=	Bahrain	0.0
153=	Palau	0.0
	The Americas Avg	3.36
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

7. Religion and Beliefs

The CIA World Factbook states: Evangelical Lutheran, traditional Inuit spiritual beliefs₁₉.

Links:

A List of All Religions and Belief Systems

7.1. 11th-13th Century: Christian Superstitions Doom the Norse in Greenland ₂₀

#christianity #denmark #prejudice

Greenland was a very difficult place to survive for any outsiders who didn't have the Inuit's long experience. Settlers from Denmark tried more than once to survive there; but the most consistent community was doomed when it was followed-up by the arrival of Christianity: prejudice against the non-Christian Inuit meant that they did not trade, nor learn, from the natives. They also built so many Churches, and paid too many tithes, that the settlement starved, and failed.₂₁.

Greenland converted to Christianity around 1000CE₂₁; it started out with no bishop, and so, Christians couldn't perform two important rituals: confirmations and the spell of consecration of church ground₂₁. So they bribed the King of Denmark with a gift of "a large supply of ivory, walrus hides, and - best of all - a live polar bear. That did the trick"₂₁ - Denmark sent a Bishop to Greenland, with the stipulation of continued payments. An important factor in the downfall of the Norse in Greenland was that for centuries its bishops were born and educated in Europe, and came to Greenland upon appointment as a bishop₂₁.

The bishop collected money and resources from willing Christians, spending them in Denmark to purchase special clothes (vestments) for himself, stained glass windows, and resources for a growing number of churches in Greenland₂₁.

The power of Christian influence on Greenlanders' meant that the Church got the resources it needed; it controlled much of the best land, and got tithes, exports of ivory and valuable resources in exchange for bishops and religious services₂₁. Rome also got extra tithes, imposed on all Christians to support the Crusades₂₁. The bishops, coming from mainland Europe, refused to make accommodations for local circumstances: bronze, metals and resources were used to deck out Christian churches using the same resources rather than take into account Greenland's limited stock₂₁. Resources, especially timber, tools, bronze, metals and manpower were involved in supporting an inordinate number of Christian buildings:

“A big construction program of churches modeled on European churches followed Arnald's appointment [as the first bishop], and continued to around 1300, when the lovely church at Hvalsey was erected as one of the last. Greenland's ecclesiastical establishment came to consist of one cathedral, about 13 large parish churches, many churches, and even a monastery and a nunnery. [It was] all out of proportion to the size the tiny society that erected and supported them. For instance, St Nicholas's Cathedral at Gardar, measuring [32 metres by 18 metres] was as large as either of the two cathedrals of Iceland, whose population was ten times that of Greenland [and these buildings] must have consumed horrifyingly large amounts of scarce timber to support their walls and roofs.”
"Collapse" by Jared Diamond (2005)₂₁

The Inuit knew how to survive in Greenland; they had lived there for a long time, and survived there long after the now-Christian Norse community in Greenland starved to death. But due to a mixture of racism and theological disgust over the fact that they weren't Christian, Greenland's Christians refused to copy any of the Inuit's survival methods₂₁. Instead of using seal meat, the bishops (who all came from Europe, and wanted meat that resembled beef) diverted manpower from the summer hay harvest to the Nordsreta hunt₂₁. The Eastern Settlement lasted longer than the Western Settlement. But with impoverishment, starvation, fewer people, and then the inability to trade, their Christian partners no longer supported them. "The last bishop of Greenland died around 1378, and no new bishop arrived from Norway to replace him"₂₂.

“[They would have] been better off had they imported fewer bronze bells, and more iron with which to make tools [and] goods to trade with the Inuit for meat. [and avoid] starving to death as a result. [... But] It was out of the question to invest less in churches, to imitate [the non-Christian] Inuit, and thereby to face an eternity in Hell just in order to survive another winter on Earth.”
"Collapse" by Jared Diamond (2005)₂₁

The example of Christian biases dooming the colony is used as an example on Time to Move On: Religion Has Cost Too Much.