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Demographics of Greenland

This is a demography of the population of Greenland including population density, ethnicity, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Greenland
Population pyramid of Greenland in 2020
Population57,792 (2022 est.)
Growth rate-0.02% (2022 est.)
Birth rate13.79 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate8.96 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy73.98 years
 • male71.28 years
 • female76.82 years
Fertility rate1.91 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate8.75 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years20.82%
65 and over10.36%
Sex ratio
Total1.08 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.05 male(s)/female
Under 151.03 male(s)/female
65 and over0.84 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityGreenlander
Language
OfficialGreenlandic
SpokenGreenlandic, Danish, English

Populations

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As of 1 January 2024 the resident population of Greenland was estimated at 56,699, an increase of 90 (0.2%) compared to the corresponding figure the previous year.[1]

Population by municipality
on 1 January 2024
Municipality Population % of total Annual change
Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq 24,382 43.00% Increase  +234 (+1.0%)
Avannaata Kommunia 10,846 19.13% Decrease  −74 (−0.7%)
Qeqqata Kommunia 9,204 16.23% Increase  +13 (+0.1%)
Kommune Kujalleq 6,145 10.84% Decrease  −60 (−1.0%)
Kommune Qeqertalik 6,058 10.68% Decrease  −24 (−0.4%)

Values do not sum to 100% because there were 64 inhabitants living outside the five municipalities, which include residents in the unincorporated Northeast Greenland National Park. Nuuk is the most populous locality in Greenland with 19,872 inhabitants, which is about 35% of Greenland's total population.

Vital statistics

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[2][3]

Year Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate Infant mortality rate
1900 12,000 416 306 110 35.6 26.2 9.4
1901 12,000 461 301 160 38.7 25.3 13.4
1902 12,000 426 259 167 35.5 21.6 13.9
1903 12,000 428 327 101 35.1 26.8 8.3
1904 12,000 535 283 252 43.5 23.0 20.5
1905 13,000 487 292 195 39.0 23.4 15.6
1906 13,000 493 366 127 39.1 29.0 10.1
1907 13,000 476 362 114 37.2 28.3 8.9
1908 13,000 543 378 165 42.1 29.3 12.8
1909 13,000 564 448 116 43.1 34.2 8.9
1910 13,000 443 354 89 33.6 26.8 6.7
1911 13,000 577 562 15 43.1 41.9 1.1
1912 14,000 482 389 93 35.7 28.8 6.9
1913 14,000 592 390 202 43.5 28.7 14.9
1914 14,000 531 458 73 38.8 33.4 5.3
1915 14,000 545 428 117 39.8 31.2 8.5
1916 14,000 545 447 98 39.5 32.4 7.1
1917 14,000 547 312 235 39.4 22.4 16.9
1918 14,000 550 328 222 39.3 23.4 15.9
1919 14,000 510 614 −104 36.2 43.5 −7.4
1920 14,000 569 429 140 40.1 30.2 9.9
1921 14,000 610 565 45 42.7 39.5 3.1
1922 15,000 545 396 149 37.3 27.1 10.2
1923 15,000 563 326 237 38.0 22.0 16.0
1924 15,000 580 426 154 38.4 28.2 10.2
1925 15,000 660 582 78 42.9 37.8 5.1
1926 16,000 619 340 279 39.7 21.8 17.9
1927 16,000 615 322 293 38.7 20.3 18.4
1928 16,000 680 366 314 42.0 22.6 19.4
1929 17,000 743 353 390 45.0 21.4 23.6
1930 17,000 768 383 385 45.7 22.8 22.9
1931 17,000 779 431 348 46.1 25.5 20.6
1932 17,000 728 625 103 43.3 37.1 6.2
1933 17,000 776 370 406 45.6 21.8 23.8
1934 17,000 807 503 304 46.4 28.9 17.5
1935 18,000 813 835 −22 46.5 47.7 −1.3
1936 18,000 740 811 −71 42.0 46.1 −4.0
1937 18,000 767 474 293 43.1 26.6 16.5
1938 18,000 731 375 356 40.4 20.7 19.7
1939 18,000 762 680 82 41.6 37.2 4.5
1940 19,000 873 356 517 46.9 19.1 27.8
1941 19,000 815 364 451 42.7 19.1 23.6
1942 20,000 904 448 456 46.1 22.9 23.3
1943 20,000 796 429 367 39.8 21.5 18.4
1944 20,000 911 491 420 44.7 24.1 20.6
1945 21,000 818 408 410 39.5 19.7 19.8
1946 21,000 920 416 504 43.6 19.7 23.9
1947 22,000 953 490 463 44.1 22.7 21.4
1948 22,000 883 499 384 40.5 22.9 17.6 5.695
1949 22,000 989 898 91 44.7 40.6 4.1 6.045
1950 23,000 1,129 539 590 50.0 23.8 26.1 6.930
1951 23,000 999 550 449 42.9 23.6 19.3 5.770
1952 24,000 1,034 475 559 43.1 19.8 23.3 5.960
1953 25,000 1,109 398 711 44.9 16.1 28.8 6.150
1954 26,000 1,136 388 748 44.4 15.2 29.2 6.310
1955 27,000 1,234 375 859 46.4 14.1 32.3 6.605
1956 27,000 1,293 351 942 47.2 12.8 34.4 6.670
1957 29,000 1,361 337 1,024 47.6 11.8 35.8 6.925
1958 30,000 1,410 290 1,120 47.2 9.7 37.5 6.815
1959 31,000 1,491 285 1,206 47.6 9.1 38.5 7.145
1960 33,000 1,586 256 1,330 48.6 7.8 40.7 7.245
1961 34,000 1,644 292 1,352 48.8 8.7 40.1 7.310
1962 35,000 1,610 361 1,249 46.1 10.3 35.8 7.085
1963 36,000 1,671 279 1,392 46.2 7.7 38.5 7.035
1964 38,000 1,797 329 1,468 47.4 8.7 38.7 7.270
1965 39,000 1,738 337 1,401 44.3 8.6 35.7 6.960
1966 41,000 1,781 329 1,452 43.5 8.0 35.5 6.995
1967 43,000 1,685 314 1,371 39.3 7.3 32.0 6.395
1968 45,000 1,576 333 1,243 35.3 7.4 27.8 5.845
1969 46,000 1,310 311 999 28.5 6.8 21.7 4.580
1970 46,000 1,144 283 861 24.7 6.1 18.6 3.900
1971 47,000 1,028 289 739 21.8 6.1 15.7 3.245
1972 48,000 948 295 653 19.6 6.1 13.5 2.770
1973 49,000 940 339 601 19.2 6.9 12.3 2.690 36.2
1974 50,000 866 332 534 17.5 6.7 10.8 2.300 28.9
1975 50,000 815 313 502 17.5 6.3 11.2 2.345 36.8
1976 50,000 859 348 511 17.3 7.0 10.3 2.255 32.6
1977 49,000 918 373 545 18.6 7.2 11.4 2.349 42.5
1978 49,000 870 309 561 17.7 6.4 11.3 2.197 26.4
1979 50,000 900 393 507 18.2 8.1 10.0 2.187 37.8
1980 50,000 1,034 380 654 20.5 7.6 12.8 2.435 31.9
1981 51,000 1,056 381 675 20.6 7.5 13.1 2.332 31.3
1982 52,000 1,052 408 644 20.6 8.2 12.4 2.236 37.1
1983 52,000 994 433 561 18.9 8.3 10.6 2.054 37.2
1984 53,000 1,054 439 615 20.0 8.3 11.7 2.107 28.5
1985 53,000 1,152 435 717 21.4 8.2 13.2 2.241 24.3
1986 54,000 1,055 445 610 19.7 8.3 11.4 2.044 22.7
1987 54,000 1,104 445 659 20.4 8.2 12.2 2.083 26.3
1988 55,000 1,213 432 781 22.1 7.9 14.3 2.317 16.5
1989 55,000 1,210 455 755 21.9 8.2 13.7 2.299 21.5
1990 56,000 1,258 467 791 22.6 8.4 14.2 2.444 32.6
1991 56,000 1,192 458 734 21.5 8.3 13.2 2.421 34.4
1992 55,000 1,237 441 796 22.4 8.0 14.4 2.607 12.9
1993 55,000 1,180 432 748 21.3 7.8 13.5 2.578 26.3
1994 56,000 1,139 445 694 20.5 8.0 12.5 2.516 22.8
1995 56,000 1,101 480 621 19.7 8.6 11.1 2.542 20.9
1996 56,000 1,051 444 607 18.8 8.0 10.9 2.513 22.8
1997 56,000 1,095 492 603 19.6 8.8 10.8 2.774 18.3
1998 56,000 980 457 523 17.5 8.1 9.3 2.491 20.4
1999 56,000 945 479 466 16.8 8.5 8.3 2.482 16.9
2000 56,000 879 450 429 15.7 8.0 7.7 2.410 18.2
2001 56,000 942 466 476 16.8 8.3 8.5 2.506 10.6
2002 57,000 954 446 508 16.9 7.8 9.1 2.608 13.6
2003 57,000 879 411 468 15.4 7.2 8.2 2.328 8.0
2004 57,000 892 479 413 15.6 8.4 7.2 2.434 13.5
2005 57,000 886 465 421 15.5 8.1 7.4 2.326 7.9
2006 57,000 842 440 402 14.8 7.7 7.1 2.276 16.6
2007 57,000 853 452 401 15.1 7.9 7.2 2.220 10.6
2008 56,000 834 428 406 14.9 7.6 7.3 2.249 9.6
2009 56,000 895 437 458 16.0 7.8 8.2 2.340 4.5
2010 56,000 869 504 365 15.5 9.0 6.5 2.185 8.1
2011 57,000 821 476 345 14.4 8.3 6.1 2.097 11.0
2012 57,000 786 459 327 13.8 8.0 5.8 2.007 8.9
2013 56,000 820 444 376 14.6 7.9 6.7 2.066 8.5
2014 56,000 805 461 344 14.4 8.2 6.2 1.985 7.5
2015 56,000 854 472 382 15.2 8.4 6.8 2.116 10.5
2016 56,000 830 487 343 14.8 8.7 6.1 2.061 7.2
2017 56,000 853 499 354 15.2 8.9 6.3 2.123 7.0
2018 56,000 819 487 332 14.6 8.7 5.9 2.022 7.3
2019 56,000 849 548 301 15.2 9.8 5.4 2.115 11.8
2020 56,000 835 520 315 14.9 9.3 5.6 2.109 8.4
2021 56,000 761 531 230 13.4 9.3 4.1 1.820 14.5
2022 57,000 748 525 223 13.2 9.3 3.9 1.815 12.0
2023 57,000 716 534 182 12.7 9.4 3.3 1.769 12.6

Structure of the population

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Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2013) (Population statistics are compiled from registers.):[4]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 29 867 26 616 56 483 100
0–4 2 142 1 930 4 072 7.21
5–9 2 004 1 942 3 946 6.99
10–14 2 088 2 022 4 110 7.28
15–19 2 130 2 111 4 241 7.51
20–24 2 350 2 283 4 633 8.20
25–29 2 159 2 081 4 240 7.51
30–34 1 954 1 864 3 818 6.76
35–39 1 730 1 440 3 170 5.61
40–44 2 008 1 690 3 698 6.55
45–49 2 980 2 537 5 517 9.77
50–54 2 599 2 123 4 722 8.36
55–59 2 092 1 546 3 638 6.44
60–64 1 425 1 036 2 461 4.36
65–69 1 071 731 1 802 3.19
70–74 629 594 1 223 2.17
75–79 319 365 684 1.21
80–84 143 229 372 0.66
85–89 39 80 119 0.21
90–94 4 10 14 0.02
95–99 1 2 3 <0.01
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 6 234 5 894 12 128 21.47
15–64 21 427 18 711 40 138 71.06
65+ 2 206 2 011 4 217 7.47
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2021) (Population statistics are compiled from registers.): [5]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 29 855 26 798 56 653 100
0–4 2 058 1 987 4 045 7.14
5–9 1 994 1 855 3 849 6.79
10–14 1 991 1 840 3 831 6.76
15–19 1 851 1 760 3 611 6.37
20–24 1 972 1 943 3 915 6.91
25–29 2 363 2 268 4 631 8.17
30–34 2 398 2 338 4 736 8.36
35–39 2 096 1 902 3 998 7.06
40–44 1 793 1 517 3 310 5.84
45–49 1 630 1 289 2 919 5.15
50–54 2 215 1 922 4 137 7.30
55–59 2 577 2 174 4 751 8.39
60–64 2 108 1 615 3 723 6.57
65–69 1 285 992 2 277 4.02
70–74 776 618 1 394 2.46
75–79 485 433 918 1.62
80–84 194 219 413 0.73
85–89 52 92 144 0.25
90–94 13 29 42 0.07
95+ 4 5 9 0.02
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 6 043 5 682 11 725 20.70
15–64 20 886 18 728 39 614 69.92
65+ 2 926 2 388 5 314 9.38

Life expectancy at birth

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total population: 71.25 years
male: 68.6 years
female: 74.04 years (2012 est.)

Ethnic groups

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Ethnic groups of Greenland (2018)[6]
Ethnic groups percent
Inuit
 
 89.7%
Danish
 
 7.8%
Other Nordic
 
 1.1%
Other
 
 1.4%
Significant minority groups[7]
Nationality Population (2020)
  Philippines 373
  Thailand 208
  Iceland 128
  Sweden 74
  Denmark (migrant workers, mainly businessmen) 64
  China 61
  Norway 53
  Germany 50
  USA 47
  Poland 39
  Canada 20

The population of Greenland consists of Greenlandic Inuit (including mixed-race people), Danish Greenlanders and other Europeans and North Americans. The Inuit population makes up approximately 85–90% of the total (2009 est.). 6,792 people from Denmark live in Greenland, which is 12% of its total population.

In recent years, Greenland experienced a significant increase in immigration from Asia, especially from the Philippines, Thailand, and China.

Languages

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The only official language of Greenland is Greenlandic.[8] The number of speakers of Greenlandic is estimated at 50,000 (85–90% of the total population), divided in three main dialects, Kalaallisut (West-Greenlandic, 44,000 speakers and the dialect that is used as official language), Tunumiit (East-Greenlandic, 3,000 speakers) and Inuktun (North-Greenlandic, 800 speakers). The remainder of the population mainly speaks Danish; Inuit Sign Language is the language of the deaf community.

Religion

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Main article: Religion in Greenland
 
Most Greenlandic villages, including Nanortalik, have their own church.

The nomadic Inuit were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with propitiating a vengeful and fingerless sea Goddess who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts.

The first Norse colonists were pagan, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Catholic Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 990 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar.

Rediscovering these colonists and spreading the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements and began converting the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.[9]

Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, mostly members of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. While there is no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Lutheran Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen[10] estimated that 85% of the Greenlandic population were members of its congregation in 2009.[11] Estimates in 2022 put the figure at 93%.[12]

Spiral case

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Main article: Spiral case

In the 1960s and 70s, Greenland was subject to one of the most impactful eugenics programs ever implemented. At least 4,500 Inuit women were involuntarily implanted with IUD's without their knowledge or consent - about half the fertile population at the time. Within a generation, the birthrate declined by 50%, which led to multigenerational demographic effects. Public officials at the time blamed the decline in birthrate on poverty and cultural trends, but the extent of the involuntary program became public only in 2022 in an investigation known as the spiral case.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "PxWeb - Select table". bank.stat.gl. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  2. ^ United nations. Demographic Yearbooks
  3. ^ "Grønlands Statistik". stat.gl.
  4. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Archived from the original on 21 September 2004.
  5. ^ "UNSD - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  6. ^ "North America: Greenland". CIA The World Factbook. 27 September 2021.
  7. ^ http://bank.stat.gl/pxweb/en/Greenland/Greenland__BE__BE01__BE0120/BEXST6.px/table/tableViewLayout1/?rxid=BEXST618-05-2020%2005:26:26 [dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Ethnolgue".
  9. ^ Leif Kiil Sørensen (29 November 2000). "Grønlandsk bibel præsenteret | Kristeligt Dagblad". Kristeligt-dagblad.dk. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  10. ^ "Bells ring a wake-up call for climate justice." Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine World Council of Churches. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010
  11. ^ "Grønland, Grundloven og Gejstligheden" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  12. ^ US State Dept 2022 report
  13. ^ Murray, Adrienne (30 September 2022). "Inuit Greenlanders demand answers over Danish birth control scandal". British Broadcasting Corporation.
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