Greenland demographics

Nuuk (2010) - The capital is increasingly the target of internal migration.

The Demography of Greenland looks at the structure and changes in the demographic structures of Greenland .

Settlement history

Ethnic composition by location

Greenland was first discovered in the 3rd millennium BC. Populated by Inuit . Different Inuit cultures followed one another. Greenland was first sighted by Vikings around the 10th century . The first entry was through Snæbjǫrn galti . Erik the Red led the European colonization of Greenland for the first time in 985 . The Germanic Greenlanders died out in the 15th century .

From 1721, Greenland was re-explored by Hans Egede , which represents the most important turning point in Greenland's settlement history. In the following years, the colonization of Greenland by Danes and Norwegians began with the progressive establishment of state structures from the appointment of the first two inspectors in 1782, Johan Friedrich Schwabe and Bendt Olrik . Many places were re-established through the establishment of trading and missionary stations. Almost all of today's larger towns on the west coast go back to the founding of Egedes or Anders Olsen , although many were already settled by Inuit before.

Before the 1780s there were more marriages between European men and Greenland women, until these were officially banned by Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel in 1782 . Less than 20 years later, however, these regulations were relaxed again. As a result, 80% of Greenlanders now have European ancestors, with the average proportion of European genes being 25%. Only in Tasiilaq , Qaanaaq and the respective surroundings as well as in smaller villages on the south coast is the proportion of European genes below average. In the Ammassalik district , the proportion of genetically pure Inuit is around 90%.

National population development

year	of inhabitants number	Annual growth
1805	6,046	-
1840	7,877	0.87%
1860	9,648	1.12%
1880	9,720	0.04%
1901	11,893	1.06%
1911	13,459	1.32%
1921	14,355	0.67%
1930	16,901	1.97%
1946	21,412	1.67%
1951	23,642	2.08%
1956	27.101	2.93%
1961	33,140	4.46%
1962	34,312	3.54%
1963	35,499	3.46%
1964	36,967	4.14%
1965	37,815	5.00%
1966	39,615	2.06%
1967	42.102	6.28%
1968	43,792	4.91%
1969	45,639	4.22%
1970	46,331	1.52%
1971	46,532	0.43%
1972	47,935	3.02%
1973	48,581	1.35%
1974	49,468	1.83%
1975	49.502	0.07%
1976	49,666	0.33%
1977	49,717	0.10%
1978	49,147	−1.15%
1979	49,337	0.39%
1980	49,773	0.88%
1981	50,643	1.75%
1982	51,435	1.56%
1983	51.903	0.91%
1984	52,347	0.86%
1985	52,940	1.13%
1986	53,406	0.88%
1987	53,733	0.61%
1988	54,524	1.47%
1989	55,170	1.18%
1990	55,557	0.70%
1991	55,616	0.11%
1992	55,381	−0.42%
1993	55.113	−0.48%
1994	55,415	0.55%
1995	55,728	0.56%
1996	55,859	0.24%
1997	55,967	0.19%
1998	56,072	0.19%
1999	56,084	0.02%
2000	56.121	0.07%
2001	56,242	0.22%
2002	56,512	0.48%
2003	56,675	0.29%
2004	56,825	0.26%
2005	56,969	0.25%
2006	56,899	−0.12%
2007	56,645	−0.45%
2008	56,458	−0.33%
2009	56.193	−0.47%
2010	56,452	0.46%
2011	56,615	0.29%
2012	56,749	0.24%
2013	56,370	−0.67%
2014	56,282	−0.16%
2015	55,983	−0.53%
2016	55,847	−0.24%
2017	55,860	0.02%
2018	55,877	0.03%
2019	55.992	0.21%
2020	56,081	0.16%

It is largely unknown how many people inhabited Greenland before colonization . A total colonial population of 20,000 was estimated for 1802. They had completely overestimated themselves. Other sources speak of 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants in pre-colonial times, but in 1805, about 80 years after the population immigrated from Europe, only 6046 people were counted. In 1721 it should have been around eight thousand, but an imported wave of epidemics decimated the population. Until the end of the 19th century the population remained in four digits. From 1901 a ten-year census was carried out, later a five-year census, since 1961 the population has been counted annually, since 2011 every six months and since 2017 quarterly. These show how the population first rose at an average rate of 1% per year, before rapid population growth occurred after the Second World War , which culminated with a population increase of 6.28% from 1966 to 1967. After this peak of around twenty years, growth then declined massively. For the first time in 1978 there was a population decrease. After a further slow increase, the population began to stagnate from the 1990s. The year with the highest recorded population in the country was 2005, when 56,969 people lived in Greenland. Since then, the population has tended to decline.

The source for the values in the table below is:

1805-1880:
1901–1976:
1977-2020:

Births and deaths

year	Births	Deaths	excess
1950	1129	539	590
1951	999	550	449
1952	1034	475	559
1953	1109	398	711
1954	1136	388	748
1955	1234	375	859
1956	1293	351	942
1957	1361	337	1024
1958	1410	290	1120
1959	1491	285	1206
1960	1586	256	1330
1961	1644	292	1352
1962	1610	361	1249
1963	1671	279	1392
1964	1797	329	1468
1965	1738	337	1401
1966	1781	329	1452
1967	1685	314	1371
1968	1576	333	1243
1969	1310	311	999
1970	1144	283	861
1971	1028	289	739
1972	948	295	653
1973	940	339	601
1974	866	332	534
1975	815	313	502
1976	859	348	511
1977	918	373	545
1978	870	309	561
1979	900	393	507
1980	1034	380	654
1981	1056	381	675
1982	1052	408	644
1983	994	433	561
1984	1054	439	615
1985	1152	435	717
1986	1055	445	610
1987	1104	445	659
1988	1213	432	781
1989	1210	455	755
1990	1258	467	791
1991	1192	458	734
1992	1237	441	796
1993	1180	432	748
1994	1139	445	694
1995	1101	480	621
1996	1051	444	607
1997	1095	492	603
1998	980	457	523
1999	945	479	466
2000	879	450	429
2001	942	466	476
2002	954	446	508
2003	879	411	468
2004	892	479	413
2005	886	465	421
2006	842	440	402
2007	853	452	401
2008	834	428	406
2009	895	437	458
2010	869	510	359
2011	821	476	345
2012	786	453	333
2013	820	444	376
2014	805	461	344
2015	854	472	382
2016	830	487	343
2017	853	499	354
2018	819	487	332
2019	849	548	301

Birth and death rates have been recorded since 1950. In 1951 the birth rate was 42.3 births per 1000 inhabitants. In 1964 this had risen to 48.6. It subsequently fell sharply and amounted to 14.7 births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2018. In the same period, moving mortality rate of 23.3 deaths per 1000 inhabitants in 1951 to 6.1 in 1970, to 8.7 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in 2018. These figures represent an existing still birth surplus , which for a extreme peak in 1961 with 40.8 more births than deaths with a slightly downward trend in 2018 was 5.9.

Fertility

The fertility rate of Greenlandic women has fluctuated between 1.9 and 2.5 children per woman since 1977, with the peak in the 1990s. With such values, Greenland is at the upper end of the states of Europe , Canada and the USA in an international comparison . The mean value of 2.03 children per woman between 2010 and 2015 was not exceeded by any of these countries in the list of countries by birth rate . Ireland , Iceland and France had the highest values with 2.00 and 1.98 children per woman, respectively. The birth rate was similar at 14.6 during this period, as it was only outbid by Ireland.

mortality

The death rate in Greenland, with an average value of 8.3 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants between 2010 and 2015, is in the lower European middle field in the list of countries by death rate . The value is influenced by two factors. The baby boom took place in the 1960s , due to an improvement in the medical situation, particularly in relation to the fight against tuberculosis , whereby 16.7% of the population is 50 to 59 years old today. In addition, the comparatively high birth rate means that only 8.7% of the population will exceed the age of 65 in 2020. This value is far below the European mean. In 2016, Moldova had the lowest proportion of senior citizens in Europe in the list of countries by age structure with 10.4%. The small number of old people is partly put into perspective by the low life expectancy . This was calculated for newborns between 2015 and 2019 as 68.3 years for men and 73.0 years for women. In 2019, 52 of 548 deceased, i.e. 9.5%, were still under 30 years old. The Greenland suicide rate , which is at least twice that of all independent countries in the world, has a massive impact . This is attributed to, for example, alcohol addiction and the arctic days and nights.

Saarloq (2009) - An aging village

Local population development and age structure

Population pyramid 2019
Men	Age level	Women
4th	95+	3
16	90-94	21st
59	85-89	98
159	80-84	212
464	75-79	452
737	70-74	520
1195	65-69	945
1960	60-64	1469
2453	55-59	2138
2576	50-54	2178
1678	45-49	1359
1665	40-44	1414
2018	35-39	1796
2283	30-34	2196
2388	25-29	2305
2064	20-24	2003
1781	15-19	1732
1964	10-14	1845
1968	5-9	1841
2119	0-4	2003

The population pyramid of Greenland is best described in terms of the onion or fir tree shape. A rather small number of old people due to the low life expectancy is followed by a high number of middle-aged people. However, with recognizable peaks in the generation of children and grandchildren born around 1990 and 2015, the number of people in the subsequent age groups is falling.

Reaching an age over 90 is already a rarity. Altogether only three Greenlanders and one Greenlander with an age of over 100 years are documented, including Henrik Lund's wife Malene Lund (1877–1979). The oldest living Greenlander is currently the kiosk owner Anton Geisler, born on February 21, 1919, who is also the oldest male Greenlander ever, ahead of Henrik's and Malenes son Christian Adolf (1912–2010).

The gender inequality is also striking: 52.7% of the population are male.

Regional distribution

The following table gives an overview of the regional distribution of the population between 1977 and 2020. The proportion of urban and rural population and their age structure are given for each Greenland district.

With the exception of the Upernavik district, the proportion of the rural population has fallen more or less sharply. In return, the proportion of urban population has risen in around half of the districts, but the smaller districts in particular have also lost inhabitants in their cities. The largest population increases are in Nuuk in West Greenland and Tasiilaq in East Greenland, where the population has roughly doubled. Paamiut suffered the greatest loss of population among the cities , where almost half of the population has emigrated. In addition to around 20 villages that have been abandoned since 1977, Ammassivik (−78.4%), Arsuk (−78.4%), Kangerluk (−82.8%), Qassimiut (−87.0%) and Saarloq (−79.6%) lost more than three quarters of their population. Only a few villages have gained residents since then: Aappilattoq (+ 4.9%), Atammik (+ 18.1%), Iginniarfik (+ 15.2%), Ikerasaarsuk (+ 100.0%), Innaarsuit (+150.0 %), Kullorsuaq (+ 143.5%), Naajaat (+ 69.0%), Nuussuaq (+ 26.6%), Qeqertaq (+ 52.0%), Sermiligaaq (+ 34.0%), Tasiusaq ( + 46.5%) and Upernavik Kujalleq (+ 45.7%). With the exception of Atammik, Qeqertaq and Sermiligaaq, these villages are all in the Upernavik and Kangaatsiaq districts.

District	Spatial planning	year	Residents			Age
District	Spatial planning	year	number	proportion of	modification	0-17	%	18-44	%	45-64	%	≥65	%
Qaanaaq District	urban	1977	357	47.9%	+ 80.1%	156	43.7%	141	39.5%	44	12.3%	16	4.5%
	urban	2020	646	84.2%	+ 80.1%	192	29.7%	208	32.2%	197	30.5%	49	7.6%
	rural	1977	389	52.1%	−68.9%	198	50.9%	126	32.4%	44	11.3%	21st	5.4%
	rural	2020	121	15.8%	−68.9%	28	23.1%	43	35.5%	39	32.2%	11	9.1%
Upernavik district	urban	1977	855	40.9%	+ 27.7%	400	46.8%	340	39.8%	82	9.6%	33	3.9%
	urban	2020	1092	40.0%	+ 27.7%	273	25.0%	394	36.1%	320	29.3%	105	9.6%
	rural	1977	1238	59.1%	+ 32.5%	687	55.5%	366	29.6%	131	10.6%	54	4.4%
	rural	2020	1640	60.0%	+ 32.5%	500	30.5%	640	39.0%	398	24.3%	102	7.3%
Uummannaq District	urban	1977	1155	48.4%	+ 21.8%	502	43.5%	475	41.1%	134	11.6%	44	3.8%
	urban	2020	1407	61.1%	+ 21.8%	331	23.5%	524	37.2%	416	29.6%	136	9.7%
	rural	1977	1229	51.6%	−33.1%	562	45.7%	430	35.0%	160	13.0%	77	6.3%
	rural	2020	822	38.9%	−33.1%	182	22.1%	301	36.6%	255	31.0%	84	10.2%
Ilulissat district	urban	1977	3572	89.7%	+ 30.7%	1618	45.3%	1433	40.1%	406	11.4%	115	3.2%
	urban	2020	4670	93.4%	+ 30.7%	1141	24.4%	1810	38.8%	1308	28.0%	411	8.8%
	rural	1977	410	10.3%	−20.0%	213	52.0%	119	29.0%	54	13.2%	24	5.9%
	rural	2020	328	6.6%	−20.0%	73	22.3%	122	37.2%	109	33.2%	24	7.3%
Qeqertarsuaq District	urban	1977	1003	94.0%	−16.4%	452	45.1%	392	39.1%	115	11.5%	44	4.4%
	urban	2020	839	98.7%	−16.4%	204	24.3%	264	31.5%	253	30.2%	118	14.1%
	rural	1977	64	6.0%	−82.8%	26th	40.6%	20th	31.3%	13	20.3%	5	7.8%
	rural	2020	11	1.3%	−82.8%	1	9.1%	4th	36.4%	3	27.3%	3	27.3%
Qasigiannguit District	urban	1977	1647	93.8%	−34.4%	748	45.4%	622	37.8%	210	12.8%	67	4.1%
	urban	2020	1081	92.6%	−34.4%	253	23.4%	373	34.5%	311	28.8%	144	13.3%
	rural	1977	109	6.2%	−21.1%	59	54.1%	33	30.3%	9	8.3%	8th	7.3%
	rural	2020	86	7.4%	−21.1%	33	38.4%	29	33.7%	19th	22.1%	5	5.8%
Aasiaat District	urban	1977	3347	91.3%	−8.3%	1490	44.5%	1334	39.9%	412	12.3%	111	3.3%
	urban	2020	3069	96.4%	−8.3%	776	25.3%	1087	35.4%	878	28.6%	328	10.7%
	rural	1977	319	8.7%	−63.6%	146	45.8%	112	35.1%	37	11.6%	24	7.5%
	rural	2020	116	3.6%	−63.6%	31	26.7%	29	25.0%	39	33.6%	17th	14.7%
Kangaatsiaq District	urban	1977	397	33.9%	+ 31.0%	205	51.6%	130	32.7%	47	11.8%	15th	3.8%
	urban	2020	520	45.7%	+ 31.0%	152	29.2%	192	36.9%	137	26.3%	39	7.5%
	rural	1977	773	66.1%	−20.1%	422	54.6%	244	31.6%	91	11.8%	16	2.1%
	rural	2020	618	54.3%	−20.1%	170	27.5%	228	36.9%	178	28.8%	42	6.8%
Sisimiut district	urban	1977	3741	80.5%	+49.2%	1692	45.2%	1523	40.7%	421	11.3%	105	2.8%
	urban	2020	5582	89.0%	+49.2%	1463	26.2%	2120	38.0%	1496	26.8%	503	9.0%
	rural	1977	904	19.5%	−23.3%	176	19.5%	608	67.3%	112	12.4%	8th	0.9%
	rural	2020	693	11.0%	−23.3%	170	24.5%	262	37.8%	232	33.5%	29	4.2%
Maniitsoq District	urban	1977	2937	75.1%	−13.7%	1313	44.7%	1188	40.4%	344	11.7%	92	3.1%
	urban	2020	2534	81.7%	−13.7%	598	23.6%	883	34.8%	761	30.0%	292	11.5%
	rural	1977	973	24.9%	−41.5%	480	49.3%	325	33.4%	140	14.4%	28	2.9%
	rural	2020	569	18.3%	−41.5%	126	22.1%	190	33.4%	180	31.6%	73	12.8%
Nuuk District	urban	1977	8545	94.6%	+ 114.5%	3107	36.4%	4367	51.1%	863	10.1%	208	2.4%
	urban	2020	18326	98.8%	+ 114.5%	4185	22.8%	7900	43.1%	5124	28.0%	1117	6.1%
	rural	1977	487	5.4%	−53.6%	198	40.7%	174	35.7%	97	19.9%	18th	3.7%
	rural	2020	226	1.2%	−53.6%	40	17.5%	84	36.7%	70	30.6%	32	14.0%
Paamiut district	urban	1977	2275	84.6%	−42.5%	938	41.2%	974	42.8%	281	12.4%	82	3.6%
	urban	2020	1308	94.7%	−42.5%	308	23.5%	450	34.4%	371	28.4%	179	13.7%
	rural	1977	413	15.4%	−82.3%	191	46.2%	138	33.4%	68	16.5%	16	3.9%
	rural	2020	73	5.3%	−82.3%	11	15.1%	24	32.9%	20th	27.4%	18th	24.7%
Qaqortoq district	urban	1977	2671	84.7%	+ 14.2%	1048	39.2%	1164	43.6%	377	14.1%	82	3.1%
	urban	2020	3050	95.6%	+ 14.2%	742	24.3%	1147	37.6%	829	27.2%	332	10.9%
	rural	1977	482	15.3%	−71.2%	219	45.4%	157	32.6%	74	15.4%	32	6.6%
	rural	2020	139	4.4%	−71.2%	24	17.3%	47	33.8%	49	35.3%	19th	13.7%
Narsaq district	urban	1977	1894	83.4%	−28.9%	750	39.6%	812	42.9%	280	14.8%	52	2.7%
	urban	2020	1346	84.7%	−28.9%	310	23.0%	406	30.2%	431	32.0%	199	14.8%
	rural	1977	378	16.6%	−35.7%	103	27.2%	188	49.7%	64	16.9%	23	6.1%
	rural	2020	243	15.3%	−35.7%	46	18.9%	81	33.3%	83	34.2%	33	13.6%
Nanortalik District	urban	1977	1396	49.7%	−15.1%	581	41.6%	578	41.4%	190	13.6%	47	3.4%
	urban	2020	1185	71.3%	−15.1%	307	25.9%	405	34.2%	327	27.6%	146	12.3%
	rural	1977	1413	50.3%	−66.3%	623	44.1%	480	34.0%	226	16.0%	84	5.9%
	rural	2020	476	28.7%	−66.3%	104	21.8%	146	30.7%	146	30.7%	80	16.8%
Ammassalik District	urban	1977	1023	40.1%	+ 94.0%	437	42.7%	469	45.8%	102	10.0%	15th	1.5%
	urban	2020	1985	69.8%	+ 94.0%	618	31.1%	772	38.9%	471	23.7%	124	6.2%
	rural	1977	1529	59.9%	−43.9%	804	52.6%	546	35.7%	149	9.7%	30th	2.0%
	rural	2020	858	30.2%	−43.9%	281	32.8%	279	32.5%	231	26.9%	67	7.8%
Ittoqqortoormiit district	urban	1977	397	74.3%	−13.1%	186	46.9%	170	42.8%	31	7.8%	10	2.5%
	urban	2020	345	99.4%	−13.1%	104	30.1%	138	40.0%	82	23.8%	21st	6.1%
	rural	1977	137	25.7%	−98.5%	57	41.6%	57	41.6%	22nd	16.1%	1	0.7%
	rural	2020	2	0.6%	−98.5%	0	0.0%	1	50.0%	1	50.0%	0	0.0%
total	urban	1977	37254	76.8%	+ 31.5%	15632	42.0%	16143	43.3%	4341	11.7%	1138	3.1%
	urban	2020	48985	87.5%	+ 31.5%	11957	24.4%	19073	38.9%	13712	28.0%	4243	8.7%
	rural	1977	11247	23.2%	−37.6%	5164	45.9%	4123	36.7%	1491	13.3%	469	4.2%
	rural	2020	7021	12.5%	−37.6%	1820	25.9%	2510	35.7%	2052	29.2%	639	9.1%

migration

Immigration and emigration

year	immigration	emigration	difference
1993	2091	2618	−527
1994	2119	2473	−354
1995	2236	2702	−466
1996	2414	2897	−483
1997	2579	2980	−401
1998	2419	2934	−515
1999	2488	2804	−316
2000	2794	2888	−94
2001	2461	2708	−247
2002	2126	2414	−288
2003	2388	2733	−345
2004	2482	2718	−236
2005	2514	2962	−448
2006	2404	3048	−644
2007	2417	2983	−566
2008	2536	3175	−639
2009	2551	2740	−189
2010	2491	2651	−160
2011	2283	2442	−159
2012	2191	2900	−709
2013	2066	2513	−447
2014	2148	2733	−585
2015	2186	2691	−505
2016	2451	2763	−312
2017	2287	2736	−449
2018	2316	2514	−198
2019	2310	2609	−299

A population increase that would be expected due to the significantly higher birth rate than death rate is not taking place in Greenland. The country has a tendency to decrease in population. This is due to the high number of emigrants. 53.5% of immigrants move to Nuuk, while 51.6% of Nuuk emigrants move away.

Children who were born in the villages have to move to the cities if they want to have an education beyond secondary school . Only (a few) cities offer the opportunity to take part in tertiary education , as well as a broader range of professions that go beyond traditional fishing and hunting as well as sheep farming in South Greenland in the settlements. Young Greenlanders therefore often leave the country for Denmark to study there. Most of the resulting Greenlandic academic class does not return to Greenland. The resulting brain drain creates a shortage of academics in Greenland, which leads to economic problems in the country. The main reasons for emigration are a poor education system , unemployment , poverty and lack of housing , which also lead to social problems such as alcohol addiction , sexual abuse , a high number of acts of violence and suicides . The large scatteredness of the settlements and the lack of space due to the mountainous and icy geography of the country cause high living costs due to the high transport costs , which are offset by average net monthly wages of around 1925 euros, with the value in the Nuuk district being the highest at around 2480 euros, the lowest in the Kangaatsiaq district at 1214 euros.

91% of the Greenlanders who emigrated between 1993 and 2012 left the country for Denmark.

Internal migration

Sisimiut (2016) - Second largest city and another destination for internal migration

Greenland consists of around 80 settlements, which are divided into 18 districts, which in turn are combined into five municipalities. There are also two community-free areas . In 1977 about 120 settlements were still inhabited. Only 13 places had over a thousand inhabitants on January 1, 2020, 42 exceeded a population of one hundred. In 1977 13 places had a four-digit population and 62 had at least a three-digit number.

In the 1960s, a plan was made to depopulate small settlements because they were not economically viable. The infrastructural maintenance was hardly worth it, especially in view of the fact that there are sometimes dozens to hundreds of kilometers by sea to the next town. For example, today it is 780 km from Ittoqqortoormiit to the next Greenland town, Sermiligaaq . Large blocks of flats such as Blok P and new development areas were built to accommodate the village population, especially in the capital Nuuk , where they still shape the cityscape today. By the urbanization also wanted to the opportunity for more jobs and higher education offer people because the villages almost exclusively from fishing and hunting lived and live. In the period that followed, settlements were sometimes forced to become ghost places . There are an estimated over a hundred today. Today it is no longer the goal to advance urbanization, but this is an ongoing process. Although every village has a school, young residents have to leave the village to go to high school in a city or to study in Nuuk or Denmark in order to obtain higher education or study. They rarely return to the settlements, so that, in addition to general emigration, there is an increase in the average age in the villages. The village of Qeqertat in the Qaanaaq district is one of the smallest villages in Greenland today. From 1988 it should be depopulated like Moriusaq or Qeqertarsuaq , but this did not happen completely. The 26 inhabitants live 1300 km north of the Arctic Circle without electricity, among other things. In March 2018 it was decided that Qeqertat should receive financial and infrastructural support again, which can be seen as a sign of a desired desurbanisation .

Migration tendencies usually take place from the villages to the cities, from there to Nuuk and from there to Denmark. This is also shown by the fact that in 2019 only the districts of Nuuk (338), Ilulissat (42), Upernavik (19), Qasigiannguit (18), Uummannaq (13), districts Qaanaaq (8), Sisimiut (8) and Qaqortoq (4 ) had positive internal net migration figures.

Nationalities

citizenship	number
Denmark Denmark	54,835
Otherwise. Africa	9
Otherwise. America	20th
Otherwise. Asia	17th
Belgium Belgium	1
Bulgaria Bulgaria	11
China People's Republic People's Republic of China	61
Germany Germany	50
Otherwise. Europe	2
Finland Finland	8th
France France	18th
Greece Greece	1
India India	1
Iran Iran	2
Ireland Ireland	4th
Iceland Iceland	128
Italy Italy	7th
Japan Japan	3
Canada Canada	20th
Croatia Croatia	2
Latvia Latvia	1
Lithuania Lithuania	4th
Morocco Morocco	3
Netherlands Netherlands	6th
Norway Norway	53
Austria Austria	2
Oceania	5
Pakistan Pakistan	2
Philippines Philippines	373
Poland Poland	39
Portugal Portugal	2
Romania Romania	12
Russia Russia	7th
Sweden Sweden	74
Switzerland Switzerland	6th
Slovakia Slovakia	2
Spain Spain	9
Thailand Thailand	208
Ukraine Ukraine	2
Hungary Hungary	5
United States United States	47
United Kingdom United Kingdom	17th
Vietnam Vietnam	1
unknown	2

Greenland has a foreign share of 2.2%. 46.6% of foreigners in Greenland alone come from the Philippines or Thailand. Another 21.1% come from the other four Scandinavian countries. Asians in Greenland are mainly active as migrant workers , but are often victims of racism and xenophobia .

Of the 56,081 inhabitants of Greenland on January 1, 2020, 50,189 were born in Greenland and 5,892 outside, which is a percentage of 10.5%.

Forecasts

The latest forecast from 2020 assumes that the population will decrease to 48,394 by 2050. The growing death rate will have a major impact here when the baby boom cohorts of the 1960s reach the end of their lives. However, this will lead to a reduction in the proportion of people of working age to around 62% in the mid-2030s. In comparison, a value of around 55% is expected for Germany in 2040. It is also assumed that the proportion of foreigners will decrease to around 9% and will remain constant from the end of the 2030s.

year	population	People in the labor force age (17-64)	%	of which born in Greenland	%
2021	56,029	37,822	67.5%	50.166	89.5%
2022	55,950	37,556	67.1%	50.116	89.6%
2023	55,851	37,301	66.8%	50,069	89.6%
2024	55,725	36,964	66.3%	50.004	89.7%
2025	55,571	36,600	65.9%	49,923	89.8%
2026	55,393	36.201	65.4%	49,819	89.9%
2027	55.185	35,817	64.9%	49,696	90.0%
2028	54,958	35,449	64.5%	49,557	90.2%
2029	54,713	35.007	64.0%	49,402	90.3%
2030	54,452	34,522	63.4%	49,232	90.4%
2031	54.166	34.091	62.9%	49.032	90.5%
2032	53,869	33,686	62.5%	48,822	90.6%
2033	53,559	33,381	62.3%	48,592	90.7%
2034	53,250	33,157	62.3%	48,354	90.8%
2035	52,936	33,044	62.4%	48.101	90.9%
2036	52,625	32,967	62.6%	47,846	90.9%
2037	52,314	32,928	62.9%	47,582	91.0%
2038	52.005	32.903	63.3%	47,310	91.0%
2039	51,697	32,891	63.6%	47.032	91.0%
2040	51,393	32,870	64.0%	46,752	91.0%
2041	51.093	32,820	64.2%	46,474	91.0%
2042	50.793	32,745	64.5%	46.194	90.9%
2043	50,495	32,645	64.6%	45,914	90.9%
2044	50.197	32,517	64.8%	45,634	90.9%
2045	49,896	32,340	64.8%	45,352	90.9%
2046	49,597	32.134	64.8%	45,075	90.9%
2047	49,299	31,917	64.7%	44,801	90.9%
2048	48.996	31,690	64.7%	44,524	90.9%
2049	48,695	31,459	64.6%	44,252	90.9%
2050	48.394	31.199	64.5%	43,985	90.9%