World Factbook
Greenland
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
2,166,086 sq km (approximately 1,710,000 sq km ice-covered)
total
2,166,086 sq km
Climate
arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters
Terrain
flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast
Land use
other
99.4% (2023 est.)
forest
0% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
0.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 0% (2022 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 0.6% (2023 est.)
Location
Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada
Coastline
44,087 km
Elevation
lowest point
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point
Gunnbjorn Fjeld 3,694 m
mean elevation
1,792 m
Irrigated land
NA
Map references
Arctic Region
Land boundaries
total
0 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
3 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line
exclusive fishing zone
200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line
Natural hazards
continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island
Geography - note
dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast; close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice sheet after that of Antarctica, covering an area of 1.71 million sq km (660,000 sq mi), or about 79% of the island, and containing 2.85 million cu km (684 thousand cu mi) of ice (almost 7% of the world's fresh water)
Natural resources
coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas
Area - comparative
slightly more than three times the size of Texas
Geographic coordinates
72 00 N, 40 00 W
Population distribution
settlement concentrated on the southwest shoreline, with limited settlements scattered along the remaining coast; interior is uninhabited