Western Sahara (2005) | Greenland (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 24% (male 6,926/female 6,597)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 20,901/female 18,012) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 1,873/female 2,035) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish |
Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 14 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
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) (2000 est.) |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly more than three times the size of Texas |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 16.01 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $1.36 billion
expenditures: $1.27 billion (2005) |
Capital | none | 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 is divided into four time zones |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 44,087 km |
Constitution | - | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 7.93 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $25 million (1999) |
Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $512 million; note - subsidy from Denmark (2005) |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and a substantial subsidy from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Several interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities are ongoing. Press reports in early 2007 indicated that two international aluminum companies were considering building smelters in Greenland to take advantage of local hydropower potential. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. Air Greenland began summer-season direct flights to the U.S. east coast in May 2007, potentially opening a major new tourism market. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | 279 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | 300 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting |
Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (2000) |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.4797 (2007), 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003) |
Executive branch | none | chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Soren MOLLER (since April 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election results: Hans ENOKSEN reelected prime minister note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit |
Exports | NA | 149.1 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%) |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Denmark 67.1%, Japan 12.1%, China 5.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | - | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 72 00 N, 40 00 W |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap |
Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | 4,013 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Denmark 69.9%, Sweden 16.3%, Norway 3.7% (2006) |
Independence | - | none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut); gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining; handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 14.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | none | Arctic Council, NC, NIB, UPU |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | - | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) |
Labor force | 12,000 | 32,120 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | - |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English |
Legal system | - | the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 15 November 2005 (next to be held by December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 30.7%, Demokratiit 22.8%, IA 22.6%, Atassut Party 19.1%; Katusseqatigiit 4.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Demokratiit 7, IA 7, Atassut 6, Katusseqatigiit 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 13 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2011); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 70.23 years
male: 66.65 years female: 73.9 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2001 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada |
Map references | Africa | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,422 GRT/2,340 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Denmark 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Denmark |
National holiday | - | June 21 (longest day) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
Net migration rate | - | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Atassut Party (Solidarity) [Finn KARLSEN] (a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark); Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood) [Josef MOTZFELDT] (a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule); Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List) (an independent right-of-center party with no official platform); Siumut (Forward Party) [Hans ENOKSEN] (a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) | 56,344 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | NA | -0.03% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | Muslim | Evangelical Lutheran |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.115 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
general assessment: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 25,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 32,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (plus some local low-power stations, and 3 Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) stations (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 2.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 9.3% (2005 est.) |