Economy of Greenland
Nuuk skyline at night | |
| Currency | Danish krone (DKK, kr.) |
|---|---|
| calendar year | |
Country group | High-income economy |
| Statistics | |
| Population | 56,653 (2021) |
| GDP |
|
| GDP rank | |
GDP growth | 2.8% (2019) 0.2% (2020) 1.3% (2021) |
GDP per capita |
|
GDP per capita rank | |
GDP by sector |
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Population below poverty line | 16.2% (2015 est.) |
| 33.9 medium (2015 est.) | |
| |
Labour force |
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Labour force by occupation |
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| Unemployment | 9.1% (2015 est.) |
Main industries | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut); Oil, gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron, and diamond mining; handicrafts, hides, skins, small shipyards |
| External | |
| Exports | $1.49 billion (2022) |
Export goods | fish and fish products |
Main export partners |
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| Imports | $1.05 billion (2022) |
Import goods | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products |
Main import partners |
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Gross external debt | $36.4 million (2010) |
| Public finances | |
| 13% of GDP (2015 est.) | |
| +5.6% (of GDP) (2016 est.) | |
| Revenues | 1.719 billion (2016 est.) |
| Expenses | 1.594 billion (2016 est.) |
| Economic aid | $650 million subsidy from the Kingdom of Denmark (2012) |
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars. | |
The economy of Greenland is characterized as small, mixed and vulnerable. Greenland's economy consists of a large public sector and comprehensive foreign trade. This has resulted in an economy with periods of strong growth, considerable inflation, unemployment problems and extreme dependence on capital inflow from the Kingdom Government. Greenland's economy is hampered by lack of infrastructure with less than 100 miles of paved roads. However as of 2012, partly due to the retreating ice sheet due to climate change, Greenland was starting to emerge as a territory rich with untapped mining resources.