Economy of Greenland

Economy of Greenland
Nuuk skyline at night
CurrencyDanish krone (DKK, kr.)
calendar year
Country group
High-income economy
Statistics
Population 56,653 (2021)
GDP
  • $3.235 billion (nominal, 2021)
  • $3.857 billion (PPP, 2021 est.)
GDP rank
GDP growth
2.8% (2019)
0.2% (2020)
1.3% (2021)
GDP per capita
  • $57,116 (nominal, 2021)
  • $68,081 (PPP, 2021 est.)
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
Population below poverty line
16.2% (2015 est.)
33.9 medium (2015 est.)
Labour force
  • 26,840 (2015 est.)
  • 60% employment rate (2015)
Labour force by occupation
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
Imports $1.05 billion (2022)
Import goods
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products
Main import partners
$36.4 million (2010)
Public finances
13% of GDP (2015 est.)
+5.6% (of GDP) (2016 est.)
Revenues1.719 billion (2016 est.)
Expenses1.594 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.