Modern Greenland

Where the old and the new meet



	Nuuk is a modern capital

A society full of contrasts
On arrival in Greenland your eye will take in the crowded airports, busy fishing ports, high-rise buildings, modern enterprises, international car brands, educational institutions, cafés and cinemas. These impressions are mixed with the stereotype perception of a remote Arctic society that is only sparsely populated. Amazingly, Greenland is all of these things at once, and the contrast between old and new is striking.

Pulsating urban life
Greenland is in many ways a country that has managed to retain its identity as an "original" country with an original population. It is also a fact that in small towns and settlements the primary source of income still comes from seal hunting, which today provides a living for some 2,500 people. In small towns and settlements life is lived at a gentle pace a long way from the more “pulsating”– by Greenlandic standards – urban life which you can find in the three biggest towns Nuuk, Ilulissat and Sisimiut.

High technology and production
Did you know that 98% of the population use advanced digital telecommunication services? Or that through Royal Greenland, Greenland is the world’s biggest supplier of coldwater prawns, and thereby has extensive experience of innovative product development, sustainable production and efficient distribution of quality products? And did you know that Greenland’s ice sheet is used today to produce Greenlandic beer as well as ice and water for export?



	Old and modern baby carriages

Own political government
Greenland has had Home Rule since 1979 and Self Rule since 2009, which means that the country has assumed the political decisions and competencies that were previously issued from Denmark. Greenland is now part of the Danish national community, and the two countries are still united on affairs concerning foreign and defence policy, currency and raw materials, the police and the courts. With the Self Rule introduced on June 21st 2009, Greenlandic is the nation's official language together with other legal rights and benefits such as the right to control Greenland's minerals and potential oil fields in the future. Today, Greenland is acquiring an increasingly international outlook in terms of politics and business – but the roots of the old traditions are not forgotten either in the major towns or the small settlements.