Greenland in Figures 2014 Greenland in Figures 2014 11th revised edition · Editorial deadline: March 2014 Published by Statistics Greenland Telephone: +299 34 57 70 · Fax: +299 34 57 90
[email protected] · www.stat.gl Edited by Bolatta Vahl and Naduk Kleemann, Statistics Greenland Typesetting, graphics, and photos by NUISI grafik Printed by DAM grafisk Number printed: 1,500 · Unit price: Free of charge © Statistics Greenland 2014 Quotations from this leaflet are permitted provided that the source is acknowledged. ISBN: 978-87-986787-8-6 EAN: 9788798678786 ISSN: 1602-5709 GReenLand in figuRes 2014 3 Greenland · Kalaallit Nunaat Indigenous people from the North American continent settled in Greenland over 4,500 years ago. Since then Greenland has been in- habited by several indigenous peoples. Around 1,000 years ago Greenlandic ancestors (the Thule Culture) settled in northern Green- land, whereas Scandinavian Viking settlers arrived in the southern Greenland around the same time. Today the country is called Kalaallit Nunaat, which means “the Country of the Greenlanders”. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark that consists of Den- mark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland. However, Greenland is not part of the EU as it withdrew from the union as of February 1 1985 following a referendum in 1982. Greenland has its own national flag, issues its own stamps, and is part of the Danish monetary and exchange union. In 1979, Greenland was granted home rule. In June 2009, a bill on self-government was passed following a referendum on the question on November 25 2008. Self-government was established on June 21 2009, 30 years after the introduction of the home rule.