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Background:
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 The
world's largest non-continental island, about 81% ice-capped,
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. |
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Location:
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Northern North
America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North
Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada |
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Map references:
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Arctic
Region |
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Area:
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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.) |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more
than three times the size of Texas |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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44,087 km |
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Climate:
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arctic to
subarctic; cool summers, cold winters |
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Terrain:
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flat to gradually
sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren,
rocky coast |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
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Natural resources:
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coal, iron ore,
lead, zinc, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals,
whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
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Land use:
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arable land:
0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km |
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Natural hazards:
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continuous
permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
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Environment - current issues:
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protection of the
arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way
of life, including whaling and seal hunting |
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Geography - note:
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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 |
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Population:
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56,384 (July 2004
est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
25.5% (male 7,344; female 7,029)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 20,894; female 17,715)
65 years and over: 6% (male 1,585; female 1,817) (2004
est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
33.5 years
male: 34.8 years
female: 31.9 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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-0.01% (2004
est.) |
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Birth rate:
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15.96
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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7.7 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-8.37 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
16.31 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 17.62 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 69.32 years
male: 65.75 years
female: 72.98 years (2004 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.42 children
born/woman (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA% |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
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Ethnic groups:
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Greenlander 88%
(Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12%
(January 2000) |
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Religions:
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Evangelical
Lutheran |
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Languages:
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Greenlandic (East
Inuit), Danish, English |
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Literacy:
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definition:
NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%
note: similar to Denmark proper |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland
local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat
local long form: none |
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Dependency status:
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part of the
Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative
division of Denmark since 1979 |
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Government type:
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parliamentary
democracy within a constitutional monarchy |
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Capital:
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Nuuk (Godthab) |
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Administrative divisions:
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3 districts (landsdele);
Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
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Independence:
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none (part of the
Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative
division of Denmark since 1979)
note: foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark,
but Greenland actively participates in international
agreements relating to Greenland |
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National holiday:
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June 21 (longest
day) |
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Constitution:
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5 June 1953
(Danish constitution) |
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Legal system:
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Danish |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January
1972), represented by High Commissioner Gunnar MARTENS (since
NA 1995)
note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit
Ataqatigiit
election results: Hans ENOKSEN elected prime minister
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 last held 3 December 2002 (next to be held NA
December 2006) |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral
Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by
popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to
serve four-year terms)
note: two representatives were elected to the Danish
Parliament or Folketing on 20 November 2001 (next to be held
no later than November 2005); percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1
election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut
28.7%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 25.5%, Atassut Party 20.4%,
Demokratiit 15.6%, Katusseqatigiit 5.3%; seats by party -
Siumut 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit 8, Atassut 7, Demokratiit 5,
Katusseqatigiit 1
elections: last held on 3 December 2002 (next to be
held by NA December 2006) |
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Judicial branch:
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High Court or
Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern
Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Akulliit Party [Bjarne
KREUTZMANN]; Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party
favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Augusta
SALLING]; Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or
IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete
independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef
MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH];
Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent
right-of-center party with no official platform [leader NA];
Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating
more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from
Denmark) [Hans ENOKSEN] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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none
(self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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none
(self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
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Economy - overview:
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The economy
remains critically dependent on exports of fish and
substantial support 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. Despite several
interesting hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities,
it will take several years before production can materialize.
Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential,
and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $1.1 billion (2001 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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1.8% (2001 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $20,000 (2001 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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1.6% (1999 est.) |
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Labor force:
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24,500 (1999
est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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10% (2000 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$646 million
expenditures: $629 million, including capital
expenditures of $85 million (1999) |
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Industries:
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fish processing
(mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut), handicrafts, hides and
skins, small shipyards, mining |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA% |
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Electricity - production:
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245 million kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
100%
note: Greenland is shifting its electricity production
from fossil fuel to hydropower production (2001)
hydro: 0%
other: 0%
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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227.9 million kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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3,700 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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forage crops,
garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish |
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Exports:
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$388 million
f.o.b. (2002) |
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Exports - commodities
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fish and fish
products 94% (prawns 63%) |
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Exports - partners:
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Denmark 63.7%,
Japan 14.4%, US 5.4%, Thailand 4.6% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$445 million
c.i.f. (2002) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and
transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum
products |
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Imports - partners:
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Denmark 82.5%,
Norway 8.5%, Russia 1.8% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$25 million
(1999) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$380 million
subsidy from Denmark (1997) |
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Currency:
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Danish krone (DKK) |
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Currency code:
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DKK |
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Exchange rates:
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Danish kroner per
US dollar - 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.323 (2001), 8.083
(2000), 6.976 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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26,000 (2001) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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16,747 (2001) |
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Telephone system:
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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) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 5, FM 12,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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1 publicly-owned
station, some local low-power stations, and three AFRTS (US
Air Force) stations (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.gl |
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Internet hosts:
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2,583 (2001) |
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Internet users:
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20,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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0 km |
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Highways:
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total: NA
(there are no roads between towns) (2003) |
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Waterways:
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none |
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Ports and harbors:
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Aasiaat (Egedesminde),
Ilulissat (Jakobshavn), Kangerlussuaq, Nanortalik, Narsarsuaq,
Nuuk (Godthab), Qaqortoq (Julianehab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg),
Tasiilaq |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 3
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,593 GRT/3,640 DWT
by type: cargo 2, passenger 1
foreign-owned: Denmark 1 (2003 est.) |
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Airports:
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14 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 5 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2003 est.) |
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Military - note:
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defense is the
responsibility of Denmark |
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Disputes - international:
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uncontested
dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the
Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and
Greenland |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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