It is an autonomous territory [10] within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America , Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers , as well as the nearby island of Iceland for more than a millennium.
Greenland is divided into five municipalities — Sermersooq , Kujalleq , Qeqertalik , Qeqqata , and Avannaata. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. With a population of about 56, , [7] it is the least densely populated territory in the world. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.
Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4, years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. These Norsemen would later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands.
Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until Soon after their demise, beginning in , the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador later applied to Labrador in Canada.
In the early 18th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark—Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in , and was fully integrated in the Danish state in under the Constitution of Denmark.
