Greenland is the largest island on Earth that is not considered a continent.
It covers about 2.17 million square kilometres, making it much larger than New Guinea, Borneo, or Madagascar. Greenland is geographically part of North America, although it is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
About 80% of Greenland’s surface is covered by the Greenland ice sheet, the second-largest body of ice on Earth after Antarctica’s ice sheet. The ice can reach more than 3 kilometres in thickness in places. Most of Greenland’s population lives along the ice-free coastal margins.
A common mix-up is calling Greenland the world’s largest continent. It is an island because it is surrounded by ocean; Australia, by contrast, is generally classified as a continent. Greenland’s capital and largest city is Nuuk, located on the island’s southwest coast.