Greenland, the world’s largest island, is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. It lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, northeast of Canada, and is geographically part of North America.
Greenland is covered by the Greenland ice sheet, which is the second-largest ice body on Earth after Antarctica’s ice sheet. Ice covers roughly 80 percent of the island’s land area, leaving most communities along the ice-free coast.
Denmark’s relationship with Greenland developed through centuries of Danish-Norwegian and later Danish administration. Greenland received home rule in 1979 and expanded self-government in 2009. The territory manages many domestic matters, while Denmark retains responsibility for areas including foreign affairs and defense.
Greenland is not a sovereign country, although its government has extensive autonomy. Its capital is Nuuk, and Greenlandic, an Inuit language, is its official language. The island’s enormous size sometimes leads people to confuse it with a continent, but it is classified as an island.