Greenland

Greenland is located east of the Canadian arctic between the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, and, although Greenland physically is a part of the North American continent, Greenland has had strong cultural connections with Europe (first Norway and later Denmark) for more than a millennium. Greenland is the largest island in the world, but, with a population of only about 55,860 (2017), Greenland is the least densely populated territory in the world.

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland is divided into four local municipalities, with Nuuk as the capital. Since 2009, Greenlandic has been the official language. However, in practice, Danish is still much used in the administration. The currency is the Danish krone (DKK).

After being ruled by Denmark/Norway for centuries, Greenland became a Danish colony in 1814 and was included in Denmark under the Danish constitution in 1953. Greenland joined the European Union (EU) in 1973 as a part of Denmark but withdrew separately from the European Union in 1985. Greenland has no separate membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), but is included by way of Denmark’s membership of these organisations. Greenland got home rule from Denmark in 1979, and, in 2009, the Self-Government Act transferred more powers from the Danish to the Greenlandic government. According to the Act, Greenland can assume control over policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, and auditing; mineral resource activities; aviation; law of legal capacity, family law, and succession law; aliens and border controls; the working environment; and financial regulation and supervision. Greenland’s tax system has been autonomous from Denmark since 1979.

PwC provides Greenlandic services from the office in Copenhagen, Denmark. We serve a significant proportion of clients within the oil & gas and mineral industries and have a soundly based portfolio of clients, particularly within these sectors. Through our experience, our professionals have developed a broad expertise within the oil and mineral sectors and are able to provide unique services. We have also, on some occasions, managed to negotiate law changes with the Greenlandic authorities on behalf of our clients.