85 percent against

Greenlanders do not want to become part of the USA

Greenland's head of government Mute Egede(Bild: BETH RUGGIERO-YORK, adobe.stock.com, APA/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen)

The vast majority of Greenlanders do not want to become part of the USA. In a recent survey, 85 percent are against a takeover of their island. The new US President Donald Trump has recently repeatedly voiced plans for annexation.

Six percent say they are in favor of a takeover by the USA, while nine percent were undecided. The survey also found that 45 percent of Greenlanders see Trump's interest as a threat, while 43 percent say it is an opportunity. The rest were undecided on this question.

"I think this poll shows very clearly that they don't want to be Americans," said Kasper Møller Hansen, professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen. As reported, Trump has repeatedly stated in the recent past that he wants to take over Greenland and has not ruled out military action. The USA needs the autonomous territory for "international security", said Trump.

The Greenland government has stated that it is prepared to hold talks with the US government in order to protect its interests in the Arctic region. However, the country is not for sale. 

Greenland is geographically part of North America and was colonized by Denmark in the 18th century. The island has had autonomous status since 1979, which was extended in 2009. The territory had already left the then European Community in 1985 after a referendum narrowly voted against membership. Under international law, Greenland still belongs to Denmark.

The US army base(Bild: APA/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix/Thomas Traasdahl)

The island has many natural resources such as oil, gas, gold, diamonds, uranium, zinc and lead. There is a US Army base on the northwest coast. Around 57,000 people live on the island, 497 of whom were surveyed. The margin of error is between 1.9 and 4.4 percentage points.