Most people in Greenland live in small towns and villages on the ice‑free coast, especially along the milder southwest and west coasts rather than on the icy interior.

Main places people live

  • Coastal towns, not inland: Around 80 percent of Greenland is covered by the Greenland Ice Sheet, so people live on the narrow ice‑free coastal fringe rather than in the interior.
  • Mostly on the west coast: The vast majority of settlements are on the west coast, where fjords, slightly milder weather, and access to the sea make fishing and transport possible.

Biggest population centers

  • Nuuk (the capital): Nuuk, on the southwest coast, is by far the largest town; roughly a third of Greenland’s entire population lives there, making it the political and economic hub.
  • Other key towns: Important west‑coast towns include Sisimiut, Ilulissat, Aasiaat, and Qaqortoq, each with a few thousand residents and economies centered on fishing, services, and local administration.

North and east Greenland

  • Very sparse settlements: Northern and eastern Greenland have only a handful of small communities, and together they account for less than about 10 percent of the population.
  • Remote outposts: Outside the main municipalities, only a tiny number of people live in extremely remote stations and small communities, including areas near the huge Northeast Greenland National Park.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.