A view of homes within the outdated city of Nuuk, Greenland, March 27, 2025.
Leonhard Foeger | Reuters
Donald Trump is inquisitive about annexing Greenland, an Arctic island providing a wealth of untapped mineral assets.
However because the U.S. president dialed up the rhetoric about America annexing the self-governing Danish territory, sparking a backlash from worldwide leaders, a report detailed the challenges going through its economic system.
Printed Tuesday, a report by Søren Bjerregaard, head of securities and stability of funds at Danmarks Nationalbank, warned that there have been “main challenges forward” for Greenland’s economic system.
The Arctic island’s economic system — largely pushed by the fishing business — expanded by 0.8% in 2025 and is predicted to develop an extra 0.8% this 12 months, down from 2% in 2022. In response to the Danish central financial institution, the slowdown is more likely to proceed.
“The Greenlandic economic system is slowing down, with modest progress and severe challenges for public funds,” Bjerregaard wrote.
“That is partly as a result of the enlargement of infrastructure within the type of airports is nearing completion, and deliberate main tasks in power provide and different areas haven’t but begun.”
He added that on the similar time, very important shrimp shares had been declining, whereas public funds “deteriorated surprisingly sharply in 2025.” A part of the strain on public funds was arising from a lower in dividends from government-owned corporations.
“Liquidity within the Greenland Treasury fell to a critically low degree within the second half of the 12 months,” Bjerregaard mentioned, noting that laws set to be rolled out this 12 months incorporates pressing fiscal tightening measures.
“Extra fiscal challenges lie forward, with a declining and ageing inhabitants placing additional strain on the economic system,” he added.
Greenland’s inhabitants, which stood at 56,699 within the closing quarter of 2025, is predicted to shrink 20% by 2050, because the territory struggles to draw migrants to switch emigrating residents.
Trump ‘very severe’ about buying Greenland
In an interview with NBC Information on Monday, Trump mentioned he was “very severe” about buying the Arctic island. A day earlier, he advised reporters that the U.S. wants Greenland to bolster its nationwide safety.
He was talking after Washington launched a navy operation in Venezuela that led to the seize of the nation’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
Trump later advised The Atlantic that America “completely” wants Greenland, with the president telling the journal that international locations other than Venezuela may very well be topic to U.S. intervention.
Trump has lengthy floated the thought of taking Greenland. In early 2025, he mentioned the U.S. would assume management “by some means.”
Officers in Greenland, Denmark and throughout the European continent have rejected the notion that the U.S. could make any declare on Greenland.
On Monday, Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, rebuked parallels between the territory and Venezuela.
“The state of affairs will not be such that the US can merely conquer Greenland,” Nielsen advised a information convention. “Our nation will not be actually the fitting one to check with Venezuela. We’re a rustic that’s democratic and has been democratic for a lot of, a few years.”
