Total natural resource rents in Greenland
Greenland: Total natural resource rents was 0.0% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Total natural resource rents in Greenland, 1970–2020
Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2020, total natural resource rents in Greenland stood at 0.0%. That is the lowest value across all 51 years on record.
Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in Greenland peaked at 46.9% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1970.
That places Greenland 189th out of 211 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Total natural resource rents in Greenland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0% | — |
| 1971 | 0.0% | — |
| 1972 | 0.0% | — |
| 1973 | 9.6% | — |
| 1974 | 46.9% | +390.0% |
| 1975 | 10.1% | -78.5% |
| 1976 | 7.3% | -27.2% |
| 1977 | 3.1% | -57.6% |
| 1978 | 2.5% | -19.3% |
| 1979 | 6.0% | +140.1% |
| 1980 | 4.9% | -19.1% |
| 1981 | 2.1% | -56.4% |
| 1982 | 2.2% | +5.3% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | -57.6% |
| 1984 | 4.5% | +379.9% |
| 1985 | 2.7% | -40.8% |
| 1986 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 1987 | 0.2% | — |
| 1988 | 22.4% | +13677.8% |
| 1989 | 24.5% | +9.6% |
| 1990 | 7.2% | -70.4% |
| 1991 | 0.6% | -91.2% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | +82.8% |
| 1993 | 0.6% | -46.6% |
| 1994 | 0.6% | -2.7% |
| 1995 | 0.5% | -20.9% |
| 1996 | 0.3% | -33.6% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | +170.7% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | — |
| 2000 | 0.0% | — |
| 2001 | 0.0% | — |
| 2002 | 0.0% | — |
| 2003 | 0.0% | — |
| 2004 | 0.2% | — |
| 2005 | 0.3% | +49.1% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | +141.3% |
| 2007 | 0.7% | -16.9% |
| 2008 | 0.8% | +25.7% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | — |
| 2011 | 0.1% | — |
| 2012 | 0.4% | +208.8% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | -94.6% |
| 2014 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | — |
| 2016 | 0.0% | — |
| 2017 | 0.0% | — |
| 2018 | 0.0% | — |
| 2019 | 0.0% | — |
| 2020 | 0.0% | — |
Greenland compared with similar countries
- Greenland's 0.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%. (82 countries reporting)
- Greenland's 0.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.4%. (55 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Total natural resource rents in Greenland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | +13677.8% | 0.2% | 22.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.5% | 0.0% | 46.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.4% | 0.0% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.2% | 0.0% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Greenland
- 186 Macao 0.0% compare
- 187 Singapore 0.0% compare
- 188 Iceland 0.0% compare
- 189 American Samoa 0.0%
- 189 Andorra 0.0%
- 189 Antigua and Barbuda 0.0%
- 189 Bermuda 0.0%
- 189 Cayman Islands 0.0%
- 189 Curacao 0.0%
- 189 Faroe Islands 0.0%
- 189 Grenada 0.0%
- 189 Guam 0.0%
- 189 Isle of Man 0.0%
- 189 Malta 0.0% compare
- 189 Marshall Islands 0.0%
- 189 Monaco 0.0%
- 189 Nauru 0.0%
- 189 Northern Mariana Islands 0.0%
- 189 Palau 0.0%
- 189 Palestine 0.0%
- 189 Puerto Rico 0.0%
- 189 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.0%
- 189 San Marino 0.0%
- 189 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 0.0%
- 189 Tuvalu 0.0%
More reference data data for Greenland
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0986 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1141 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0041 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0004 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2128 (2019)
- Official exchange rate, LCU per USD, period average 6.82 (2017)
- Annual precipitation, annual growth rate 7.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, per unit of GDP 0 metric tons per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, per capita 0.0005 metric tons per person (2024)
- Share of men expected to survive to the age of 65 68.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total natural resource rents in Greenland?
- Total natural resource rents in Greenland was 0.0% in 2020, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in Greenland?
- The highest recorded value was 46.9% in 1974.
- What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in Greenland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1970.
- How does Greenland rank for total natural resource rents?
- Greenland ranks 189th out of 211 countries with data for 2020.
- Where does this Greenland data come from?
- The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.