Peoples of various cultures have migrated to Greenland throughout the ages. The ancestors of the present day Greenlanders have inhabited the country for about 4 to 5,000 years. Today's Greenlander is a rich mix of the land's aboriginal people and its migrants, and those - many of whom were whalers - who have frequented Greenland.

The Inuit, Greenland's indigenous people, share a common language and culture with the Inuit in Canada and Alaska. Eighty percent of Greenland's 55,000 residents are Inuit; the rest are primarily Danes. The population is distributed among 120 localities, 65 of which have less than 100 residents each. Nuuk, the capital and largest town, has a population of 13,000.