Greenland is the world’s largest island and last Sunday, Pres. Trump stated that he has been considering and discussing buying the island using it as a US territory. Currently, the ice capped island is owned by Denmark. This is the first time that the United States is tried to buy Greenland. We tried in both 1867 in 1946, both times obviously unsuccessful.
In 1946, the U.S. offered $100 million, or $1.3 billion if you look at it today. That’s a large chunk of change, there’s no doubt Greenland would be worth a lot more today. There are a lot of questions and concern about Trump’s interest in the island. Some say it’s a political stunt to distract from more pressing issues.
Officials in Greenland say that the island is up for sale. “We are open for business, but we’re not for sale,” Greenland’s foreign minister Ane Lone Bagger told Reuters. Still, we don’t expect Pres. Trump is going to back down when he really wants something. Greenland is in a very geostrategic position that can help American interests and provide invaluable defensive opportunities.
The U.S. In Greenland
Currently, the United States already has a military base on the northwestern coast. It’s called the Thule Air Base and it’s our military’s most northern base as it’s the only one we currently have above the Arctic Circle. Despite this, what would it cost the United States to acquire Greenland?
Rutgers University economist Jason Barr has looked at the cost. He states that the value would depend on a bunch of different factors, including why it’s being bought. There’s only about 20% of the island that’s not covered by an ice sheet, so what would be the plans for the remaining land?
A previous estimation looked at the value of buying Manhattan, which would cost $1.74 trillion simply due to the value of vacant land-parcels and their sale costs. Greenland would be a completely different value since it’s mostly consistent of ice and has very little people living on it. It’s nowhere near as developed as Manhattan.
“It’s easy for Manhattan, because Manhattan is real estate. There’s no gold beneath the streets unless somebody drops their ring,” Barr said. They will have to look at several factors, one of them being the size of the island and the natural resources one could find there.
Greenland’s Value
Greenland is as large as three states of Texas, but has a meager 57,691 people living there. The labor force is small and the population is declining because Greenland really isn’t somewhere you want to live, even if your ancestors were Vikings. But the great potential is there due to many rare-earth minerals, iron ore, and uranium. Greenland has a lot of fish and shrimp exports.
It’s unknown what the total costs would be, as that’s a deal the U.S. would have to strike with Denmark. Depending on how they viewed President Trump, if any offer was given, it would be a ridiculous price in the trillions of dollars.
