Food imports in Greenland
Greenland: Food imports was 19.8% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Food imports in Greenland, 1976–2018
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise imports.
Analysis
Greenland recorded 19.8% for food imports in 2018.
The figure is down 4.6% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food imports in Greenland peaked at 26.7% in 1976 and was at its lowest, 14.2%, in 1995.
That places Greenland 63rd out of 196 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 43 years of available data.
Food imports in Greenland, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 26.7% | — |
| 1977 | 24.9% | -6.5% |
| 1978 | 25.9% | +3.8% |
| 1979 | 20.5% | -20.8% |
| 1980 | 17.9% | -12.8% |
| 1981 | 17.3% | -3.0% |
| 1982 | 19.3% | +11.5% |
| 1983 | 21.6% | +11.8% |
| 1984 | 20.0% | -7.4% |
| 1985 | 18.1% | -9.6% |
| 1986 | 20.3% | +12.2% |
| 1987 | 20.2% | -0.6% |
| 1988 | 17.4% | -14.0% |
| 1989 | 18.4% | +6.3% |
| 1990 | 16.6% | -9.8% |
| 1991 | 19.5% | +17.4% |
| 1992 | 19.3% | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 16.6% | -14.3% |
| 1994 | 15.5% | -6.2% |
| 1995 | 14.2% | -8.6% |
| 1996 | 15.2% | +6.8% |
| 1997 | 15.6% | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 17.8% | +13.9% |
| 1999 | 17.6% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 15.2% | -13.5% |
| 2001 | 16.0% | +4.9% |
| 2002 | 17.3% | +8.2% |
| 2003 | 19.3% | +11.7% |
| 2004 | 20.8% | +7.9% |
| 2005 | 18.0% | -13.6% |
| 2006 | 18.4% | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 19.4% | +5.0% |
| 2008 | 18.2% | -5.8% |
| 2009 | 22.2% | +21.7% |
| 2010 | 19.0% | -14.3% |
| 2011 | 18.2% | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 19.3% | +6.5% |
| 2013 | 18.0% | -7.1% |
| 2014 | 19.8% | +10.4% |
| 2015 | 22.1% | +11.7% |
| 2016 | 20.5% | -7.6% |
| 2017 | 20.8% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 19.8% | -4.6% |
Greenland compared with similar countries
- Greenland's 19.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 12.8%, 1.5× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Greenland's 19.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.8%, 1.7× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 24.5% | 20.5% | 26.7% | 4 |
| 1980s | 19.1% | 17.3% | 21.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.8% | 14.2% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.5% | 15.2% | 22.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.7% | 18.0% | 22.1% | 9 |
Countries ranked near Greenland
More private sector data for Greenland
- Merchandise trade 63.2% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 60.0% (2018)
- Merchandise imports 1.02 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 92.3% (2018)
- Manufactures exports 4.5% (2018)
- Merchandise exports 1.01 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 17,807 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2847 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 26.34 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 17,983 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is food imports in Greenland?
- Food imports in Greenland was 19.8% in 2018, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food imports recorded in Greenland?
- The highest recorded value was 26.7% in 1976.
- What is the lowest food imports recorded in Greenland?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.2% in 1995.
- How does Greenland rank for food imports?
- Greenland ranks 63rd out of 196 countries with data for 2018.
- Is food imports rising or falling in Greenland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Greenland data come from?
- The figures come from Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division, published as part of Food imports (% of merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.