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By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
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President-elect Donald Trump's recently revived determination to acquire Greenland have many speculating why he wants the self-governing territory. One reason could be how "massive" he believes the island to be.
But Greenland is not nearly as large as it appears on most maps.
The Mercator projection—which has been the standard map projection since the 18th century— is the name for the phenomenon in which land masses on maps appear much larger and distorted the further they get from the equator. Antarctica and Greenland are often thought to be bigger than they are given how far they are from the equatorial line, with Greenland appearing on most maps to be roughly the same size of Africa, even though Africa is in fact 14 times larger.
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So, how big is the territory, really? Greenland's area is more comparable to that of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is still slightly larger.
Newsweek reached out to Trump via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Trump, who floated the idea of acquiring Greenland during his first term, told journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser in 2021 that the island's size was part of the reason he wanted the territory.
"You take a look at a map. I'm a real estate developer. I look at a corner, I say, 'I've got to get that store for the building that I'm building,' etc. It's not that different," Trump said. "I love maps. And I always said: 'Look at the size of this. It's massive. That should be part of the United States.'"
In 2019, he told reporters about a possible purchase, "Essentially, it's a large real estate deal. A lot of things can be done."
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What To Know
At 836,000 square miles, Greenland is about a quarter of the size of the continental U.S.
"Greenland is the largest island in the world, but considerably smaller than the size of the contiguous USA," Mark Serreze, a geography professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, told Newsweek.
"Anyone who looks at Greenland with a Mercator projection, thinking that it is huge, needs remedial training in geography. I would be glad to supply that."
He added that even though the Arctic race has intensified in recent years due to its resources and strategic transit lanes, "There is NO land available for nations to claim! That sort of activity ended a long time ago."
Something of an unofficial international competition has emerged as nations race to claim northern territories in hopes of accessing natural resources abundant in the region, like cobalt, gold, silver, copper, nickel and uranium. Greenland is home to 56,000 residents — making it slightly less populous than Hoboken, New Jersey. The island has been part of Denmark since the 18th century but was granted home rule in 1979 and has been a self-governed nation since 2009. There is also a large American military base in Greenland.
Trump's interest in Greenland is not new—he's talked about buying it since his first term—but has been increasingly willing to acquire the territory by any means necessary. He told reporters Tuesday that he would not rule out using military or economic coercion to force Denmark to sell Greenland to the U.S.
The president-elect first renewed his plans to buy Greenland last month, writing in a Truth Social post that, "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
His son, Donald Trump Jr., landed in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, Tuesday afternoon on what was described as a personal trip. He did not meet with any Danish officials.
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What People Are Saying
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a Tuesday interview with Danish television station TV 2: "Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede has been very, very clear — that there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either."
Mark Monmonier, a geography and environment professor at Syracuse University, told Newsweek: "All, flat maps distort most areas, some more so than others. On Mercator projections Greenland occupies as much area as the entire continent of South America. Trump claims that the border between the United States and Canada is an artificial line, but much of the border is along a parallel of latitude, which is a natural or obvious, geometric feature, anchored by the north and south poles. Some lines on the globe or on the map might appear arbitrary until when realizes that there are existing points or places or coastlines that anchor them."
President-elect Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday: "Don Jr. and my Reps landing in Greenland. The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!"
Mark Serreze, a geography professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, told Newsweek Wednesday: "I cannot fathom how anyone is taking this seriously. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with home rule. Denmark has no intent to "give" Greenland the the USA, and taking Greenland by force is an absurd notion - Denmark is a member of NATO!"
Stefan Rahmstorf, a German oceanographer and the professor of physics of the oceans at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, wrote in a Wednesday post on X, formerly Twitter: "I don't know whether Trump really wants Greenland because he's been fooled by Mercator maps - but I'd like to use this opportunity to once again appeal to all scientific colleagues to use more sensible map projections. All mapping software allows you to simply choose one."
What's Next
Trump has also repeatedly suggested that the U.S. should annex Canada as the "51st state." Canada also appears larger than it is because of the Mercator projection.
Update 1/8/25, 4:41 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Mark Monmonier.
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