Greenland

Greenland stamps for sale at Io Collezionista. With an area of about 2 million km² and a population of 59 thousand, Greenland, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, is at once the largest island in the world and the most sparsely populated geographical area on the globe. Its name probably comes from the Norse word Gronland, literally green land, chosen by one of its first medieval visitors, Erik the Red, who lived between the 9th and 10th centuries AD. The name may seem odd, but it is worth recalling that 1000 years ago the climate of the island, today more than 80% covered by ice, was far milder than it is now and allowed the inhabitants to farm and raise livestock, as archaeological finds have confirmed.