Students answer trivia questions in recent survey
In response to the recent prevalence of the north-Atlantic island of Greenland in national and international news due to President Donald Trump’s intentions to acquire the territory, the Cor Chronicle released a survey to the University of Dallas community to see how much general knowledge students have about Greenland. 62 students answered a total of 14 questions each about the island’s history, geography, language and people.
When asked to indicate Greenland on a map, 88% of respondents answered correctly, while the remaining 12% pointed out the much smaller, independent nation of Iceland instead, located east of Greenland.
When asked whether Greenland is an independent nation or not, 91.4% of respondents answered correctly, that Greenland is not an independent nation but a territory, owned by the European country, Denmark.
Respondents’ answers to what language the natives of Greenland speak were varied. The majority, 58.6% of respondents, said “Danish,” the language of Greenland’s governing nation. 13.8% answered “Norwegian,” 15.5% answered “Icelandic” and a small 12.1% answered “Greenlandic.” Natives of Greenland speak Greenlandic as their native language, but all learn Danish as their second language. Television in Greenland is primarily broadcast in Greenlandic.
“I had no idea Greenlandic was a real language,” said junior English major Emily Boulet. “Honestly, not to be offensive to the Greenlanders, but if I had heard the word ‘Greenlandic,’ I would have thought someone was making up a word to be funny.”
Responses were similarly varied concerning Greenland’s current population. At 56,500, Greenland is smaller than some American universities and states. Said Dr. Susan Hanssen, associate professor of history: “It is important to realize that the total population of Greenland is smaller than Texas A&M – approximately 90% of which is native: Greenland has 56,000 people and Texas A&M has 86,000 students. Alaska has a larger native population at 148,000.”
With regards to the island’s history, a majority of respondents (61.3%) answered correctly that Erik Thorvaldsson/”Erik the Red,” a 10th century AD Norseman, is known to have made the first significant discovery of Greenland. A moderate minority of respondents (35.5%) answered that Leif Eriksson, Thorvaldsson’s more famous Christian son, discovered Greenland first. Eriksson did explore the north Atlantic ocean, and famously discovered Newfoundland, a province in modern day Canada.
The vast majority of respondents seem to know that Erik the Red named the island “Greenland” to deter Viking settlers from the more temperate island of Iceland. Greenland is notoriously of an arctic-subarctic climate, with a mountainous coastal edge all around the island. The two islands’ names, both given by Erik the Red, are famous misnomers.
On the subject of modern-day politics, most responders were not aware that Greenland has its own prime minister, rather than being governed by the prime minister of Denmark. Contrary to popular belief, Greenland elects its own officials, rather than being governed only by Danish politicians. In 2026, the prime minister of Greenland is Jens-Frederik Nielson, a native Greenlander born to a Danish father and Greenlandic mother.
When asked when Denmark acquired Greenland for its own, 55.2% of respondents answered 1945, after the Second World War. In his speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump made comments about the United States’ relationship with Greenland in the past: “We already had [Greenland], as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago. After we defeated the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians and others in World War Two, we gave it back to them.”
While the president’s remarks are not entirely incorrect, the broader historical answer is that Denmark acquired Greenland at the dissolution of the Denmark-Norway union in 1814 with the treaty of Kiel, placing Greenland under Danish rule as a colony. Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it was granted home rule and self-government, while remaining under Danish ownership. When asked who they think owns Greenland, 7.4% of responders said “Norway.”
In American pop-culture, references to Greenland include films such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty from 2013 starring Ben Stiller, Greenland from 2020 and Greenland 2: Migration released in January 2026.
Additionally, it is possible that President Trump’s recent comments concerning Greenland have sparked newfound discussion concerning the identity of the Greenlandic people. Greenland’s newfound relevance in national news since Trump took office can be an opportunity for more of the American people to learn more about the large, resource-rich territory. News will continue to develop about the U.S.’ relationship to Greenland and Europe in the coming future.
