City North America
Nuuk
Nuuk is the capital of Greenland, a huge, icy island. Its houses are painted red, blue, yellow and green.
Nuuk is the capital and largest town of Greenland, on the island's southwest coast beside the Nuuk Fjord. Mountains rise right up from its suburbs. On 1 January 2026, 20,298 people lived there, according to Greenland's statistics office.
Nuuk (also called Godthåb), Greenland's capital, lies on the southwest coast at the mouth of the Nuuk Fjord, which Visit Greenland calls one of the world's largest fjord systems. Its population grew from 9,077 in 1980 to 20,298 on 1 January 2026 (Statistics Greenland estimate), about 36% of Greenland's 56,740.
Photo: patano, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Nuuk
Nuuk is the capital of Greenland. Greenland is a very big island in the far north.
Nuuk is by the sea, with tall mountains close by.
Nuuk is the capital and the largest town of Greenland, Visit Greenland says. It lies on the southwest coast, and from the center you can walk in a couple of minutes to the shore of the Nuuk Fjord.
On 1 January 2026, 20,298 people lived in Nuuk, according to Greenland's statistics office. That is more than a third of everyone in Greenland, and almost four times as many as in Sisimiut, the next-largest town.
Visit Greenland: the capital and biggest city of Greenland, on the southwest coast; from the modern center a couple of minutes' walk reaches the shore of the Nuuk Fjord, 'one of the world's largest fjord systems', and less than ten minutes' drive reaches the mountains.
Statistics Greenland (via City Population), town of Nuuk (Godthåb): 9,077 (1980), 12,217 (1990), 13,445 (2000), 15,469 (2010), 18,326 (2020) and 20,298 (estimate, 1 January 2026), rank 1; Sisimiut 5,455; Sermersooq municipality 24,643; Greenland 56,740.
- Country
- Greenland (capital and largest town)
- People in Nuuk (estimate, 1 January 2026)
- 20,298
- People in all of Greenland (1 January 2026)
- 56,740
- Coast
- the southwest coast, beside the Nuuk Fjord
Painted houses on the rocks
Look at all the bright houses: red, blue, yellow and green! They stand on gray rocks, with big apartment buildings behind.
This photo shows houses in Nuuk on 9 August 2010. Houses painted red, blue, yellow, green and gray stand among bare gray rocks and patches of grass, with a road curving past them.
Behind them rise rows of apartment blocks in blue and red, a tall building with yellow panels, and a rocky mountainside in the mist.
Commons: photo by patano, 9 August 2010 (Exif), from Panoramio (CC BY-SA 3.0, reviewed on import in 2016); title 'Nuuk - capital of Greenland'. The recorded position is about 1.8 km west-southwest of the city's Wikidata point.
In the picture: detached houses with steep roofs in many colors, on rocky ground with grass; parked cars and a curving road; long apartment blocks and a building under scaffolding behind; a tall gray-and-yellow apartment building and a crane at the right; a misty rock slope at the top.
- Photo
- houses in Nuuk, 9 August 2010
- Recorded position
- about 1.8 km west-southwest of the city's Wikidata point (Commons)
- Katuaq
- a cultural center, dated to 1997 on Wikidata
From a small town to a growing capital
Nuuk keeps growing! Today more than twice as many people live there as in 1980.
Nuuk has more than doubled in size in the last 46 years: from 9,077 people in 1980 to 20,298 in 2026, according to Greenland's statistics office. Visit Greenland calls it a rapidly growing city.
Visit Greenland describes Nuuk's Colonial Harbour as a living museum where history and traditions remain strong. The Greenland National Museum is in Nuuk too; Wikidata gives 1963 as its opening year.
Statistics Greenland (via City Population): Nuuk 9,077 (1 January 1980), 12,217 (1990), 13,445 (2000), 15,469 (2010), 18,326 (2020), 20,298 (2026), an increase of about 124% in 46 years.
Visit Greenland: several museums, including 'the living museum of Nuuk's Colonial Harbour, where history and traditions remain strong in this vibrant and rapidly-growing city'. Wikidata: Greenland National Museum (Q3117388), a history museum, official opening 1963, 0.67 km WNW of the city point.
- People in 1980
- 9,077
- People in 2026
- 20,298
- Colonial Harbour
- a living museum of the town's history and traditions
Planes, buses and boats
People fly to Nuuk in planes. In town they ride buses, and boats take them out into the fjord.
Nuuk is one of the few places in Greenland that can be reached directly from another country, Visit Greenland says: there are direct flights from Copenhagen and Reykjavík to Nuuk Airport. A passenger ferry, the Sarfaq Ittuk, makes a weekly round trip along the west coast.
The center is compact and easy to walk around. A bus system, Nuup Bussii, has four lines that cover almost all of Nuuk. Boat tours go into the fjord all year, because the fjord does not freeze in winter.
Visit Greenland: direct flights from Copenhagen (Air Greenland) and Reykjavík (Air Greenland and Icelandair) to Nuuk Airport; flights from other Greenland towns; the Sarfaq Ittuk passenger ferry along the west coast; a compact center; the Nuup Bussii bus system with four lines (line 3 goes to the airport); fjord excursions by boat or helicopter all year, as the fjord does not freeze in winter.
Wikidata: Nuuk Airport (Q1139968), 86 m, official opening 1979, 3.27 km NE of the city point (Q226).
- Direct flights
- from Copenhagen and Reykjavík to Nuuk Airport
- Buses
- Nuup Bussii, four lines covering almost all of Nuuk
- Nuuk Airport
- about 3.3 km northeast of the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
Cold winters and cool summers
Nuuk is cold for most of the year. Even in July, the warmest month, days are only cool.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1961 to 1990 show that in Nuuk even the warmest month, July, has an average daily high of only 10 °C. From January to March the average high is -5 °C.
About 754 millimeters of rain and snow fall in a year. September is the wettest month, with 89 millimeters, and January the driest, with 40.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Nuuk (64.17° N, 51.72° W), 1961–1990, whole degrees: mean daily maximum -5 °C (January to March) to 10 °C (July); mean daily minimum -11 °C (February, March) to 4 °C (July, August). Precipitation sums to 754 mm; July to September bring 261 mm, with September (89 mm) the wettest month and January (40 mm) the driest; precipitation days sum to 161 a year.
- Average daily highs (WMO, Nuuk, 1961–1990)
- -5 °C (January to March) to 10 °C (July)
- Average daily lows (same normals)
- -11 °C (February and March) to 4 °C (July and August)
- Rain and snow in a year (sum of the monthly normals)
- about 754 mm
Mountains, whales and museums
Around Nuuk people go hiking, skiing and on boat trips. Sometimes they can see whales!
Wherever you are in Nuuk, mountains fill the view, Visit Greenland says. Two of them, Quassussuaq and Ukkusissaq, rise straight up from the suburbs and are popular with hikers. Sermitsiaq, which Visit Greenland calls iconic, forms its own island.
From February to April people go skiing and snowshoeing, from June to October they go whale watching, hiking and fishing, and from October to March they look for the northern lights.
Visit Greenland: Sermitsiaq forms its own island and is not easily reached from the city; Quassussuaq (Lille Malene) and Ukkusissaq (Store Malene) rise directly from the suburbs; best times to visit: February-April (skiing, snowshoeing), June-October (whale watching, boat tours, hiking, fishing), October-March (northern lights). Nuuk has restaurants, boutiques, award-winning architecture and several museums.
Wikidata: Sermitsiaq (Q2038090), 1,210 m, 17.90 km NE; Quassussuaq (Q24843004) 4.72 km ENE; Nuuk Art Museum (Q3305271) 0.38 km NNE; Katuaq (Q2745935), a cultural center, 1997, 0.40 km NW.
- Mountains
- Quassussuaq and Ukkusissaq rise straight up from the suburbs; Sermitsiaq forms its own island
- Best times to visit
- February to April for skiing; June to October for whale watching and boat tours
- Nuuk Art Museum
- about 0.4 km north-northeast of the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
Nuuk on the map
Find Greenland on the globe, the very big island in the far north. Nuuk is on its southwest coast.
Nuuk lies at about 64.2° north, on Greenland's southwest coast.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, the Nuuk Art Museum is about 0.4 kilometers north-northeast, the Katuaq cultural center about 0.4 kilometers northwest, the airport about 3.3 kilometers northeast and the mountain Sermitsiaq about 17.9 kilometers northeast.
Nuuk lies at about 64.20° N and 51.73° W (Natural Earth point, 2.59 km N of the Wikidata point). From the Wikidata point (Q226): Nuuk Art Museum 0.38 km NNE; Katuaq 0.40 km NW; Greenland National Museum 0.67 km WNW; Nuuk Airport 3.27 km NE; Quassussuaq 4.72 km ENE; Sermitsiaq 17.90 km NE. The WMO station point is 0.85 km SE of the Wikidata point.
- Latitude
- about 64.2° north
- Longitude
- about 51.7° west
- Coast
- southwest Greenland
Amazing facts
-
In Nuuk, the busiest traffic time lasts only about 15 minutes!
Peak hour in Nuuk lasts for about 15 minutes, Visit Greenland says.
Visit Greenland: 'Peak hour lasts for about 15 minutes.'
-
The fjord next to Nuuk does not freeze in winter.
Boat tours into the Nuuk Fjord run all year, because the fjord does not freeze in winter, Visit Greenland says.
Visit Greenland: tours into the fjord run all year round as the fjord does not freeze during the winter.
-
More than one in three people in Greenland live in Nuuk.
On 1 January 2026, 20,298 of Greenland's 56,740 people lived in Nuuk: more than a third.
Statistics Greenland (via City Population), 1 January 2026: Nuuk 20,298 of 56,740 (35.8%).
-
Even in July, Nuuk's days are cool, about 10 degrees.
In the WMO averages for 1961 to 1990, July's average daily high in Nuuk is just 10 °C.
WMO 1961–1990, Nuuk: July mean daily maximum 10 °C, minimum 4 °C.
Words to know
- fjord
- a long, narrow inlet of the sea between steep cliffs or mountains
- capital
- the city where a country's or territory's government works
- suburb
- an area of homes at the edge of a city
- northern lights
- colored lights that glow in the night sky in the far north
- ferry
- a boat that carries people from place to place on a regular route
- estimate
- an official count worked out from records instead of asking everyone
Discovery challenge
-
Nuuk is the capital of which big island?
Nuuk is the capital of which huge island?
Nuuk (also called Godthåb) is the capital of which island?
- Greenland
- Madagascar
- Borneo
Show the answer
Greenland
Greenland!
Greenland.
Greenland.
-
What is next to Nuuk, a long arm of the sea?
Nuuk lies beside which long inlet of the sea?
Which inlet does Visit Greenland call one of the world's largest fjord systems?
- The Nuuk Fjord
- The Red Sea
- Lake Victoria
Show the answer
The Nuuk Fjord
The Nuuk Fjord!
The Nuuk Fjord.
The Nuuk Fjord.
-
About how many people live in Nuuk?
About how many people lived in Nuuk on 1 January 2026?
Statistics Greenland's 1 January 2026 estimate for Nuuk is closest to which number?
- 20,000
- 2,000,000
- 200
Show the answer
20,000
About 20,000!
20,298.
20,298.
-
When can people go whale watching from Nuuk?
Visit Greenland says the best months for whale watching from Nuuk are which?
Which period does Visit Greenland give for whale watching and boat tours?
- June to October
- December to February
- Only in March
Show the answer
June to October
June to October!
June to October.
June to October.
-
Which month is the warmest in Nuuk?
In the WMO averages, which month has the highest average daily high?
WMO 1961–1990: which month has a mean daily maximum of 10 °C?
- July
- January
- October
Show the answer
July
July!
July.
July (10 °C).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Nuuk on Greenland's southwest coast and explain what a fjord is.
- Compare a small capital's population with its whole country's.
- Read a cold climate table where even summer days are cool.
- Work out how much a town has grown from 1980 to 2026.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might people paint their houses in bright colors in a cold, rocky place?
- Why might planes and boats be so important for a town in Greenland?
- Why might a fjord stay open in winter while the land is frozen?
Try at home or in class
- Color town: draw a hillside of houses in red, blue, yellow and green, like Nuuk.
- Growth chart: make a bar chart of Nuuk's population in 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020 and 2026.
- Fjord model: carve a long, narrow channel in a tray of clay and pour in water.
Key vocabulary: fjord, capital, suburb, northern lights, ferry, estimate
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Discover Nuuk: The Capital of Greenland , Visit Greenland
- Greenland: Municipalities, Towns and Settlements , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from Statistics Greenland
- Nuuk: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Nuuk - capital of Greenland - panoramio.jpg (patano, 9 August 2010) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.