The Asian migrant workers propping up Greenland’s economy
Financial Times • • world
Key Points:
- Greenland's economy heavily depends on fisheries and substantial subsidies from Denmark, with migrant labor from Southeast Asia playing a crucial role in sustaining seafood factories, restaurants, and the fishing fleet.
- The island faces significant demographic challenges, including a shrinking and aging population, high emigration rates, and declining birth rates, which exacerbate labor shortages and strain public finances.
- Political tensions exist over Greenland's push for greater independence from Denmark, complicated by economic reliance on Danish subsidies and the need to develop a self-sufficient economy beyond mining and fishing.
- The influx of Southeast Asian workers, mainly Filipinos and Thais, has increased sharply in recent years, filling labor gaps but also creating social tensions with local Inuit populations who face historical discrimination.
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