Majorities of Americans have positive views of U.S. relations with Greenland and Denmark and very few are supportive of the U.S. using military force to take over Greenland. Americans are five times as likely to oppose as to support a proposal to pay money to Greenland residents in order to encourage them to secede from Denmark and join the U.S.
What you need to know about Americans' views on Greenland, as of the January 9 - 12, 2026 Economist / YouGov Poll:
- Majorities of Americans — including most Democrats and Republicans — view Greenland (61%) and Denmark (65%) as either allies or friendly to the U.S.; very few view either as an enemy or unfriendly (9% say so about Greenland and 7% about Denmark)
- Only 8% of Americans are in favor of the U.S. using military force to take control of Greenland; 68% are opposed to doing so
- Vast majorities of Democrats (89%) and Independents (72%) oppose the U.S. using military force to take control of Greenland
- Republicans are far more likely to oppose than support a U.S. military takeover of Greenland (45% vs. 18%), though many Republicans (37%) say they are unsure on this issue
- By 64% to 13%, Americans oppose a proposal to pay each Greenland resident between $10,000 and $100,000 to encourage them to secede from Denmark and join the U.S.
- This proposition receives support from only 2% of Democrats, 10% of Independents, and 25% of Republicans
See other YouGov recent polling about Greenland and U.S. expansion
Image: Getty (Joe Raedle / Staff)
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