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Qaasuitsup Kommunia
Qaasuitsup Kommunia
Municipality of Greenland
2009–2017
	Coat of arms
	; Location of Qaasuitsup within Greenland
Capital	Ilulissat
Area
• Coordinates	69°13′N 51°06′W / 69.217°N 51.100°W
• 2015	660,000 km2 (250,000 sq mi)
Population
• 2015	17,168
History
• Established	1 January 2009
• Disestablished	31 December 2017
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Aasiaat
	Kangaatsiaq
	Ilulissat
	Qaanaaq
	Qasigiannguit
	Qeqertarsuaq
	Uummannaq
	Upernavik
Avannaata
Qeqertalik
	Population data:; ISO code: GL-QA; Calling code: +299

Clockwise from top left: Ukkusissat, Upernavik, Ilulissat Icefjord, Uummannaq

Qaasuitsup (Greenlandic pronunciation: [qaːsuitt͡sup̚], Place of Polar Darkness) was a municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009^[2] to 31 December 2017.^[3] As of January 2015, its population was 17,168.^[1] The administrative centre of the municipality was in Ilulissat (formerly called Jakobshavn).

Creation

The municipality consisted of the former municipalities of western and northern Greenland, each named after the biggest settlement:

Aasiaat Municipality (currently in Qeqertalik)
Kangaatsiaq Municipality (currently in Qeqertalik)
Ilulissat Municipality (currently in Avannaata)
Qaanaaq Municipality (currently in Avannaata)
Qasigiannguit Municipality (currently in Qeqertalik)
Qeqertarsuaq Municipality (currently in Qeqertalik)
Uummannaq Municipality (currently in Avannaata)
Upernavik Municipality (currently in Avannaata)

Dissolution

Effective 1 January 2018, Qaasuitsup Kommunia was partitioned into two new municipalities:

Avannaata Kommunia: comprising Ilulissat, Uummannaq, Upernavik, Qaanaaq and surrounding settlements; and
Kommune Qeqertalik: comprising Aasiaat, Qasigiannguit, Qeqertarsuaq, Kangaatsiaq and surrounding settlements.^[3]

Geography

The municipality was located in northwestern Greenland. With an area of 660,000 km² (254,827.4 sq mi),^[4] it was the largest municipality in the world by area,^[5] larger than France at 643,427 km² (248,428.6 sq mi).^[6]

In the south, it was flanked by the Qeqqata municipality. In the southeast, it was bordered by the Sermersooq municipality, however this border ran north–south (45° West meridian) through the center of the Greenland ice sheet (Greenlandic: Sermersuaq), and as such was free of traffic. In the east and northeast it was bordered by the Northeast Greenland National Park.

At the southern end of the municipal coastline were the waters of Disko Bay, an inlet of the larger Baffin Bay, which to the north edges into the island of Greenland in the form of Melville Bay. The coastline of northeastern Baffin Bay is dotted with islands of the Upernavik Archipelago, which was entirely contained within the municipality. In the far northwest near Qaanaaq and Siorapaluk, the municipal shores extended into Nares Strait, which separates Greenland from Ellesmere Island.

Denmark claimed Hans Island as part of Qaasuitsup (now Avannaata), while Canada considers it to be part of the Nunavut region of Qikiqtaaluk.

Administrative divisions

Now in present Avannaata Municipality

Ilulissat area

Ilulissat (Jakobshavn)
Ilimanaq (Claushavn)
Oqaatsut (Rodebay)
Qeqertaq (Øen)
Saqqaq (Solsiden)

Qaanaaq area

Uummannaq area

Upernavik area

Now in present Qeqertalik Municipality

Aasiaat area

Aasiaat (Egedesminde)
Akunnaaq
Kitsissuarsuit (Hunde Ejlande, Dog's Island)

Kangaatsiaq area

Qasigiannguit area

Qasigiannguit (Christianshåb)
Ikamiut

Qeqertarsuaq area

Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn)
Kangerluk

Language

Kalaallisut, the West Greenlandic dialect, is spoken in the towns and settlements of the western and northwestern coasts. Inuktun is also spoken in and around Qaanaaq.

References and notes

^ ^a ^b "Demographic perspectives". plania.qeqertalik.gl. Archived from the original on 8 Aug 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
^ Qaasuitsup Municipality (in Greenlandic)
^ ^a ^b "Nittartakkat nutaat: avannaata.gl kiisalu qeqertalik.gl". Retrieved 2018-01-07.
^ "Fakta om kommunen" (in Danish). Qaasuitsup Municipality, Official Website. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
^ not considering the Chilean Antarctic commune, which is not internationally recognized
^ France at the CIA World Factbook