Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Greenland instead of South Africa, you would:

Health

live 8.7 years longer

In South Africa, the average life expectancy is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022. In Greenland, that number is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 4.8 times more money

South Africa has a GDP per capita of $14,300 as of 2023, while in Greenland, the GDP per capita is $68,100 as of 2021.

be 67.5% less likely to be unemployed

In South Africa, 28.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Greenland, that number is 9.1% as of 2015.

Life

be 66.2% less likely to die during infancy

In South Africa, approximately 25.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Greenland, on the other hand, 8.8 children do as of 2022.

have 23.7% fewer children

In South Africa, there are approximately 17.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Greenland, there are 13.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 15.6% more likely to have access to electricity

In South Africa, approximately 86% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Greenland, 100% of the population do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 54.5% more on education

South Africa spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Greenland spends 10.2% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

Geography

see 15.8 times more coastline

South Africa has a total of 2,798 km of coastline. In Greenland, that number is 44,087 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Greenland: At a glance

Greenland is a sovereign country in North America, with a total land area of approximately 2,166,086 sq km. Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice-capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Greenland voted in favor of increased self-rule in November 2008 and acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs when the Act on Greenland Self-Government was signed into law in June 2009. Denmark, however, continues to exercise control over several policy areas on behalf of Greenland including foreign affairs, security, and financial policy in consultation with Greenland's Self-Rule Government.
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How big is Greenland compared to South Africa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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