Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Greenland instead of United Kingdom, you would:

Health

live 8.0 years less

In United Kingdom, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 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

be 12.9% less likely to live below the poverty line

In United Kingdom, 18.6% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Greenland, however, that number is 16.2% as of 2015.

make 12.2% less money

United Kingdom has a GDP per capita of $47,600 as of 2022, while in Greenland, the GDP per capita is $41,800 as of 2015.

be 2.4 times more likely to be unemployed

In United Kingdom, 3.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Greenland, that number is 9.1% as of 2015.

Life

have 25.0% more children

In United Kingdom, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Greenland, there are 13.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy

In United Kingdom, approximately 3.8 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.

Basic Needs

be 28.4% less likely to have internet access

In United Kingdom, approximately 97.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Greenland, about 69.5% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 85.5% more on education

United Kingdom spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Greenland spends 10.2% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

Geography

see 3.5 times more coastline

United Kingdom has a total of 12,429 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 United Kingdom? See an in-depth size comparison.

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