Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 6.6 years less

In United States, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 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 35.3% less money

United States has a GDP per capita of $64,600 as of 2022, while in Greenland, the GDP per capita is $41,800 as of 2015.

be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed

In United States, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Greenland, that number is 9.1% as of 2015.

Life

have 10.7% more children

In United States, there are approximately 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Greenland, there are 13.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 69.2% more likely to die during infancy

In United States, approximately 5.2 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 24.5% less likely to have internet access

In United States, approximately 92.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Greenland, about 69.5% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 67.2% more on education

United States spends 6.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Greenland spends 10.2% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

Geography

see 2.2 times more coastline

United States has a total of 19,924 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 States? See an in-depth size comparison.

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