Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Greenland instead of Spain, you would:

Health

live 13.6 years less

In Spain, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024. In Greenland, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 83.2% more likely to be obese

In Spain, 15.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Greenland, that number is 28.1% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 51.4% more money

Spain has a GDP per capita of $38,627 as of 2025, while in Greenland, the GDP per capita is $58,499 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Life

have 84.6% more children

In Spain, there are approximately 6.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Greenland, there are 12.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 3.4 times more likely to die during infancy

In Spain, approximately 2.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Greenland, on the other hand, 8.8 children do as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 27.4% less likely to have internet access

In Spain, approximately 95.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Greenland, about 69.5% do as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 2.2 times more on education

Spain spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Greenland spends 10.2% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 8.9 times more coastline

Spain has a total of 4,964 km of coastline. In Greenland, that number is 44,087 km.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 18.5% less home broadband

Spain has 39.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Greenland has 32.0 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 2.3 times more CO2

Spain emits 4.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Greenland emits 10.4 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Spain vs. Greenland

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Greenland is 56.6% more expensive than Spain overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Spain is about 4.3 times smaller than Greenland.
→
Moving from Spain to Greenland · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→

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.
Read more

How big is Greenland compared to Spain? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Greenland or Spain. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.