What is life expectancy in Greenland?

Life expectancy in Greenland was 70.06 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Greenland?

The highest recorded value was 70.39 years in 2016.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Greenland?

The lowest recorded value was 39.5 years in 1950.

How does Greenland rank for life expectancy?

Greenland ranks 170th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Greenland?

Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Greenland data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in Greenland

Name: Life expectancy in Greenland
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Greenland: Life expectancy was 70.06 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

70.06 years

Change on year

up 0.0%

World rank

170th

of 236 countries

All-time high

70.39 years

in 2016

All-time low

39.5 years

in 1950

Years of data

1950–2023

Life expectancy in Greenland, 1950–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Greenland recorded 70.06 years for life expectancy in 2023.

That represents a change of up 0.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Greenland peaked at 70.39 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 39.5 years, in 1950.

That places Greenland 170th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	48.1 years	39.5 years	57.25 years	10
1960s	60.96 years	58.55 years	63.03 years	10
1970s	62.19 years	61.65 years	63.03 years	10
1980s	62.71 years	62.16 years	63.09 years	10
1990s	64.13 years	63.24 years	65.12 years	10
2000s	67.51 years	65.63 years	68.4 years	10
2010s	69.81 years	68.45 years	70.39 years	10
2020s	70.08 years	70.05 years	70.16 years	4

Countries ranked near Greenland

167 Nepal 70.35 years compare
168 Guyana 70.18 years compare
169 Turkmenistan 70.07 years compare
171 Niue 69.98 years compare
172 Philippines 69.83 years compare
173 Sao Tome and Principe 69.72 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Greenland

Age population, age 08, female, interpolated 383 (2025)
Population, male 52.5% (2025)
Age population, age 06, female, interpolated 404 (2025)
Age population, age 06, male, interpolated 426 (2025)
Age population, age 07, female, interpolated 393 (2025)
Age population, age 07, male, interpolated 415 (2025)
Age population, age 09, male, interpolated 396 (2025)
Age population, age 10, male, interpolated 389 (2025)
Age population, age 10, female, interpolated 368 (2025)
Population, male 29,844 (2025)

All data for Greenland →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Greenland?: Life expectancy in Greenland was 70.06 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Greenland?: The highest recorded value was 70.39 years in 2016.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Greenland?: The lowest recorded value was 39.5 years in 1950.
How does Greenland rank for life expectancy?: Greenland ranks 170th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Greenland?: Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Greenland data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.