Canada vs Greenland
Canada is 4.61 times larger than Greenland. Greenland would fit into Canada about 4.6 times.
CanadaGreenlandCanada moved onto Greenland · Equal-area projection
4.61×
Canada is 4.61× the area of Greenland.
 Canada |  Greenland | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCanada: 4.61× the area | 9,984,670 km²#2 of 194 | 2,166,086 km² |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCanada: 733× the population | 41,651,653#38 of 194 · 2025 | 56,8312025 |
| DensityCanada: 159× the density | 4.2 / km²#188 of 194 | 0.03 / km² |
| Urban populationGreenland: 1.07× the urban share | 83%#36 of 192 · 2025 | 89%2025 |
| Fertility rateGreenland: 1.37× the births per woman | 1.25 per woman#171 of 192 · 2024 | 1.71 per woman2024 |
| Population growthCanada: 0.95 points higher | +0.94%#100 of 192 · 2025 | −0.01%2025 |
| Birth rateGreenland: 1.35× the birth rate | 8.9 per 1,000#157 of 192 · 2024 | 12.0 per 1,0002024 |
| Death rateGreenland: 1.18× the death rate | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 | 9.3 per 1,0002024 |
| Children under 15Greenland: 5.7 points higher | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 | 20.7%2025 |
| People over 65Canada: 8.8 points higher | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 11.5%2025 |
| Net migrationCanada: 12.5 per 1,000 higher | +7.8 per 1,000#11 of 192 · 2025 | −4.7 per 1,0002025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | — |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCanada: 11.8 years longer | 82.1 years#28 of 192 · 2024 | 70.3 years2024 |
| Infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | — |
| Doctors | 2.82 per 1,000#65 of 178 · 2023 | — |
| University enrolment | 76.3%#36 of 145 · 2023 | — |
| Human Development Index | 0.939#15 of 190 · 2023 | — |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $56,420#16 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDPCanada: 697× the economy | $2.32T2025 | $3.33B2023 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Greenland: 1.18× the output per person | $66,746#24 of 184 · 2025 | $78,9062023 |
| GDP growthCanada: 0.8 points higher | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | +0.9%2023 |
| Inflation | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| Unemployment | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Extreme poverty | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2022 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 31.5#107 of 149 · 2022 | — |
| Jobs in agriculture | 1.1% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in industry | 18.7% of jobs#96 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in services | 80.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Foreign investment | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| ExportsGreenland: 9.5 points higher | 31.3% of GDP#100 of 168 · 2025 | 40.8% of GDP2023 |
| Military spending | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 94%#28 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsGreenland: 1.27× the mobile subscriptions | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 | 119 per 1002022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | 42% of land#62 of 192 · 2024 | 0% of land2024 |
| CO₂ per personCanada: 1.34× the CO₂ per person | 14.0 t a year#11 of 185 · 2024 | 10.4 t a year2024 |
| Renewable energyCanada: 12.1 points higher | 23.8%#96 of 190 · 2021 | 11.7%2022 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Canada: 4.12× the air pollution | 6.6 µg/m³#176 of 191 · 2023 | 1.6 µg/m³2023 |
| Protected landGreenland: 29.0 points higher | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 | 41.9% of land2025 |
| Arable land | 4.3% of land#134 of 190 · 2024 | — |
| Water stress | 3.7%#132 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| Precipitation | 537 mm#138 of 180 · 2022 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCanada: 0.02 higher | +0.81#48 of 193 · 2025 | +0.792025 |
| Control of corruptionCanada: 0.11 higher | +1.59#15 of 193 · 2025 | +1.482025 |
| Homicide rateGreenland: 2.7× the homicide rate | 2.0 per 100,000#80 of 146 · 2023 | 5.4 per 100,0002016 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Territory of Denmark |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution | Dependent territoryparliamentary democracy (Parliament of Greenland or Inatsisartut) |
| Member of | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 | — |
| Capital | Ottawa | Nuuk |
| Currency | Canadian dollar (CAD) | Danish krone (DKK) |
| Official languages | English, French | Greenlandic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−8 to UTC−3:30, 6 time zones | UTC−2, summer time UTC−1 · UTC−4 to UTC, 3 time zones |
| Calling code | +1 | +299 |
| Region | Northern America, North America | Northern America, North America |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Canada sits at about 60° N and is stretched to 4.1× its true area; Greenland at 73° N is stretched to 11.8×. That difference is why Greenland looks so much bigger than it is next to Canada. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Canada bigger than Greenland?
- Yes. Canada is 4.61 times larger than Greenland. Canada covers 9,984,670 km² and Greenland covers 2,166,086 km².
- How many times does Greenland fit into Canada?
- About 4.6 times: Canada has 4.61× the area of Greenland.
- Why do Canada and Greenland look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Canada is drawn about 4.1× its true area there and Greenland about 11.8×. That is why Greenland looks so much bigger than it really is next to Canada. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Canada or Greenland?
- Canada: 41,651,653 people against 56,831. Density: Canada 4.2 per km², Greenland 0.03 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Canada or Greenland?
- In Canada: life expectancy at birth is 82.1 years, against 70.3 — 11.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Canada and Greenland have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Canada: constitutional monarchy; Greenland: dependent territory.