How many people live in Greenland right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
55,587
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Net migration | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 210 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.0007%
- Median age
- 35.5 years
- Children per woman
- 1.90
- Life expectancy
- 70.4 years
- People per km²
- 0
According to UN estimates, about 55,587 people live in Greenland right now. It ranks 210th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between the Faroe Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and it is home to one in every 150,000 people on the planet.
Every year, about 710 people are born there and about 590 die. More people leave than arrive: net migration reduces the population by about 250 people a year. More people are born than die, but emigration makes the population shrink. Overall, it loses about 120 people a year.
In 1950, about 23,209 people lived there. Today there are 2.4 times as many. It peaked in 2005, at about 56,950, and has been falling since. By 2050 it is projected to have about 49,898 people (10% fewer than today), and by 2100 about 37,230.
Half of its people are younger than 36 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.90 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 70 years (worldwide, 74). There are 0 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Greenland in 2026?
- Greenland has about 55,587 people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 55,629.
- How many people are born each day in Greenland?
- Very few: about 710 a year. About 590 people die each year.
- Is the population of Greenland growing?
- No: it shrinks by 0.23% a year, or about 120 people.
- What will the population of Greenland be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 49,898.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Guernsey 64,639
- Bermuda 64,422
- Faroe Islands 56,679
- Turks and Caicos Islands 47,236
- Saint Kitts and Nevis 47,012
- American Samoa 45,107
More countries in the Americas
- United States 349,570,649
- Brazil 213,783,553
- Mexico 133,319,812
- Colombia 54,089,658
- Argentina 46,051,055
- Canada 40,567,052
- Peru 35,027,419
- Venezuela 28,673,188
- Chile 19,971,243
- Guatemala 19,055,578
- Ecuador 18,493,702
- Bolivia 12,801,716
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.