Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.2 years less

In Finland, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In United States, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

be 63.1% more likely to be obese

In Finland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In United States, that number is 36.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 27.3% more money

Finland has a GDP per capita of $47,300 as of 2020, while in United States, the GDP per capita is $60,200 as of 2020.

be 41.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Finland, 6.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In United States, that number is 3.9% as of 2018.

pay a 23.3% lower top tax rate

Finland has a top tax rate of 51.6% as of 2016. In United States, the top tax rate is 39.6% as of 2016.

be 23.8% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Finland, 12.2% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In United States, however, that number is 15.1% as of 2010.

Life

have 17.9% more children

In Finland, there are approximately 10.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In United States, there are 12.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

be 6.3 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Finland, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In United States, 19.0 women do as of 2017.

be 2.4 times more likely to die during infancy

In Finland, approximately 2.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In United States, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 20.6% less on education

Finland spends 6.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. United States spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2014.

spend 82.6% more on healthcare

Finland spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In United States, that number is 16.8% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 15.9 times more coastline

Finland has a total of 1,250 km of coastline. In United States, that number is 19,924 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Finnish Tax Administration, The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service.

United States: At a glance

United States (sometimes abbreviated US or USA) is a sovereign country in North America, with a total land area of approximately 9,147,593 sq km. Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
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How big is United States compared to Finland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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