Finland
United StatesCompare countries · Finland vs United States
Finland vs United States
FinlandNorthern Europe
United StatesNorth America
Finland is more peaceful (Global Peace Index 1.478 vs 2.535) and has the longer life expectancy (82.3 vs 78.9 years).The United States has the higher income per person ($88,810 vs $55,250).About the same on living costs (Finland 69.0, the United States 68.8) and human development (0.948, 0.938).
Safety
Finland is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- Finland1.478Very high safety#9 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United States2.535Low safety#133 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- Finland1.0LowUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- United States5.8HighUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- Finland73.5HighNumbeo · 2026
- United States50.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- FinlandNo advice against travelFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-12
- United StatesNo advice against travelFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-12
Money
Income per person is higher in the United States
- GNI per personnational income per person, US dollars
- Finland$55,250Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- United States$88,810Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- Cost of living indexexcluding rent, New York = 100
- Finland69.0ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
- United States68.8ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
Health
People live longer in Finland
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- Finland82.3Very high#26 of 195World Bank · 2024
- United States78.9High#47 of 195World Bank · 2024
Work and internet
Broadband is faster in the United States
- Fixed broadbandmedian download speed
- Finland178 MbpsVery fast#37 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- United States308 MbpsVery fast#6 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- Youth unemploymentshare of 15 to 24 year olds in the labour force
- Finland21.8%Very highEurostat · 2025
- United StatesNo figure from Eurostat
How it changed
Human development: Finland 0.948, United States 0.938
FinlandUnited States
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:FinlandUnited States
Practical facts
- Capital
- Helsinki
- Washington, D.C.
- Population
- 5.6M (2025)
- 341.8M (2025)
- Languages
- Finnish, Swedish
- English
- Currency
- euro (EUR)
- United States dollar (USD)
- Area
- 303,960 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Plug type
- Type C/F
- Type A/B
- Drives on the
- right
- right
- Short visit
- Visa-free for UK, EU and US passports
- Visa-free for UK and EU; visa needed for US
Short visits: passport-index-dataset, 2024, for UK, EU (German) and US passports. Population and area: World Bank. Languages, currency and driving side: restcountries.com. Plug types: worldstandards.eu.
Every figure
Finland and United States, side by side
Finland leads on 46 United States on 156 level116 figures. 12 are held for only one country; the other shows a dash. Rows such as population, religion and tax levels have no better or worse end, so they show both values and no verdict. Level means under 2% apart.
Money and cost27
- Median IncomeEurostat · 2025
- €29,740High
- —
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $65,884High
- $90,027High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $56,149Very high
- $90,027Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $55,250Very high
- $88,810Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 129.4Very high
- 146Very high
- Cost of LivingLevelNumbeo · 2026
- 69.0Expensive
- 68.8Expensive
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 48Very high
- 56.3Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 21.9Expensive
- 40.7Very expensive
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 68.7Very high
- 74Very high
- Restaurant prices indexLevelNumbeo · 2026
- 74.1Very high
- 72.8Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 7.2Very affordable
- 3.5Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 1.542Very high
- 1.701Very high
- Housing OverburdenEurostat · 2025
- 4.7%Very low
- —
- Electricity PriceEurostat · 2025
- €0.225Moderate
- —
- Energy PovertyEurostat · 2025
- 2.6%Very low
- —
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 0.3%Very low
- 2.9%Moderate
- Pension Replacement aheadOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- 57.8%Moderate
- 39.7%Low
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 99.8%Very high
- 97%Very high
- Send RemittanceWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- —
- 3.5%Moderate
- Tax WedgeOECD Taxing Wages · 2025
- 42.5%
- 30%
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 53.6%
- 51.8%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 20%
- 21%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 25.5%
- —
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- 25.3%
- 10.8%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $317 bn
- $30,770 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2025
- -0.1%
- 1.3%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 57.7Very high
- 61.7Very high
Work4
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 9.5%
- 4.2%
- Youth UnemploymentEurostat · 2025
- 21.8%Very high
- —
- Long Work Hours aheadOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 3.6%Low
- 10.4%High
- Public Holidaysdate.nager.at · 2025
- 15
- 12
Equality7
- Income Inequality aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 27.4Very low
- 41.8Very high
- Income Share Bot. 20% aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 9.2Very high
- 5.1Very low
- Income Share Top 10% aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 22.5Very low
- 30.7High
- Poverty Rate aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 0.4%Very low
- 1.8%Low
- Poverty RiskEurostat · 2025
- 13.4%Low
- —
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.021Very low
- 0.169Low
- Inequality-Adj. HDI aheadUNDP HDR
- 0.891Very high
- 0.832Very high
Safety10
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 1.478Very high safety
- 2.535Low safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 73.5High
- 50.8Moderate
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- 1.0Low
- 5.8High
- Crime PerceptionEurostat · 2023
- 11.5%Very high
- —
- Assault Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 32.1Moderate
- 277.9Very high
- Robbery Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2024
- 46.1High
- 63.2High
- Sexual Violence RateUNODC CTS · 2023
- 109Very high
- —
- Kidnapping Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 0.07Very low
- 15.4Very high
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 4.2Very low
- 14.2Moderate
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 1.300Very low
- 22.7Very high
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 82.3Very high
- 78.9High
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.900Very low
- 5.5Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 77.6Excellent
- 67Good
- UHC Service Coverage aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 86Very high
- 88Very high
- Physicians / 1kLevelWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 3.6High
- 3.7High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 2.6Moderate
- 2.7Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023
- 14.1%Low
- 10.9%Very low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023
- $5,515
- $13,473
- Clean WaterLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 100%Very high
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 4.1Very low
- 9.8Low
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 4.4Very low
- 15.9Very low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 24.2%Moderate
- 41%Very high
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2022–2023
- 19.7%Moderate
- 16.2%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 5.3%Very low
- 7.3%Low
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 14.6Very high
- 15.6Very high
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 9.4
- 9.6
Education and getting online9
- Tertiary EducationEurostat · 2025
- 42.7%High
- —
- PISA Math aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 484High
- 465Moderate
- PISA Reading aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 490Very high
- 504Very high
- PISA Science aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 511Very high
- 499Very high
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 6.4%
- 5.4%
- English Proficiency aheadEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 603Very high
- 700Native
- InternetLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 93.7%Very high
- 94.7%Very high
- Fixed broadband aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 178 MbpsVery fast
- 308 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 160 MbpsVery high
- 212 MbpsVery high
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 2.01Very high
- 0.79High
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 2.14Very high
- 0.87Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.96Very high
- -0.30Low
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.94Very high
- 1.19Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.63Very high
- 1.01Very high
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 9.4Very high
- 7.7High
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 100Very high
- 81High
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 86.2Good
- 62.6Satisfactory
Quality of life10
- Human DevelopmentLevelUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.948Very high
- 0.938Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 7.76Very high
- 6.82Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 204.5Very high
- 186Very high
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 54.4Fair
- 75.8Good
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.915
- 2
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.638
- 1.516
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.939
- 0.678
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.105
- 0.776
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.093
- 0.155
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.491
- 0.155
People and planet23
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 5,646,436
- 341,784,857
- AreaWorld Bank
- 303,960 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 44
- 40.5
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.47%
- 0.52%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 74.5%
- 80.2%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- 18,246
- 1,230,663
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 9.2%
- 15.2%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.25
- 1.63
- Avg Household SizeOECD Family Database · 2024
- 1.900
- 2.5
- Single-Person HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 45.3%
- 27.6%
- Lone-Parent HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 5.4%
- 6.8%
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 72.3%
- 64%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 1.6%
- 1.2%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 0.1%
- 0.9%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 0.3%
- 1.3%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0.1%
- 1.7%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 25%
- 29.7%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 0.5%
- 1.2%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 5.5High
- 13.6Very high
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 50.2%High
- 10.9%Low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 73.7%
- 33.9%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.280Very low
- 0.312Very low
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.746Very high
- 0.647Very high
Other2
- Unmet Medical NeedEurostat · 2025
- 7.8%
- —
- Leisure TimeOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 15.2
- 14.6
Quick answers
Is Finland cheaper than United States?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts Finland at 69.0 and United States at 68.8. The two are effectively tied (under 2% apart).
Is Finland or United States safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), Finland scores 1.48 and United States scores 2.54. Finland ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, Finland or United States?
On the UN Human Development Index, Finland scores 0.948 and United States scores 0.938. The two are effectively tied. Single indexes hide trade-offs; the full comparison above shows where each country wins.
What is life like in Finland compared to United States?
GNI per capita runs $55,250 in Finland against $88,810 in United States; people live 82.3 years on average against 78.9; Numbeo users rate healthcare 78 against 67. Those are national averages and they hide the thing you actually feel: capital-city costs run well ahead of the national figure in most countries, and rural provision of healthcare and internet often lags the number shown here. The table below splits it indicator by indicator.