France
United StatesCompare countries · France vs United States
France vs United States
FranceWestern Europe
United StatesNorth America
France is more peaceful (Global Peace Index 2.083 vs 2.535) and has the longer life expectancy (83.0 vs 78.9 years).The United States has the higher income per person ($88,810 vs $48,630).About the same on living costs (France 67.7, the United States 68.8) and human development (0.920, 0.938).
Safety
France is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- France2.083Medium safety#98 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United States2.535Low safety#133 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- France1.3LowUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- United States5.8HighUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- France44.2LowNumbeo · 2026
- United States50.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- FranceNo 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
- France$48,630Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- United States$88,810Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- Cost of living indexexcluding rent, New York = 100
- France67.7ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
- United States68.8ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
Health
People live longer in France
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- France83.0Very high#18 of 195World Bank · 2024
- United States78.9High#47 of 195World Bank · 2024
Work and internet
Broadband is faster in France
- Fixed broadbandmedian download speed
- France350 MbpsVery fast#3 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
- France19.8%HighEurostat · 2025
- United StatesNo figure from Eurostat
How it changed
Human development: United States 0.938, France 0.920
FranceUnited States
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:FranceUnited States
Practical facts
- Capital
- Paris
- Washington, D.C.
- Population
- 68.7M (2025)
- 341.8M (2025)
- Languages
- French
- English
- Currency
- euro (EUR)
- United States dollar (USD)
- Area
- 538,950 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Plug type
- Type C/E
- 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
France and United States, side by side
France leads on 39 United States on 218 level116 figures. 11 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
- €26,459High
- —
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $63,975High
- $90,027High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $48,986Very high
- $90,027Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $48,630Very high
- $88,810Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 118.5Very high
- 146Very high
- Cost of LivingLevelNumbeo · 2026
- 67.7Expensive
- 68.8Expensive
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 47.5Very high
- 56.3Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 22.3Expensive
- 40.7Very expensive
- Groceries indexLevelNumbeo · 2026
- 73.2Very high
- 74Very high
- Restaurant prices index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 66.2Very high
- 72.8Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 8.6Affordable
- 3.5Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 1.408Very high
- 1.701Very high
- Housing OverburdenEurostat · 2025
- 6.4%Moderate
- —
- Electricity PriceEurostat · 2025
- €0.256Expensive
- —
- Energy PovertyEurostat · 2025
- 11.5%High
- —
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 0.9%Very low
- 2.9%Moderate
- Pension Replacement aheadOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- 56.6%Moderate
- 39.7%Low
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 99.2%Very high
- 97%Very high
- Send Remittance aheadWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 2.9%Low
- 3.5%Moderate
- Tax WedgeOECD Taxing Wages · 2025
- 47.2%
- 30%
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 55.3%
- 51.8%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 25%
- 21%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 20%
- —
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- 22.8%
- 10.8%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $3,366 bn
- $30,770 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2025
- 2.2%
- 1.3%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 53.4Very high
- 61.7Very high
Work4
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 7.5%
- 4.2%
- Youth UnemploymentEurostat · 2025
- 19.8%High
- —
- Long Work Hours aheadOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 7.7%High
- 10.4%High
- Public Holidaysdate.nager.at · 2025
- 11
- 12
Equality7
- Income Inequality aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 31.8Low
- 41.8Very high
- Income Share Bot. 20% aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 7.7High
- 5.1Very low
- Income Share Top 10% aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 25Low
- 30.7High
- Poverty Rate aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 0.3%Very low
- 1.8%Low
- Poverty RiskEurostat · 2025
- 16.3%Moderate
- —
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.034Very low
- 0.169Low
- Inequality-Adj. HDILevelUNDP HDR
- 0.836Very high
- 0.832Very high
Safety10
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 2.083Medium safety
- 2.535Low safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 44.2Low
- 50.8Moderate
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- 1.3Low
- 5.8High
- Crime PerceptionEurostat · 2023
- 14.7%Very high
- —
- Assault Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 628.3Very high
- 277.9Very high
- Robbery Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2024
- 85.5Very high
- 63.2High
- Sexual Violence RateUNODC CTS · 2023
- 134.9Very high
- —
- Kidnapping Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2016–2022
- 5.9Very high
- 15.4Very high
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 4.7Very low
- 14.2Moderate
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 6.7High
- 22.7Very high
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 83.0Very high
- 78.9High
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 3.4Very low
- 5.5Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 77Excellent
- 67Good
- UHC Service Coverage aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 82High
- 88Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 3.3High
- 3.7High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 5.7Very high
- 2.7Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 9.2%Very low
- 10.9%Very low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- $5,327
- $13,473
- Clean WaterLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 100%Very high
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 8.8Low
- 9.8Low
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 9.1Very low
- 15.9Very low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 11.2%Very low
- 41%Very high
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2022–2023
- 28.6%Very high
- 16.2%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 5.9%Very low
- 7.3%Low
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 16.6Very high
- 15.6Very high
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 11.2
- 9.6
Education and getting online9
- Tertiary EducationEurostat · 2025
- 44.8%High
- —
- PISA MathLevelOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 474High
- 465Moderate
- PISA Reading aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 474High
- 504Very high
- PISA Science aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 487High
- 499Very high
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 5.3%
- 5.4%
- English Proficiency aheadEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 539Moderate
- 700Native
- Internet aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 88.7%High
- 94.7%Very high
- Fixed broadband aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 350 MbpsVery fast
- 308 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 151 MbpsHigh
- 212 MbpsVery high
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.97Very high
- 0.79High
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.24Very high
- 0.87Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.09Moderate
- -0.30Low
- Government EffectivenessLevelWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.21Very high
- 1.19Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.99Very high
- 1.01Very high
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 8.1Very high
- 7.7High
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 89High
- 81High
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 76.7Good
- 62.6Satisfactory
Quality of life10
- Human DevelopmentLevelUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.920Very high
- 0.938Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 6.59Moderate
- 6.82Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 169.8High
- 186Very high
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 89.6Excellent
- 75.8Good
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.907
- 2
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.435
- 1.516
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.950
- 0.678
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.830
- 0.776
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.090
- 0.155
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.240
- 0.155
People and planet23
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 68,720,337
- 341,784,857
- AreaWorld Bank
- 538,950 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 42.6
- 40.5
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.25%
- 0.52%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 78.8%
- 80.2%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- 91,737
- 1,230,663
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 13.8%
- 15.2%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.61
- 1.63
- Avg Household SizeOECD Family Database · 2024
- 2.1
- 2.5
- Single-Person HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 37.8%
- 27.6%
- Lone-Parent HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 7.7%
- 6.8%
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 46.5%
- 64%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 9.1%
- 1.2%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 0.1%
- 0.9%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 0.7%
- 1.3%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0.7%
- 1.7%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 42.6%
- 29.7%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 0.3%
- 1.2%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 4High
- 13.6Very high
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 16.2%Low
- 10.9%Low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 32.5%
- 33.9%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.304Very low
- 0.312Very low
- Climate ReadinessLevelND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.649Very high
- 0.647Very high
Other2
- Unmet Medical NeedEurostat · 2025
- 3.7%
- —
- Leisure TimeOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 16.2
- 14.6
Quick answers
Is France cheaper than United States?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts France at 67.7 and United States at 68.8. The two are effectively tied (under 2% apart).
Is France or United States safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), France scores 2.08 and United States scores 2.54. France ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, France or United States?
On the UN Human Development Index, France scores 0.920 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 France compared to United States?
GNI per capita runs $48,630 in France against $88,810 in United States; people live 83.0 years on average against 78.9; Numbeo users rate healthcare 77 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.