Greece
United StatesCompare countries · Greece vs United States
Greece vs United States
GreeceSouthern Europe
United StatesNorth America
Greece is cheaper (cost of living 54.0 vs 68.8), more peaceful (Global Peace Index 1.828 vs 2.535) and has the longer life expectancy (81.8 vs 78.9 years).The United States scores higher on human development (0.938 vs 0.908) and has the higher income per person ($88,810 vs $25,360).
Safety
Greece is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- Greece1.828High safety#53 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United States2.535Low safety#133 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- Greece0.8Very lowUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- United States5.8HighUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- Greece53.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- United States50.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- GreeceNo 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
- Greece$25,360HighWorld Bank · 2025
- United States$88,810Very highWorld Bank · 2025
Health
People live longer in Greece
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- Greece81.8Very high#33 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
- Greece94 MbpsFast#72 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
- Greece19.1%HighEurostat · 2025
- United StatesNo figure from Eurostat
How it changed
Human development: United States 0.938, Greece 0.908
GreeceUnited States
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:GreeceUnited States
Practical facts
- Capital
- Athens
- Washington, D.C.
- Population
- 10.4M (2025)
- 341.8M (2025)
- Languages
- Greek
- English
- Currency
- euro (EUR)
- United States dollar (USD)
- Area
- 128,900 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
Greece and United States, side by side
Greece leads on 34 United States on 312 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
- €11,700Low
- —
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $45,264Moderate
- $90,027High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $26,948High
- $90,027Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $25,360High
- $88,810Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 64.1Moderate
- 146Very high
- Cost of Living aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 54.0Moderate
- 68.8Expensive
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 36High
- 56.3Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 13.7Moderate
- 40.7Very expensive
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 51High
- 74Very high
- Restaurant prices index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 59.2Very high
- 72.8Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 12.5Moderate
- 3.5Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 1.115High
- 1.701Very high
- Housing OverburdenEurostat · 2025
- 26.4%Very high
- —
- Electricity PriceEurostat · 2025
- €0.238Moderate
- —
- Energy PovertyEurostat · 2025
- 18.1%Very high
- —
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 2.5%Moderate
- 2.9%Moderate
- Pension Replacement aheadOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- 79.6%Very high
- 39.7%Low
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 88.6%High
- 97%Very high
- Send RemittanceWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- —
- 3.5%Moderate
- Tax WedgeOECD Taxing Wages · 2025
- 39.3%
- 30%
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 44%
- 51.8%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 22%
- 21%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 24%
- —
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- 27.4%
- 10.8%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $281 bn
- $30,770 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 2.6%
- 1.3%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 37.4High
- 61.7Very high
Work4
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 8.5%
- 4.2%
- Youth UnemploymentEurostat · 2025
- 19.1%High
- —
- Long Work Hours aheadOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 4.5%Moderate
- 10.4%High
- Public Holidaysdate.nager.at · 2025
- 14
- 12
Equality7
- Income Inequality aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 33.4Moderate
- 41.8Very high
- Income Share Bot. 20% aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 7.2Moderate
- 5.1Very low
- Income Share Top 10% aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 26Moderate
- 30.7High
- Poverty Rate aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 3.2%Low
- 1.8%Low
- Poverty RiskEurostat · 2025
- 19.6%Very high
- —
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.103Very low
- 0.169Low
- Inequality-Adj. HDILevelUNDP HDR
- 0.825Very high
- 0.832Very high
Safety10
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 1.828High safety
- 2.535Low safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 53.8Moderate
- 50.8Moderate
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- 0.8Low
- 5.8High
- Crime PerceptionEurostat · 2023
- 20.9%Very high
- —
- Assault Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 12.8Low
- 277.9Very high
- Robbery Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2024
- 28.8Moderate
- 63.2High
- Sexual Violence RateUNODC CTS · 2023
- 10.2Low
- —
- Kidnapping Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 0.72Moderate
- 15.4Very high
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 7.3Low
- 14.2Moderate
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 8.6High
- 22.7Very high
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 81.8Very high
- 78.9High
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 3.2Very low
- 5.5Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 58.9Fair
- 67Good
- UHC Service Coverage aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 77High
- 88Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 6.6Very high
- 3.7High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 4.3High
- 2.7Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023
- 34.3%High
- 10.9%Very low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023
- $1,963
- $13,473
- Clean WaterLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 100%Very high
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 14.4Moderate
- 9.8Low
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 25.5Low
- 15.9Very low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 27.4%High
- 41%Very high
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2020–2023
- 30.4%Very high
- 16.2%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 6.6%Low
- 7.3%Low
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 4.7Low
- 15.6Very high
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 8.6
- 9.6
Education and getting online9
- Tertiary EducationEurostat · 2025
- 34.9%Low
- —
- PISA Math aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 430Moderate
- 465Moderate
- PISA Reading aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 438Moderate
- 504Very high
- PISA Science aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 441Moderate
- 499Very high
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 3.4%
- 5.4%
- English Proficiency aheadEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 592High
- 700Native
- Internet aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 86.3%High
- 94.7%Very high
- Fixed broadband aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 94 MbpsFast
- 308 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 140 MbpsHigh
- 212 MbpsVery high
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.29High
- 0.79High
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.25High
- 0.87Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.28Moderate
- -0.30Low
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.32High
- 1.19Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.42High
- 1.01Very high
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 8.1Very high
- 7.7High
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 85High
- 81High
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 55.1Satisfactory
- 62.6Satisfactory
Quality of life10
- Human Development aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.908Very high
- 0.938Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 5.70Low
- 6.82Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 140.8Moderate
- 186Very high
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 93Excellent
- 75.8Good
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.795
- 2
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.257
- 1.516
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.799
- 0.678
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.478
- 0.776
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.023
- 0.155
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.064
- 0.155
People and planet23
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 10,413,962
- 341,784,857
- AreaWorld Bank
- 128,900 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 44.6
- 40.5
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.08%
- 0.52%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 79.2%
- 80.2%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- 16,636
- 1,230,663
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 14.2%
- 15.2%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.24
- 1.63
- Avg Household SizeOECD Family Database · 2024
- 2.6
- 2.5
- Single-Person HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 32.3%
- 27.6%
- Lone-Parent HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 4.7%
- 6.8%
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 89.5%
- 64%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 5.1%
- 1.2%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 0.1%
- 0.9%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 1.3%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 1.7%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 4.7%
- 29.7%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 0.5%
- 1.2%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 5.1High
- 13.6Very high
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 21.5%Moderate
- 10.9%Low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 30.3%
- 33.9%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.337Very low
- 0.312Very low
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.534High
- 0.647Very high
Other2
- Unmet Medical NeedEurostat · 2025
- 11.5%
- —
- Leisure TimeOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 15
- 14.6
Quick answers
Is Greece cheaper than United States?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts Greece at 54.0 and United States at 68.8. Greece is about 22% cheaper overall.
Is Greece or United States safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), Greece scores 1.83 and United States scores 2.54. Greece ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, Greece or United States?
On the UN Human Development Index, Greece scores 0.908 and United States scores 0.938. United States scores higher on this composite of income, health and education. Single indexes hide trade-offs; the full comparison above shows where each country wins.
What is life like in Greece compared to United States?
GNI per capita runs $25,360 in Greece against $88,810 in United States; people live 81.8 years on average against 78.9; Numbeo users rate healthcare 59 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.