India
United StatesCompare countries · India vs United States
India vs United States
IndiaSouthern Asia
United StatesNorth America
The FCDO advises against all travel to parts of India and all but essential travel to other areas.India is cheaper (cost of living 18.9 vs 68.8) and more peaceful (Global Peace Index 2.409 vs 2.535).The United States scores higher on human development (0.938 vs 0.685), has the higher income per person ($88,810 vs $2,760) and has the longer life expectancy (78.9 vs 72.2 years).
Safety
India is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- India2.409Medium safety#126 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United States2.535Low safety#133 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- India2.8ModerateUNODC / World Bank · 2022
- United States5.8HighUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- India55.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- United States50.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- IndiaAgainst all travel to parts, all but essential to other areasFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-29
- United StatesNo advice against travelFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-29
Money
Income per person is higher in the United States
- GNI per personnational income per person, US dollars
- India$2,760LowWorld Bank · 2025
- United States$88,810Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- Cost of living indexexcluding rent, New York = 100
- India18.9Very affordableNumbeo · 2026
- United States68.8ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
Health
People live longer in the United States
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- India72.2Moderate#117 of 195World Bank · 2024
- United States78.9High#47 of 195World Bank · 2024
Work and internet
Broadband is faster in the United States
- Home internetmedian download speed
- India62 MbpsFast#96 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- United States308 MbpsVery fast#6 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
How it changed
Human development: United States 0.938, India 0.685
IndiaUnited States
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:IndiaUnited States
Practical facts
- Capital
- New Delhi
- Washington, D.C.
- Population
- 1.46B (2025)
- 341.8M (2025)
- Languages
- English, Hindi, Tamil
- English
- Currency
- Indian rupee (INR)
- United States dollar (USD)
- Area
- 2,973,190 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Plug type
- Type D/M
- Type A/B
- Drives on the
- left
- right
- Short visit
- Visa needed 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
India and United States, side by side
India leads on 21 United States on 421 level110 figures. 15 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 cost23
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $11,748Low
- $90,027High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $2,702Low
- $90,027Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $2,760Low
- $88,810Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 76.4High
- 146Very high
- Cost of Living aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 18.9Very affordable
- 68.8Expensive
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 12.4Very low
- 56.3Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 4.3Very affordable
- 40.7Very expensive
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 21.6Very low
- 74Very high
- Restaurant prices index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 15.6Very low
- 72.8Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 11.0Affordable
- 3.5Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 0.387Very low
- 1.701Very high
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 2.4%Moderate
- 2.9%Moderate
- Pension ReplacementLevelOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- 39.2%Low
- 39.7%Low
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 89%High
- 97%Very high
- Send Remittance aheadWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 0.5%Very low
- 3.5%Moderate
- Tax WedgeOECD Taxing Wages · 2025
- —
- 30%
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 39%
- 51.8%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 22%
- 21%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 18%
- —
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2022–2024
- 6.9%
- 10.8%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $3,956 bn
- $30,770 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2025
- 1%
- 1.3%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 38.2High
- 61.7Very high
Work3
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 4.2%
- 4.2%
- Long Work HoursOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- —
- 10.4%High
- Public Holidaysdate.nager.at · 2025
- —
- 12
Equality6
- Income Inequality aheadWorld Bank · 2022–2024
- 25.5Very low
- 41.8Very high
- Income Share Bot. 20% aheadWorld Bank · 2022–2024
- 10.4Very high
- 5.1Very low
- Income Share Top 10% aheadWorld Bank · 2022–2024
- 22.1Very low
- 30.7High
- Poverty Rate aheadWorld Bank · 2022–2024
- 82.1%Very high
- 1.8%Low
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.403Moderate
- 0.169Low
- Inequality-Adj. HDI aheadUNDP HDR
- 0.475Low
- 0.832Very high
Safety9
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 2.409Medium safety
- 2.535Low safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 55.8Moderate
- 50.8Moderate
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2022–2023
- 2.8Moderate
- 5.8High
- Assault Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2013–2022
- 25.8Moderate
- 277.9Very high
- Robbery Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2013–2022
- 2.8Very low
- 63.2High
- Sexual Violence RateUNODC CTS · 2013
- 9Low
- —
- Kidnapping Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2013–2022
- 5.1Very high
- 15.4Very high
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 14.6Moderate
- 14.2Moderate
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 42.3Very high
- 22.7Very high
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 72.2Moderate
- 78.9High
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 23.3High
- 5.5Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 65.5Good
- 67Good
- UHC Service Coverage aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 69Low
- 88Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2020–2022
- 0.720Low
- 3.7High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 1.600Low
- 2.7Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023
- 43.9%High
- 10.9%Very low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023
- $85
- $13,473
- Clean Water aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 95.7%Moderate
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 42.5Very high
- 9.8Low
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 131.3High
- 15.9Very low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 8%Very low
- 41%Very high
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2020–2023
- 25.4%High
- 16.2%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 8.7%Moderate
- 7.3%Low
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 12.6High
- 15.6Very high
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 5.2
- 9.6
Education and getting online8
- PISA MathOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 465Moderate
- PISA ReadingOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 504Very high
- PISA ScienceOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 499Very high
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 4.1%
- 5.4%
- English Proficiency aheadEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 484Low
- 700Native
- Internet aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 70%Low
- 94.7%Very high
- Home internet speed aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 62 MbpsFast
- 308 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet speed aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 129 MbpsHigh
- 212 MbpsVery high
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.13Moderate
- 0.79High
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.28Moderate
- 0.87Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.61Low
- -0.30Low
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.50High
- 1.19Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.17Moderate
- 1.01Very high
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 7High
- 7.7High
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 62Moderate
- 81High
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 32Difficult
- 62.6Satisfactory
Quality of life10
- Human Development aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.685Medium
- 0.938Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 4.54Very low
- 6.82Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 122.3Low
- 186Very high
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 65.2Good
- 75.8Good
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.397
- 2
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.732
- 1.516
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.298
- 0.678
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.015
- 0.776
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.121
- 0.155
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.124
- 0.155
People and planet23
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 1,463,865,525
- 341,784,857
- AreaWorld Bank
- 2,973,190 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 33.9
- 40.5
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.89%
- 0.52%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 35.7%
- 80.2%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- -495,753
- 1,230,663
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 0.3%
- 15.2%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.96
- 1.63
- Avg Household SizeOECD Family Database · 2024
- —
- 2.5
- Single-Person HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- —
- 27.6%
- Lone-Parent HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- —
- 6.8%
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 2.2%
- 64%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 15.2%
- 1.2%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 79.4%
- 0.9%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 0.7%
- 1.3%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 1.7%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 29.7%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 2.5%
- 1.2%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 2.2Moderate
- 13.6Very high
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 34.9%High
- 10.9%Low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 24.5%
- 33.9%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.485High
- 0.312Very low
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.394Moderate
- 0.647Very high
Other4
- LiteracyWorld Bank · 2024
- 78.2%
- —
- Mobile MoneyWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 23.1%
- —
- Receive RemittanceWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 1.8%
- —
- Leisure TimeOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- —
- 14.6
Quick answers
Is India cheaper than United States?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts India at 18.9 and United States at 68.8. India is about 73% cheaper overall.
Is India or United States safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), India scores 2.41 and United States scores 2.54. India ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, India or United States?
On the UN Human Development Index, India scores 0.685 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 India compared to United States?
GNI per capita runs $2,760 in India against $88,810 in United States; people live 72.2 years on average against 78.9; Numbeo users rate healthcare 66 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.