Italy
United StatesCompare countries · Italy vs United States
Italy vs United States
ItalySouthern Europe
United StatesNorth America
Italy is cheaper (cost of living 61.4 vs 68.8), more peaceful (Global Peace Index 1.712 vs 2.535) and has the longer life expectancy (84.0 vs 78.9 years).The United States scores higher on human development (0.938 vs 0.915) and has the higher income per person ($88,810 vs $42,080).
Safety
Italy is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- Italy1.712High safety#35 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United States2.535Low safety#133 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- Italy0.6Very lowUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- United States5.8HighUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- Italy52.7ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- United States50.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- ItalyNo 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
- Italy$42,080Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- United States$88,810Very highWorld Bank · 2025
Health
People live longer in Italy
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- Italy84.0Very high#8 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
- Italy114 MbpsVery fast#56 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
- Italy20.6%HighEurostat · 2025
- United StatesNo figure from Eurostat
How it changed
Human development: United States 0.938, Italy 0.915
ItalyUnited States
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:ItalyUnited States
Practical facts
- Capital
- Rome
- Washington, D.C.
- Population
- 58.9M (2025)
- 341.8M (2025)
- Languages
- Italian
- English
- Currency
- euro (EUR)
- United States dollar (USD)
- Area
- 295,720 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Plug type
- Type C/F/L
- 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
Italy and United States, side by side
Italy leads on 36 United States on 284 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
- €22,062Moderate
- —
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $62,803High
- $90,027High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $43,309Very high
- $90,027Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $42,080Very high
- $88,810Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 89.2High
- 146Very high
- Cost of Living aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 61.4Moderate
- 68.8Expensive
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 43.1High
- 56.3Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 20.5Expensive
- 40.7Very expensive
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 62.7High
- 74Very high
- Restaurant prices index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 64.7Very high
- 72.8Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 8.3Affordable
- 3.5Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 1.239High
- 1.701Very high
- Housing OverburdenEurostat · 2025
- 5.0%Low
- —
- Electricity PriceEurostat · 2025
- €0.297Expensive
- —
- Energy PovertyEurostat · 2025
- 8.6%High
- —
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 1.5%Low
- 2.9%Moderate
- Pension Replacement aheadOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- 70.6%High
- 39.7%Low
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 86%High
- 97%Very high
- Send Remittance aheadWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 2.2%Very low
- 3.5%Moderate
- Tax WedgeOECD Taxing Wages · 2025
- 45.8%
- 30%
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 43%
- 51.8%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 27.9%
- 21%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 22%
- —
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- 25.6%
- 10.8%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $2,552 bn
- $30,770 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2025
- 0%
- 1.3%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 44.9Very high
- 61.7Very high
Work4
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 6.4%
- 4.2%
- Youth UnemploymentEurostat · 2025
- 20.6%High
- —
- Long Work Hours aheadOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 3.3%Low
- 10.4%High
- Public Holidaysdate.nager.at · 2025
- 12
- 12
Equality7
- Income Inequality aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 34.3Moderate
- 41.8Very high
- Income Share Bot. 20% aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 6.6Low
- 5.1Very low
- Income Share Top 10% aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 25.8Moderate
- 30.7High
- Poverty Rate aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 1.9%Low
- 1.8%Low
- Poverty RiskEurostat · 2025
- 18.6%High
- —
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.043Very low
- 0.169Low
- Inequality-Adj. HDILevelUNDP HDR
- 0.817High
- 0.832Very high
Safety10
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 1.712High safety
- 2.535Low safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 52.7Moderate
- 50.8Moderate
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- 0.6Very low
- 5.8High
- Crime PerceptionEurostat · 2023
- 6.4%Low
- —
- Assault Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 1.4Very low
- 277.9Very high
- Robbery Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 48.3High
- 63.2High
- Sexual Violence RateUNODC CTS · 2023
- 11.3Low
- —
- Kidnapping Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 0.22Low
- 15.4Very high
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 5Very low
- 14.2Moderate
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 9.4High
- 22.7Very high
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 84.0Very high
- 78.9High
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 2.3Very low
- 5.5Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 64.9Fair
- 67Good
- UHC Service Coverage aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 82High
- 88Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 4.2Very high
- 3.7High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 3.1High
- 2.7Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 22.3%Low
- 10.9%Very low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- $3,398
- $13,473
- Clean WaterLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 99.9%High
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 13.3Moderate
- 9.8Low
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 13.9Very low
- 15.9Very low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 14%Low
- 41%Very high
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 20.5%Moderate
- 16.2%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 5.8%Very low
- 7.3%Low
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 7Moderate
- 15.6Very high
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 8.4
- 9.6
Education and getting online9
- Tertiary EducationEurostat · 2025
- 22.3%Very low
- —
- PISA MathLevelOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 471High
- 465Moderate
- PISA Reading aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 482High
- 504Very high
- PISA Science aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 477High
- 499Very high
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 4.1%
- 5.4%
- English Proficiency aheadEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 513Moderate
- 700Native
- Internet aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 89.2%High
- 94.7%Very high
- Fixed broadband aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 114 MbpsVery fast
- 308 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 93 MbpsModerate
- 212 MbpsVery high
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.59High
- 0.79High
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.58High
- 0.87Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.46High
- -0.30Low
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.92Very high
- 1.19Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.60High
- 1.01Very high
- DemocracyLevelEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 7.6High
- 7.7High
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 87High
- 81High
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 65.2Satisfactory
- 62.6Satisfactory
Quality of life10
- Human Development aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.915Very high
- 0.938Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 6.57Moderate
- 6.82Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 152.9Moderate
- 186Very high
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 89.8Excellent
- 75.8Good
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.899
- 2
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.405
- 1.516
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.975
- 0.678
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.746
- 0.776
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.075
- 0.155
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.067
- 0.155
People and planet23
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 58,915,656
- 341,784,857
- AreaWorld Bank
- 295,720 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 45.3
- 40.5
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- -0.06%
- 0.52%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 69.7%
- 80.2%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- 75,448
- 1,230,663
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 11%
- 15.2%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.18
- 1.63
- Avg Household SizeOECD Family Database · 2024
- 2.2
- 2.5
- Single-Person HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 36.6%
- 27.6%
- Lone-Parent HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 7.3%
- 6.8%
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 80.5%
- 64%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 4.4%
- 1.2%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 0.4%
- 0.9%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 0.6%
- 1.3%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0.1%
- 1.7%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 13.3%
- 29.7%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 0.7%
- 1.2%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 5.1High
- 13.6Very high
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 17.5%Moderate
- 10.9%Low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 32.9%
- 33.9%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.342Very low
- 0.312Very low
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.537High
- 0.647Very high
Other2
- Unmet Medical NeedEurostat · 2025
- 2.5%
- —
- Leisure TimeOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 16.5
- 14.6
Quick answers
Is Italy cheaper than United States?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts Italy at 61.4 and United States at 68.8. Italy is about 11% cheaper overall.
Is Italy or United States safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), Italy scores 1.71 and United States scores 2.54. Italy ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, Italy or United States?
On the UN Human Development Index, Italy scores 0.915 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 Italy compared to United States?
GNI per capita runs $42,080 in Italy against $88,810 in United States; people live 84.0 years on average against 78.9; Numbeo users rate healthcare 65 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.