Netherlands
United StatesCompare countries · Netherlands vs United States
Netherlands vs United States
NetherlandsWestern Europe
United StatesNorth America
The United States is cheaper (cost of living 68.8 vs 73.4) and has the higher income per person ($88,810 vs $68,530).The Netherlands is more peaceful (Global Peace Index 1.566 vs 2.535) and has the longer life expectancy (82.0 vs 78.9 years).About the same on human development (the Netherlands 0.955, the United States 0.938).
Safety
The Netherlands is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- Netherlands1.566Very high safety#17 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United States2.535Low safety#133 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- Netherlands0.7Very lowUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- United States5.8HighUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- Netherlands74.5HighNumbeo · 2026
- United States50.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- NetherlandsNo 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
- Netherlands$68,530Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- United States$88,810Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- Cost of living indexexcluding rent, New York = 100
- Netherlands73.4ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
- United States68.8ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
Health
People live longer in the Netherlands
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- Netherlands82.0Very high#30 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
- Netherlands239 MbpsVery fast#21 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
- Netherlands8.8%Very lowEurostat · 2025
- United StatesNo figure from Eurostat
How it changed
Human development: Netherlands 0.955, United States 0.938
NetherlandsUnited States
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:NetherlandsUnited States
Practical facts
- Capital
- Amsterdam
- Washington, D.C.
- Population
- 18.1M (2025)
- 341.8M (2025)
- Languages
- Dutch
- English
- Currency
- euro (EUR)
- United States dollar (USD)
- Area
- 33,670 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
Netherlands and United States, side by side
Netherlands leads on 46 United States on 202 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
- €34,466Very high
- —
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $87,320High
- $90,027High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $73,684Very high
- $90,027Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $68,530Very high
- $88,810Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 131.9Very high
- 146Very high
- Cost of Living aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 73.4Expensive
- 68.8Expensive
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 57.9Very high
- 56.3Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 38.7Very expensive
- 40.7Very expensive
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 66.9Very high
- 74Very high
- Restaurant prices index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 81.6Very high
- 72.8Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 7.5Very affordable
- 3.5Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 1.475Very high
- 1.701Very high
- Housing OverburdenEurostat · 2025
- 6.5%Moderate
- —
- Electricity PriceEurostat · 2025
- €0.256Moderate
- —
- Energy PovertyEurostat · 2025
- 6.6%Moderate
- —
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 3.3%Moderate
- 2.9%Moderate
- Pension Replacement aheadOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- 74.7%Very high
- 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
- 3%Moderate
- 3.5%Moderate
- Tax WedgeOECD Taxing Wages · 2025
- 35.9%
- 30%
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 49.5%
- 51.8%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 25.8%
- 21%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 21%
- —
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- 25.3%
- 10.8%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $1,333 bn
- $30,770 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- -1.4%
- 1.3%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 57Very high
- 61.7Very high
Work4
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 3.9%
- 4.2%
- Youth UnemploymentEurostat · 2025
- 8.8%Very low
- —
- Long Work Hours aheadOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 0.3%Very low
- 10.4%High
- Public Holidaysdate.nager.at · 2025
- 9
- 12
Equality7
- Income Inequality aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 25.7Very low
- 41.8Very high
- Income Share Bot. 20% aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 9.4Very high
- 5.1Very low
- Income Share Top 10% aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 21.4Very low
- 30.7High
- Poverty Rate aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 0.3%Very low
- 1.8%Low
- Poverty RiskEurostat · 2025
- 13.4%Low
- —
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.013Very low
- 0.169Low
- Inequality-Adj. HDI aheadUNDP HDR
- 0.892Very high
- 0.832Very high
Safety10
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 1.566Very high safety
- 2.535Low safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 74.5High
- 50.8Moderate
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- 0.7Very low
- 5.8High
- Crime PerceptionEurostat · 2023
- 16.7%Very high
- —
- Assault Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 25.3Moderate
- 277.9Very high
- Robbery Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2024
- 34.7High
- 63.2High
- Sexual Violence RateUNODC CTS · 2023
- 27.5Moderate
- —
- Kidnapping Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 2.5High
- 15.4Very high
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 3.4Very low
- 14.2Moderate
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 4Moderate
- 22.7Very high
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 82.0Very high
- 78.9High
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 3.4Very low
- 5.5Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 81.5Excellent
- 67Good
- UHC Service Coverage aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 85Very high
- 88Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 3.9Very high
- 3.7High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 2.4Moderate
- 2.7Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 11.8%Very low
- 10.9%Very low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- $6,845
- $13,473
- Clean WaterLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 100%Very high
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 9.0Low
- 9.8Low
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 10.6Very low
- 15.9Very low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 14.7%Low
- 41%Very high
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 19.7%Moderate
- 16.2%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 4.3%Very low
- 7.3%Low
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 11.5High
- 15.6Very high
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 8.6
- 9.6
Education and getting online9
- Tertiary EducationEurostat · 2025
- 46.1%High
- —
- PISA Math aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 493Very high
- 465Moderate
- PISA Reading aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 459Moderate
- 504Very high
- PISA Science aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 488High
- 499Very high
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 5.2%
- 5.4%
- English Proficiency aheadEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 624Very high
- 700Native
- Internet aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 97%Very high
- 94.7%Very high
- Fixed broadband aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 239 MbpsVery fast
- 308 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 177 MbpsVery high
- 212 MbpsVery high
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.67Very high
- 0.79High
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.87Very high
- 0.87Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.53High
- -0.30Low
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.74Very high
- 1.19Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.44Very high
- 1.01Very high
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 8.9Very high
- 7.7High
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 97Very high
- 81High
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 88.9Good
- 62.6Satisfactory
Quality of life10
- Human DevelopmentLevelUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.955Very high
- 0.938Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 7.22High
- 6.82Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 213.6Very high
- 186Very high
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 86.9Excellent
- 75.8Good
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.983
- 2
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.539
- 1.516
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.922
- 0.678
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1
- 0.776
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.175
- 0.155
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.349
- 0.155
People and planet23
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 18,087,633
- 341,784,857
- AreaWorld Bank
- 33,670 km²
- 9,147,420 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 42.3
- 40.5
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.52%
- 0.52%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 95.9%
- 80.2%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- 104,681
- 1,230,663
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 16.2%
- 15.2%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.43
- 1.63
- Avg Household SizeOECD Family Database · 2024
- 2
- 2.5
- Single-Person HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 38.5%
- 27.6%
- Lone-Parent HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 6.1%
- 6.8%
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 35.1%
- 64%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 5.5%
- 1.2%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 0.6%
- 0.9%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 0.3%
- 1.3%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0.2%
- 1.7%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 54.1%
- 29.7%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 4.2%
- 1.2%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 6.6Very high
- 13.6Very high
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 12.2%Low
- 10.9%Low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 11.1%
- 33.9%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.354Very low
- 0.312Very low
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.671Very high
- 0.647Very high
Other2
- Unmet Medical NeedEurostat · 2025
- 0.5%
- —
- Leisure TimeOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 15.5
- 14.6
Quick answers
Is Netherlands cheaper than United States?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts Netherlands at 73.4 and United States at 68.8. United States is about 6% cheaper overall.
Is Netherlands or United States safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), Netherlands scores 1.57 and United States scores 2.54. Netherlands ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, Netherlands or United States?
On the UN Human Development Index, Netherlands scores 0.955 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 Netherlands compared to United States?
GNI per capita runs $68,530 in Netherlands against $88,810 in United States; people live 82.0 years on average against 78.9; Numbeo users rate healthcare 82 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.