Compare any two countries
Safety, money, health, work and every figure we hold, side by side.
vs
United States
United KingdomUnited States vs United Kingdom
United StatesNorth America
United KingdomNorthern Europe
The United Kingdom is more peaceful (Global Peace Index 1.730 vs 2.535) and has the longer life expectancy (81.4 vs 78.9 years).The United States has the higher income per person ($88,810 vs $54,550).About the same on living costs (the United States 68.8, the United Kingdom 67.8) and human development (0.938, 0.946).
Safety
The United Kingdom is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- United States2.535Low safety#133 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United Kingdom1.730High safety#39 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- United States5.8HighUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- United Kingdom1.1LowUNODC / World Bank · 2021
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- United States50.8ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- United Kingdom51.7ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- United StatesNo advice against travelFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-12
- United KingdomThe FCDO advises on travel from the UK, not within it
Money
Income per person is higher in the United States
- GNI per personnational income per person, US dollars
- United States$88,810Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- United Kingdom$54,550Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- Cost of living indexexcluding rent, New York = 100
- United States68.8ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
- United Kingdom67.8ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
Health
People live longer in the United Kingdom
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- United States78.9High#47 of 195World Bank · 2024
- United Kingdom81.4Very high#36 of 195World Bank · 2024
Work and internet
Broadband is faster in the United States
- Fixed broadbandmedian download speed
- United States308 MbpsVery fast#6 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- United Kingdom167 MbpsVery fast#40 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- Youth unemploymentshare of 15 to 24 year olds in the labour force
- United StatesNo figure from Eurostat
- United Kingdom14.9%ModerateONS · 2025
Practical facts
- Capital
- Washington, D.C.
- London
- Population
- 341.8M (2025)
- 69.5M (2025)
- Languages
- English
- English
- Currency
- United States dollar (USD)
- British pound (GBP)
- Area
- 9,147,420 km²
- 241,930 km²
- Plug type
- Type A/B
- Type G
- Drives on the
- right
- left
- Short visit
- Visa-free for UK and EU; visa needed for US
- Visa-free for EU and US; visa needed for UK
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
United States and United Kingdom, side by side
United States leads on 16 United Kingdom on 3910 level109 figures. 7 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 cost24
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $90,027High
- $64,606High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $90,027Very high
- $57,602Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $88,810Very high
- $54,550Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 146Very high
- 122.6Very high
- Cost of LivingLevelNumbeo · 2026
- 68.8Expensive
- 67.8Expensive
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 56.3Very high
- 51.9Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 40.7Very expensive
- 32.1Very expensive
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 74Very high
- 62.8Very high
- Restaurant prices indexLevelNumbeo · 2026
- 72.8Very high
- 72.9Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 3.5Very affordable
- 8.0Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 1.701Very high
- 1.571Very high
- Electricity PriceEurostat · 2024
- —
- $0.368Very expensive
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 2.9%Moderate
- 3.9%High
- Pension Replacement aheadOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- 39.7%Low
- 44.7%Moderate
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 97%Very high
- 99.3%Very high
- Send Remittance aheadWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 3.5%Moderate
- 3.6%Moderate
- Tax WedgeOECD Taxing Wages · 2025
- 30%
- 32.4%
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 51.8%
- 47%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 21%
- 25%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- —
- 20%
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- 10.8%
- 26.9%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $30,770 bn
- $4,003 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2025
- 1.3%
- 1.9%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 61.7Very high
- 59.1Very high
Work4
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 4.2%
- 4.7%
- Youth UnemploymentEurostat · 2025
- —
- 14.9%Moderate
- Long Work Hours aheadOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 10.4%High
- 10.8%High
- Public Holidaysdate.nager.at · 2025
- 12
- 8
Equality7
- Income Inequality aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 41.8Very high
- 32.4Low
- Income Share Bot. 20% aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 5.1Very low
- 7.6Moderate
- Income Share Top 10% aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 30.7High
- 25Low
- Poverty Rate aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 1.8%Low
- 0.9%Very low
- Poverty RiskEurostat · 2025
- —
- 16%Moderate
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.169Low
- 0.083Very low
- Inequality-Adj. HDI aheadUNDP HDR
- 0.832Very high
- 0.869Very high
Safety8
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 2.535Low safety
- 1.730High safety
- SafetyLevelNumbeo · 2026
- 50.8Moderate
- 51.7Moderate
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2021–2023
- 5.8High
- 1.1Low
- Assault RateUNODC CTS · 2022
- 277.9Very high
- —
- Robbery RateUNODC CTS · 2022
- 63.2High
- —
- Kidnapping RateUNODC CTS · 2022
- 15.4Very high
- —
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 14.2Moderate
- 2.4Very low
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 22.7Very high
- 5.8Moderate
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 78.9High
- 81.4Very high
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 5.5Low
- 4.1Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 67Good
- 72.7Good
- UHC Service CoverageLevelWHO GHO · 2023
- 88Very high
- 88Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2022–2023
- 3.7High
- 3.3High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2022
- 2.7Moderate
- 2.4Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 10.9%Very low
- 14.6%Low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- $13,473
- $5,860
- Clean WaterLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 100%Very high
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 9.8Low
- 7.9Very low
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 15.9Very low
- 12.1Very low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 41%Very high
- 27.4%High
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2022–2023
- 16.2%Low
- 13%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 7.3%Low
- 5.8%Very low
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 15.6Very high
- 9.5High
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 9.6
- 10.4
Education and getting online8
- PISA Math aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 465Moderate
- 489Very high
- PISA Reading aheadOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 504Very high
- 494Very high
- PISA ScienceLevelOECD PISA Results · 2022
- 499Very high
- 500Very high
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021
- 5.4%
- 5.9%
- English ProficiencyLevelEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 700Native
- 700Native
- InternetLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 94.7%Very high
- 95.5%Very high
- Fixed broadband aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 308 MbpsVery fast
- 167 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 212 MbpsVery high
- 74 MbpsModerate
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.79High
- 1.27Very high
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.87Very high
- 1.53Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.30Low
- 0.29Moderate
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.19Very high
- 1.23Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 1.01Very high
- 1.46Very high
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 7.7High
- 8.3Very high
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 81High
- 92Very high
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 62.6Satisfactory
- 79.5Good
Quality of life10
- Human DevelopmentLevelUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.938Very high
- 0.946Very high
- HappinessLevelWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 6.82Moderate
- 6.69Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 186Very high
- 175.9High
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 75.8Good
- 87.8Excellent
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 2
- 1.896
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.516
- 1.458
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.678
- 0.888
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.776
- 0.962
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.155
- 0.191
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.155
- 0.291
People and planet23
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 341,784,857
- 69,487,000
- AreaWorld Bank
- 9,147,420 km²
- 241,930 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 40.5
- 41.1
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.52%
- 0.30%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 80.2%
- 83.3%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- 1,230,663
- 389,911
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 15.2%
- 17.1%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.63
- 1.55
- Avg Household SizeOECD Family Database · 2024
- 2.5
- 2.3
- Single-Person HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 27.6%
- 30.8%
- Lone-Parent HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- 6.8%
- 7.5%
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 64%
- 49.4%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 1.2%
- 6.4%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 0.9%
- 1.7%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 1.3%
- 0.5%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 1.7%
- 0.4%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 29.7%
- 40.2%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 1.2%
- 1.4%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 13.6Very high
- 4.2High
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 10.9%Low
- 12.2%Low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 33.9%
- 13.3%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.312Very low
- 0.288Very low
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.647Very high
- 0.681Very high
Other1
- Leisure TimeOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- 14.6
- 14.9
Quick answers
Is United States cheaper than United Kingdom?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts United States at 68.8 and United Kingdom at 67.8. The two are effectively tied (under 2% apart).
Is United States or United Kingdom safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), United States scores 2.54 and United Kingdom scores 1.73. United Kingdom ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, United States or United Kingdom?
On the UN Human Development Index, United States scores 0.938 and United Kingdom scores 0.946. The two are effectively tied. Single indexes hide trade-offs; the full comparison above shows where each country wins.
What is life like in United States compared to United Kingdom?
GNI per capita runs $88,810 in United States against $54,550 in United Kingdom; people live 78.9 years on average against 81.4; Numbeo users rate healthcare 67 against 73. 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.