Economy The USA looks like a developing country in many ways. Here is why.

Maciamo

Veteran member
Admin
Messages
10,204
Reaction score
3,620
Points
113
Location
Lothier
Ethnic group
Italo-celto-germanic
I have been meaning to start a thread like this for many years. I thought it might be too provocative, but I see how many Americans themselves are dissatisfied with their own country and the situation seems to be getting constantly worse. To many outside observers it has been clear for quite some time that the US resembles a developing country with a substantial elite ruling class (about 5~10% of the population) that lives well in their own bubble (like a gated community but on a national scale), while the rest of the population suffers.

1) Economic inequality

The Gini coefficient is the most popular way to measure income and wealth inequality within a country. A high Gini coefficient means that most of the wealth in the country is held by a small percentage of the population. A low Gini means that the wealth is spread more equally. The Wikipedia page on countries by income equality shows that the USA have a Gini of 39%, similar to Iran or Congo, and in the range of most of Latin America. It's also well above all European countries, but also Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan or South Korea. From that viewpoint, the US failed to spread wealth well enough within its population and is in the same category as most developing countries, and indeed worse than places like Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia or Nigeria.

1280px-Map_of_countries_by_GINI_coefficient_%281990_to_2020%29.svg.png


The United States are well above other rich countries for both wealth inequalities and income inequalities. These are two very different things though. For example, the Netherlands is the second most unequal developed country after the USA when it comes to wealth distribution (probably because there are lots of old families with inherited fortunes), but the most equal when we look at the share of job earnings taken by the richest 1% (CEOs don't earn 272 times more than their workers like in the US). For more details about this aspect of US society, please check the dedicated thread: Wealth & income inequalities in the US - what do the 1% own?

2) Human Development Index

The Human Development Index is a composite index that includes factors such as life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators. While the US has one of the world's highest GDP per capita, it only ranks 21st worldwide for Human Development Index and 25th (between Cyprus and Poland) once inequality-adjusted. Poland is still a developing country according to Wikipedia. That places the US right at the limit between developed and developing countries when it comes to Human Development.

3) Workers' rights

The ITUC publishes every year a Global Workers Rights Index. Countries are scored from 1 (best) to 5 (worst). Only European countries obtained a score of 1. Most Western European countries as well as Japan and New Zealand have a score of 1 or 2. Canada, Australia, Belgium, Poland and Bulgaria scored 3. The UK scored 4+. The United States scored 4-, alongside Greece, Romania and Hungary. A score of 4 means 'systematic violations of human rights'. 4- is also the score of Venezuela, Angola, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Congo, Mali, Chad, or Saudi Arabia. The US is in good company.

3.-EN-GRI-Map-Twitter_2022-07-03-135648.png


4) Minimum annual leave

In almost all countries in the world, people are entitled to a number of paid vacations. In fact, apart from a few tiny Pacific islands nations, the United States is the only country in the world that has 0 paid vacation days per year (source). The average in developed countries is between 20 and 30 days per year + 10 to 15 days of paid public holidays. The US is also one of the few countries where employers do not have to pay their staff on public holidays.

1024px-Map_of_Vacation_Days_Around_the_World.png


5) Maternity Leaves


One of the most widespread social rights in the world is that of women to take a maternity leave after childbirth. This right is enshrined in the legislation of practically all countries worldwide, even the most backward and sexist countries like Afghanistan, Iran or Saudi Arabia. Only a few countries have no paid maternity leaves: Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and the United States of America!

iu



6) Homicide rates & gun laws

A picture says it all. The US is the only developed country with an intentional homicide rate above 4. It is actually 6.8 in the US. The worst in the EU is Lithuania at 3.7. Almost all Western European countries, as well as Canada, Australia, NZ and Japan are under 1.5. I want to say that the US murder rate is that of a poor country, but many poor countries have low murder rates. In Asia only Iraq does worse. Yes, even Afghanistan has a slightest lower murder rate than the US!

1280px-Map_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate_%282006_%E2%80%93_2018%29.svg.png


7) Age of criminal responsibility

Is a six year old child psychologically mature enough to understand the legal and moral consequences of his actions? Most people in developed countries would say no. In fact many people would consider it barbaric to send children to jail, whatever they have done. Yet most Americans disagree (except notably in California and Massachussetts). A majority of US states have no minimum age at all and would happily send a toddler to jail! In other states the minimum age ranges between 6 and 10 years old. The lowest age of criminal responsibility in the rest of the developed world is 10 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The average in Europe or Japan is 14 or 15.

USA-criminal_responsability.png


8) Corporal punishment

In virtually all developed countries corporal punishment in schools has been banned decades ago (usually in the 1960's or 70's). The US is the only developed country where it is still allowed in approximately half of the states (source).

Corporal_punishment_schools.png



9) Life Expectancy

According to the CIA World Factbook (2022), the USA ranked 72th worldwide for life expectancy, behind even many Central American countries. Americans live in average several years less than their counterparts in other rich countries. At 78.3 years, Americans live about as long as people in Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Slovakia, Poland, Lebanon, or Algeria, but less than in Cuba, Costa Rica, Albania or Kuwait. That's definitely in the (upper) range of a developing country.

life-expectancy-2021.png
 
Last edited:
I am happy to be a part of the top percentage, yet still I feel harassed by 3rd world conditions when I have the misfortune of being stuck in low-income areas. For example, once I was rear-ended in queens, and had to wait many hours before the police showed up in order to get a report for my insurance claim. The area was mostly African-American, there was garbage on the floor, people were walking around getting high and drinking. The cops, were clearly disinterested in helping me. But it was only after 7 calls to the dispatcher and flagging down someone a police tow-truck did I finally get someone out there to help me. The person that cause the accident fled the scene, but luckily took a picture of his plates on the cab of the tractor-trailer. There was another time we were visiting the botanical garden in the Bronx, and our baby was sick and started vomiting, so we went to the hospital in the area, because an ambulance was called and was taken there. It was disgusting, with many crackhead looking people bumbling about, again it was heavily Africans-American and other minorities. The doctor, who was an old white Jewish man asked what the hell we were even doing in that area. I find it extremely difficult to have sympathy for the situation, because I myself have to endure the misery of those conditions occasionally, and I do not believe it is related to "systemic racism". If anything the liberal policies that are aimed at "restorative justice" are creating a kind of dysgenics in minority communities, by allowing violent and crazy people to reproduce among them. How could systemic racism exist when brown-skinned minorities like Indians are the highest earning ethnic group in the United States? Moreover, why are the same inequalities relatively the same across the world? France for example scores much higher on all of the indexes, yet they were recently ravaged by race war.
 
None of these conditions happen in middle-income and high income areas. However, even if some people are poor, it doesn't mean they act like dirtbags and trash their communities. Rather, they still take pride in their communities, and become frugal, have a work-ethic, and strive to better themselves, just like the immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Poland, etc did in the last century. I have zero pity for the sob-stories.
 
I tried to focus only on the aspects of the US that have a 'developing country' feel about them. There are of course many other negative aspects about the US, which are more a matter of policy and system rather than being similar to developing countries. For example:

1) The US has the most expensive healthcare in the world (by far), but also the least efficient one considering the relatively low life expectancy.

800px-Life_expectancy_vs_healthcare_spending.jpg


1920px-OECD_health_expenditure_per_capita_by_country.svg.png


2) American colleges and universities are the most expensive in the world.
iu


iu


3) The US has a relatively low Social Mobility Index. Nowadays the US ranks 27th for social mobility, between Lithuania and Spain. The days of the American Dream are long over and it is now quite hard for most poorer people to improve their social class. That's in part because the education system and healthcare are so expensive, which I believe is done on purpose to limit social mobility.

4) Americans have one of the highest obesity rates in the world, now nearing 45% of the population! 2 out of 3 Americans are overweight.

iu



5) The US has some of th worst public transports in the developed world. Poor bus services. Bad metro/subway.

I have checked various websites ranking the best and worst metro systems in the world and US cities usually rank alongside the worst in developing countries. For instance, this site provides this ranking of the 10 worst public transit systems in the world according to their readers and six of them are in the US.

  1. Mumbai
  2. Manilla
  3. São Paulo
  4. Atlanta
  5. Toronto
  6. Boston
  7. Minneapolis
  8. New Orleans
  9. Detroit
  10. Los Angeles

In contrast, I have checked 5 websites ranking the best public transit systems in the world, and only New York or Chicago made the cut in the US.

[TABLE="class: grid, width: 800"]
[TR]
[TD]Top 10 by Farandwide[/TD]
[TD]Top 10 by WorldAtlas[/TD]
[TD]Top 10 by TheTravel[/TD]
[TD]Top 10 by Bloomberg[/TD]
[TD]Top 10 by Business Insider[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1) Singapore[/TD]
[TD]1) Berlin[/TD]
[TD]1) Singapore[/TD]
[TD]1) Hong Kong[/TD]
[TD]1) Tokyo[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2) London[/TD]
[TD]2) Shanghai[/TD]
[TD]2) Seoul[/TD]
[TD]2) Zurich[/TD]
[TD]2) Moscow[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3) Hong Kong[/TD]
[TD]3) London[/TD]
[TD]3) Paris[/TD]
[TD]3) Stockholm[/TD]
[TD]3) Taipei[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4) Paris[/TD]
[TD]4) Madrid[/TD]
[TD]4) London[/TD]
[TD]4) Singapore[/TD]
[TD]4) London[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5) Madrid[/TD]
[TD]5) Paris[/TD]
[TD]5) Dubai[/TD]
[TD]5) Helsinki[/TD]
[TD]5) Seoul[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6) Chicago[/TD]
[TD]6) Seoul[/TD]
[TD]6) New York[/TD]
[TD]6) Oslo[/TD]
[TD]6) Paris[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7) Tokyo[/TD]
[TD]7) New York[/TD]
[TD]7) Zurich[/TD]
[TD]7) Tokyo[/TD]
[TD]7) New York[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8) Dubai[/TD]
[TD]8) Singapore[/TD]
[TD]8) Vienna[/TD]
[TD]8) Paris[/TD]
[TD]8) Hong Kong[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9) Shanghai[/TD]
[TD]9) Tokyo[/TD]
[TD]9) Tokyo[/TD]
[TD]9) Berlin[/TD]
[TD]9) Berlin[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10) Zurich[/TD]
[TD]10) Hong Kong[/TD]
[TD]10) Hong Kong[/TD]
[TD]10) London[/TD]
[TD]10) Copenhagen[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


6) The U.S. have virtually no highspeed trains, while Europe, East Asia and now even India are connecting all their cities with state-of-the-art bullet trains.

u3zo93cp9xo51.jpg


iu


1280px-High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg.png



Look at the legend to compare the speed. The only trains in the US that reach reasonably high speed (160 mph / 257 kmh) are two short stretches between Boston and Providence and between New York and Philadelphia. The rest are regular trains.
 
Last edited:
Regarding Healthcare, my wife is Canadian, and I go there quite often. I mostly hear people lament of the extremely long wait times for even serious appointments. During the pandemic her family had to get the vaccine in the USA, because Canada completely mismanaged the rollout.

You are right about Canada. Its healthcare system is even worse than the US. Canada has apparently the longest healthcare waiting times in the world!

In the US, hospital waiting times vary a lot between states.

iu
 
You are right about Canada. Its healthcare system is even worse than the US. Canada has apparently the longest healthcare waiting times in the world!

In the US, hospital waiting times vary a lot between states.

It irks me endlessly that American progressives can't distinguish between Europe and Canada, let alone the individual EU member nations which do vary in policy. In terms of healthcare many Western European countries would be good models for the US to follow, and I don't see why we couldn't have a healthcare system like so aside from of course corporate greed and a dumbed-down obese population. Canada is nothing to emulate. We don't need people getting arrested for refusing to use neopronouns or "hate speech". I was unaware of their abysmal hospital waiting times but just another reason our northern neighbors aren't the promised land the American left and Canadian center-left makes them out to be. On the bright side they do have good intranational rail systems, proving the argument the US can't have good rail like Europe because we have larger sparsely populated areas, invalid (Canada has far more frontier land).
 
Student loans and student debts are a problem almost exclusive to English-speaking countries (USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ). It's virtually unheard of elsewhere because tertiary education is either free or very cheap. Or in the few countries where it isn't, poorer people just don't go to university.

The problem is that in the Anglosphere tertiary education is not seen as a fundamental right provided by the state, but as a way of extracting as much money from customers (sorry, students) as possible. There are pros and cons to both systems. At least (top) English-speaking universities are rich and can provide very high standards of education, notably by being able to afford the best professors and top-notch infrastructure. That's why the world's top universities are typically American or British. But they serve a small international elite who can afford them (let alone people who have connections to get in, as it's becoming more and more exclusive). So once again the US system favours the elite at the top. That's a two-system country : a great life for the 1% and something more closely like what you'd expect in a developing country for most of the population.

While it is unfortunate and even embarrassing for a developed country, I wouldn't say the general state of affairs for most of the middle of the population is like a developing country. People can still for the most part access human services, but the issue is that unless you're rich, you go into debt. It's largely everyone else's debt that keeps the American elites rich. There are however definitely parts of the US that I would compare to a developing country, namely the southeast.
 
On the bright side they do have good intranational rail systems, proving the argument the US can't have good rail like Europe because we have larger sparsely populated areas, invalid (Canada has far more frontier land).

The population density argument isn't a good one anyway for railways in the US. The fastest train lines in Europe are found in eastern France, southwestern France and central Spain, which are among the least densely populated regions in Europe. Same for Japan. The fastest shinkansen is the Tohoku shinkansen go through the sparsely populated Northeast. In fact all these lines are fast justly because they don't have to stop too often due to the lack of important cities in these areas!

And in terms of population density, the East Coast of the U.S. and California actually do have the perfect spacing between big cities for highspeed railways. The main reason for the lack of development is the average American citizen's excessive reliance on cars.
 
There are however definitely parts of the US that I would compare to a developing country, namely the southeast.

Yes, the Deep South or so-called "Bible Belt". It leaves no doubt in my mind that this region is very much in the category of 'developing country'. It's well illustrated in the maps of the USA I made on this site, be them about health, socio-economic factors, culture and religion, or crime, that region also sticks out like a sore thumb.
 
You are right about Canada. Its healthcare system is even worse than the US. Canada has apparently the longest healthcare waiting times in the world!

In the US, hospital waiting times vary a lot between states.

iu

As far as Canada is concerned you have to differentiate between provinces since each province has its own healthcare system. Also, are these wait times after you are driving to the hospital by ambulance? Walking ties to the emergency room?
Whatever people's complaints are about Canada's system is, they do have very cheap drugs.
 
Another reason why the USA looks like a developing country. It's the only rich country that is not in the dark green on the map of healthiest places to live below. It's basically as healthy a place to live as China, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Morocco, Zambia or most of South America (except Uruguay, which is healthier).

Flann8_XoAUU9Pa
 
One percent of Americans live in extreme poverty. That's about the same as in Syria (1.1%) and considerably more than in Mongolia (0.71%), Palestine (0.50%), Kosovo (0.44%), Turkey (0.36%), China (0.14%), Iraq (0.09%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (0.07%), Thailand (0.05%), Moldova (0.03%), or Russia (0.01%). In fact, extreme poverty is practically inexistent is most developed countries (>0.1%). This places the United States squarely in the developing country category, ranking 68th globally, hovering close to the limit of Third World country. A shame that a country where the richest 1% are all multi-millionaires (it takes a net worth of $10.8 million to crack the top 1% in the U.S.), the bottom 1% lives in extreme poverty with less than 2.15$ per day!

The following data is from Our World in Data for 2019 (or latest available year).

[TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 350"]
[TR]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Extreme poverty[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Albania[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Azerbaijan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belarus[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Czechia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Germany[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iceland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ireland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lebanon[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Maldives[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Poland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovenia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Taiwan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Arab Emirates[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Russia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.01%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]France[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.02%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kazakhstan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.02%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Malaysia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.02%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Moldova[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.03%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Switzerland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.03%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ukraine[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.03%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Finland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.04%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Jordan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.04%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Serbia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.05%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Thailand[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.05%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bosnia and Herzegovina[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.07%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belgium[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.08%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iraq[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.09%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Luxembourg[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Netherlands[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovakia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.12%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mauritius[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.13%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]China[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.14%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tunisia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.14%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cyprus[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.15%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Portugal[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.15%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Norway[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.16%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Uruguay[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.20%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]South Korea[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.23%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Latvia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.24%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Canada[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.25%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Denmark[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.25%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Croatia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.26%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hungary[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.30%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Malta[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.30%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Kingdom[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.31%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sweden[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.32%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Turkey[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.36%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Armenia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.39%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kosovo[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.44%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Algeria[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.46%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Australia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Israel[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Palestine[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Seychelles[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.51%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lithuania[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.55%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Estonia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.56%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Austria[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.64%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Greece[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.69%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mongolia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.71%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Japan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.73%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Chile[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.75%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Spain[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.79%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Paraguay[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.81%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Marshall Islands[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.85%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bulgaria[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.92%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bhutan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.95%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Panama[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United States[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iran[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.05%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dominican Republic[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.06%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Syria[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tonga[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Samoa[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.15%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Jamaica[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.18%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vietnam[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1.23%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
The United States also lags behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to the share of the population covered by health insurance (Source : Our World in Data). In fact, the United States are ranked 80th worldwide, well behind many developing countries. A smaller share of U.S. citizens are covered by health insurance (84%) than Algerians (85.2%), Russians (88%), Syrians (90%), Iranians (90%), Gambians (99.9%), South Africans (100%), Sri Lankans (100%), Uzbeks (100%), or Armenians (100%). If we only look at developed countries, the worst after the U.S. is Croatia with a cover of 97%. But then Croatia was only recognised as a developed country by the IMF in 2023!

[TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 400"]
[TR]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD]Share of the population covered by health insurance[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Armenia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Australia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bahamas[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bahrain[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Barbados[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belarus[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Brazil[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Brunei[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Canada[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Costa Rica[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cuba[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Czechia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Denmark[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Fiji[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Finland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Germany[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Greece[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hong Kong[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hungary[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iceland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ireland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Israel[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Italy[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Japan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kuwait[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Malaysia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Malta[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mauritius[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]New Zealand[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Norway[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Portugal[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Qatar[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Singapore[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovenia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]South Africa[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]South Korea[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sri Lanka[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sweden[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Switzerland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ukraine[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Arab Emirates[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Kingdom[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Uzbekistan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vanuatu[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Venezuela[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]France[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gambia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Taiwan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.60%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Austria[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.30%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Spain[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.20%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belgium[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Netherlands[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Thailand[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Luxembourg[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.60%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Poland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Uruguay[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.20%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Croatia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Oman[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]China[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Argentina[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lithuania[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Montenegro[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]North Macedonia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovakia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Romania[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.30%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Chile[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]93.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Estonia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Serbia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Rwanda[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]91.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bhutan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]90.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iran[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]90.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Syria[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]90.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Russia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]88.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Colombia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]87.70%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bulgaria[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]87.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Turkey[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]86.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mexico[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]85.60%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Algeria[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]85.20%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United States[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]84.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kyrgyzstan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]83.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Turkmenistan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]82.30%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Philippines[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]82.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mongolia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]81.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tunisia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]80.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


The same is true for social protection benefits. This isn't just the dole, but also maternity leave and pensions.

The following table shows the percentage of the population that either benefits from or contributes to at least one social protection scheme. This includes programs such as maternity benefits, unemployment benefits, and pensions. The USA rank 40th worldwide. (Source: Our World in Data)

[TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 400"]
[TR]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Percentage of population covered by at least one social protection benefit[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Australia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Austria[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belgium[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Canada[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Finland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]France[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Germany[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Guyana[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kazakhstan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lithuania[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Luxembourg[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mongolia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]New Zealand[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Singapore[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sweden[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Norway[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Netherlands[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.20%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Georgia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Switzerland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.60%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Latvia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovakia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Estonia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovenia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Uruguay[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]93.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Denmark[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]93.20%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Romania[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Portugal[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.60%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Japan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Kingdom[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Russia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]90.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hungary[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]90.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ireland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]89.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Greenland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]89.50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Poland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]88.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Czechia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]86.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Italy[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]85.70%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iceland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]85.30%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bulgaria[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]84.70%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United States[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]83.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]South Korea[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]82.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Spain[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]82.60%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Saudi Arabia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]77.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Turkey[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]77.40%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


In a modern developed country maternal mortality should be very low. Indeed in all developed countries it lies between 2 and 10 deaths per 100,000 live births - with of course one exception: the United States, where, with 19 deaths per 100,000 live births, it is nearly twice the worst ratio of other developed countries (Canada, at 10 deaths per 100,000 live births). The United States are ranked 57th worldwide, tied with Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, with the major difference that maternal mortality has been dropping fast in these three countries, while it is actually increasing in the USA! (It used to be at 12 deaths per 100,000 live births back in 2000).

Source : Our World in Data

[TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 400"]
[TR]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Maternal mortality ratio[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Italy[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Poland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belarus[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Norway[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Arab Emirates[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Israel[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Greece[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Finland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Czechia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Spain[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sweden[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Denmark[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iceland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ireland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belgium[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Netherlands[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Switzerland[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Japan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Austria[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovakia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Luxembourg[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Australia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cyprus[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Malta[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Montenegro[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Kingdom[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Germany[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]North Macedonia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Turkmenistan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovenia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]France[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Singapore[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Portugal[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lithuania[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Croatia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]New Zealand[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Estonia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Qatar[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bosnia and Herzegovina[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bulgaria[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Canada[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kazakhstan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]South Korea[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]11[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Serbia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]12[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hungary[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]12[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kuwait[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]12[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Chile[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]13[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bahrain[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]14[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Albania[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]15[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iran[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]16[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Russia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Uruguay[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Turkey[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tajikistan[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Saudi Arabia[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United States[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]19[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ukraine[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]19[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Romania[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]19[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
I have explained in a separate thread how Americans spend much more money on education than Europeans. University is of course the biggest education expense, but Americans already start paying from preschool (aka kindergarten), where it costs between $1,000 and $5,000 per year, but can rise to $34,000 for reputed private schools! In contrast, it is generally free or very cheap in Europe. This surely explains why the U.S. are ranked 74th globally, between Malaysia and Nepal, for preschool enrolment rate.

The table below shows the participation rate in organized learning one year before the official primary entry age. (Source : Our World in Data)

[TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 400"]
[TR]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD]Preschool enrolment[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Kingdom[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]100.00%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sweden[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.93%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]France[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.92%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vietnam[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.91%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ireland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.86%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Luxembourg[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.77%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Israel[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.76%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United Arab Emirates[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.74%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Thailand[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.72%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Peru[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.71%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Moldova[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.68%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Switzerland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.64%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Togo[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.43%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Brazil[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.41%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Colombia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.31%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Argentina[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.27%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mexico[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.05%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Saint Lucia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.05%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Poland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.85%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Finland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.84%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dominican Republic[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.58%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Austria[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.52%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Costa Rica[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cyprus[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.38%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Canada[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.25%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belarus[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.06%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vanuatu[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]98.03%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Latvia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.77%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Kiribati[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.67%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Netherlands[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.49%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Malta[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.48%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Jamaica[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.11%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Singapore[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.06%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hong Kong[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.04%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Germany[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]97.02%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Seychelles[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.96%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Greece[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.66%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Denmark[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.54%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Belgium[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.23%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dominica[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.19%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lithuania[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.18%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mongolia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]96.11%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Nauru[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.98%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Croatia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.91%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Indonesia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.80%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Norway[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.59%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Uruguay[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.56%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cuba[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.53%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Chile[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.27%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Guyana[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.15%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Iceland[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]95.01%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tuvalu[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.98%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Qatar[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.90%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Macao[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.89%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Spain[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.87%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tonga[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.59%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Brunei[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.33%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Pakistan[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]94.27%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ghana[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]93.26%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Maldives[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]93.22%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hungary[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]93.18%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Estonia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]93.17%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bolivia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]93.04%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Russia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.96%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Portugal[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.85%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Serbia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.70%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Czechia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.60%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Suriname[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]92.10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Slovenia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]91.58%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Italy[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]91.54%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]New Zealand[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]91.48%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mauritius[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]90.78%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Malaysia[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]90.32%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]United States[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]89.78%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Nepal[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]89.44%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]South Korea[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]89.34%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
The United States also ranks appallingly for teenage pregnancies. When countries are ranked from the lowest rate of teen pregnancies to the highest, the USA ranks 80th (tied with Indonesia), with a rate of 28 teenage pregnancies per 1,000 women. In other words 79 countries have lower teen pregnancy rates than America, including countries like India, Afghanistan and Rwanda. Among developed countries the next highest rate is in Portugal with 11 teen pregnancies per 1,000 women, nearly three times less than the USA.
 
Last edited:
Currently, the US economy is on the upswing again, this has to do in particular with the war in Ukraine, and the move of the manufacturing industry. In addition, there is also more and more talk of a ban on internal combustion cars in the EU, or rather their production, which is also having some effect at Auto Motive (Europe is slowing down here, just look at how terrified our brands are now that they are banning Chinese electric cars).
 
The problem with your thread is that you forgot to mention that most of it is due to the fact that 14% of the US population is black.
If the US was a fully white country all of those stats would be much different.
 
The United States also ranks appallingly for teenage pregnancies. When countries are ranked from the lowest rate of teen pregnancies to the highest, the USA ranks 80th (tied with Indonesia), with a rate of 28 teenage pregnancies per 1,000 women. In other words 79 countries have lower teen pregnancy rates than America, including countries like India, Afghanistan and Rwanda. Among developed countries the next highest rate is in Portugal with 11 teen pregnancies per 1,000 women, nearly three times less than the USA.
"In 2019, the birth rates for Hispanic teens (25.3) and non-Hispanic Black teens (25.8) were more than two times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic White teens (11.4). The birth rate of American Indian/Alaska Native teens (29.2) was highest among all race/ethnicities."
 
Back
Top