Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in United States instead of Norway, you would:

Health

live 2.0 years less

In Norway, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In United States, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

be 56.7% more likely to be obese

In Norway, 23.1% of adults are obese as of 2016. In United States, that number is 36.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 13.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Norway, 3.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In United States, that number is 3.6% as of 2022.

be 18.9% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Norway, 12.7% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In United States, however, that number is 15.1% as of 2010.

Life

have 17.3% more children

In Norway, there are approximately 10.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In United States, there are 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 10.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Norway, approximately 2.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In United States, 21.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Norway, approximately 2.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In United States, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 64.9% more on healthcare

Norway spends 11.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In United States, that number is 18.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 20.8% less coastline

Norway has a total of 25,148 km of coastline. In United States, that number is 19,924 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

United States: At a glance

United States (sometimes abbreviated US or USA) is a sovereign country in North America, with a total land area of approximately 9,147,593 sq km. Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
Read more

How big is United States compared to Norway? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about United States.or Norway It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.