Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 0.9 years longer

In United States, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022. In Germany, that number is 82 years (79 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022.

be 38.4% less likely to be obese

In United States, 36.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Germany, that number is 22.3% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 16.0% less likely to be unemployed

In United States, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Germany, that number is 3.0% as of 2023.

make 15.9% less money

United States has a GDP per capita of $73,600 as of 2023, while in Germany, the GDP per capita is $61,900 as of 2023.

pay a 19.9% higher top tax rate

United States has a top tax rate of 39.6% as of 2016. In Germany, the top tax rate is 47.5% as of 2016.

Life

be 81.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In United States, approximately 21.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Germany, 4.0 women do as of 2020.

be 38.3% less likely to die during infancy

In United States, approximately 5.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Germany, on the other hand, 3.2 children do as of 2022.

have 27.0% fewer children

In United States, there are approximately 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Germany, there are 8.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 23.0% less on education

United States spends 6.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Germany spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 31.9% less on healthcare

United States spends 18.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Germany, that number is 12.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 88.0% less coastline

United States has a total of 19,924 km of coastline. In Germany, that number is 2,389 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), Internal Revenue Service.

Germany: At a glance

Germany is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 348,672 sq km. As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
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How big is Germany compared to United States? See an in-depth size comparison.

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