We’re #1!
Are we though?
Where Does America Actually Rank? The Complete Scoreboard

America is the greatest country in the world. We hear it constantly. Politicians say it. We chant it at sporting events. We believe it.

But what if we actually kept score? What if we ranked ourselves against other developed nations on the things that matter to everyday people—not military spending or GDP, but whether you can afford to see a doctor, whether your kid will outlive you, whether you can take time off when you have a baby?

Here are the rankings. Every OECD country. No cherry-picking. You might be surprised where the United States actually places.

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About These Rankings

What is the OECD?

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a group of 38 developed, democratic countries with similar economic systems. These are our true peer nations – wealthy democracies with market economies.

The 38 OECD Countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic (Czechia), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States

Important Data Notes:

• Data is from 2020-2023 depending on indicator (most recent available)
• Sources are cited for each metric
• All source links provided so you can verify yourself
• The point isn’t perfection in every decimal place – it’s the overall pattern

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LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH

How long can a newborn expect to live?

Rank	Country	Years
1	Japan	84.5
2	Switzerland	84.0
3	South Korea	83.6
4	Spain	83.3
5	Australia	83.3
6	Italy	83.1
7	Norway	83.0
8	Iceland	82.8
9	Israel	82.7
10	France	82.5
11	Sweden	82.4
12	Canada	82.2
13	Luxembourg	82.1
14	New Zealand	82.0
15	Netherlands	81.7
16	Austria	81.6
17	Ireland	81.6
18	Belgium	81.5
19	Finland	81.5
20	Greece	81.3
21	Portugal	81.2
22	United Kingdom	81.0
23	Denmark	80.9
24	Germany	80.8
25	Slovenia	80.7
26	Costa Rica	80.0
27	Chile	79.9
28	Czechia	79.0
29	Estonia	78.8
30	Poland	77.6
31	Türkiye	77.6
32	Slovak Republic	77.0
33	Hungary	76.9
34	Colombia	76.7
35	Lithuania	76.5
36	United States	76.4
37	Latvia	75.9
38	Mexico	72.2

The US ranks 36th out of 38 OECD countries. Only Latvia and Mexico are lower.

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INFANT MORTALITY RATE

Deaths per 1,000 live births (lower is better)

Rank	Country	Rate
1	Iceland	1.5
2	Japan	1.8
3	Finland	1.9
4	Norway	2.1
5	Estonia	2.1
6	Sweden	2.1
7	Slovenia	2.2
8	Czechia	2.4
9	South Korea	2.5
10	Denmark	2.5
11	Ireland	2.7
12	Spain	2.7
13	Luxembourg	2.8
14	Portugal	2.8
15	Israel	2.9
16	Belgium	3.0
17	Netherlands	3.1
18	Germany	3.1
19	Austria	3.2
20	France	3.3
21	Australia	3.3
22	Italy	3.4
23	Greece	3.5
24	Switzerland	3.5
25	United Kingdom	3.8
26	New Zealand	4.0
27	Hungary	4.3
28	Poland	4.4
29	Lithuania	4.5
30	Slovak Republic	4.9
31	Chile	5.5
32	United States	5.6
33	Latvia	5.6
34	Costa Rica	7.2
35	Türkiye	7.4
36	Colombia	11.8
37	Mexico	12.6

The US ranks 32nd out of 38 OECD countries. Only six countries are worse.

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MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE

Deaths per 100,000 live births (WHO data, developed nations)

Rank	Country	Rate
1	Norway	2
2	Denmark	3
3	Sweden	4
4	Netherlands	4
5	Switzerland	4
6	Poland	4
7	Israel	5
8	Japan	5
9	Australia	5
10	Spain	6
11	Italy	6
12	Germany	7
13	France	7
14	United Kingdom	7
15	Finland	8
16	Austria	8
17	Ireland	8
18	Belgium	9
19	Canada	11
20	New Zealand	13
…	Most EU nations	2-15
—	Serbia	12
—	Bosnia	13
—	Romania	15
—	Uruguay	17
—	United States	22.3
—	Iran	22
—	Argentina	20

Among developed nations, the US is an extreme outlier – roughly 3-10x worse than peer nations. Our maternal mortality rate is similar to Iran and Argentina, worse than Serbia, Bosnia, and Romania.

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CHILD POVERTY RATE

Percentage of children living in poverty (relative measure)

Rank	Country	Rate
1	Denmark	2.9%
2	Finland	3.6%
3	Iceland	4.7%
4	Slovenia	5.6%
5	Norway	7.1%
6	Czechia	7.8%
7	Ireland	8.1%
8	Germany	8.6%
9	South Korea	8.8%
10	Austria	9.6%
11	Sweden	9.6%
12	Poland	9.8%
13	Switzerland	9.9%
14	Netherlands	10.3%
15	France	11.3%
16	Belgium	11.7%
17	Hungary	11.9%
18	Portugal	12.2%
19	Slovak Republic	12.6%
20	Estonia	12.7%
21	Latvia	12.9%
22	United Kingdom	13.8%
23	Australia	13.9%
24	Luxembourg	14.5%
25	New Zealand	14.8%
26	Japan	15.2%
27	Lithuania	15.7%
28	Italy	16.8%
29	Greece	17.0%
30	Canada	17.2%
31	Spain	17.7%
32	Chile	18.1%
33	United States	20.9%
34	Türkiye	24.0%
35	Mexico	25.0%
36	Costa Rica	26.2%
37	Colombia	28.7%

The US ranks 33rd out of 38 OECD countries. One in five American children lives in poverty.

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INCOME INEQUALITY

GINI Coefficient (lower number = more equal)

Rank	Country	GINI
1	Slovenia	23.3
2	Slovak Republic	23.7
3	Czech Republic	24.4
4	Belgium	25.1
5	Finland	26.3
6	Norway	26.7
7	Denmark	27.0
8	Netherlands	27.8
9	Austria	27.8
10	Sweden	28.1
11	Poland	28.3
12	Hungary	28.6
13	Iceland	28.7
14	France	29.2
15	Germany	29.7
16	Luxembourg	30.8
17	Ireland	30.8
18	Switzerland	31.1
19	Estonia	31.2
20	South Korea	31.4
21	Italy	31.7
22	Australia	32.3
23	Canada	32.7
24	Japan	33.4
25	Greece	33.5
26	Spain	33.6
27	Latvia	34.1
28	United Kingdom	35.3
29	Lithuania	35.5
30	Portugal	35.6
31	Israel	37.0
32	United States	39.8
33	Türkiye	41.9
34	Chile	44.9
35	Mexico	45.9
36	Costa Rica	46.4
37	Colombia	54.8

The US ranks 32nd out of 38 OECD countries. We have higher inequality than every developed European nation, Canada, Australia, and Japan.

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SOCIAL MOBILITY

Can your children do better than you did?

World Economic Forum Social Mobility Index – All OECD Countries

Rank	Country	Score
1	Denmark	85.2
2	Norway	83.6
3	Finland	83.6
4	Sweden	83.5
5	Iceland	82.7
6	Netherlands	82.4
7	Switzerland	82.1
8	Austria	80.1
9	Belgium	80.0
10	Luxembourg	79.8
11	Germany	78.8
12	France	76.7
13	Slovenia	76.4
14	Canada	76.1
15	Japan	76.1
16	Australia	75.1
17	Ireland	75.0
18	United Kingdom	74.4
19	South Korea	74.4
20	New Zealand	74.3
22	Czech Republic	74.0
24	Estonia	73.4
25	Israel	71.7
26	Spain	71.4
27	United States	70.4
28	Italy	70.4
29	Greece	69.4
30	Portugal	69.2
31	Latvia	69.0
32	Poland	68.7
33	Lithuania	68.6
34	Slovak Republic	68.3
35	Hungary	66.5
40	Chile	64.4
46	Türkiye	62.2
58	Mexico	56.8
74	Colombia	50.3

Among OECD nations, the US ranks 27th out of 34 ranked countries. The “American Dream” is more achievable in 26 other OECD nations.

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EDUCATION – PISA MATH SCORES

How well do 15-year-olds perform in mathematics?

Rank	Country	Score
1	Japan	536
2	South Korea	527
3	Estonia	510
4	Switzerland	508
5	Canada	497
6	Netherlands	493
7	Ireland	492
8	Belgium	489
9	Denmark	489
10	United Kingdom	489
11	Poland	489
12	Austria	487
13	Australia	487
14	Czech Republic	487
15	Slovenia	485
16	Finland	484
17	Latvia	483
18	New Zealand	479
19	Germany	475
20	Lithuania	475
21	France	474
22	Spain	473
23	Hungary	473
24	Portugal	472
25	Italy	471
26	United States	465
27	Luxembourg	465
28	Slovak Republic	464
29	Iceland	459
30	Israel	458
31	Türkiye	453
32	Greece	430
33	Chile	412
34	Mexico	395
35	Colombia	383
36	Costa Rica	385

The US ranks 26th out of 36 OECD countries that participated.

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WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Hours worked per year (lower = better work-life balance)

Rank	Country	Hours/Year
1	Germany	1,349
2	Netherlands	1,427
3	Norway	1,427
4	Denmark	1,457
5	Austria	1,511
6	France	1,511
7	United Kingdom	1,532
8	Belgium	1,571
9	Luxembourg	1,574
10	Japan	1,607
11	Sweden	1,609
12	Switzerland	1,615
13	Spain	1,641
14	Finland	1,653
15	Canada	1,685
16	Australia	1,694
17	Italy	1,694
18	Ireland	1,695
19	Slovenia	1,706
20	Iceland	1,716
21	New Zealand	1,730
22	Estonia	1,745
23	Portugal	1,757
24	Czech Republic	1,758
25	Hungary	1,763
26	Slovak Republic	1,779
27	Israel	1,786
28	Latvia	1,803
29	Lithuania	1,809
30	United States	1,811
31	Poland	1,830
32	Chile	1,855
33	Türkiye	1,867
34	Greece	1,886
35	South Korea	1,901
36	Costa Rica	2,149
37	Mexico	2,226
38	Colombia	2,405

The US ranks 30th out of 38 OECD countries. Americans work 462 more hours per year than Germans – that’s nearly 12 extra weeks of work.

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HOMICIDE RATE

Intentional homicides per 100,000 people

Rank	Country	Rate
1	Japan	0.2
2	Luxembourg	0.3
3	Norway	0.5
4	Switzerland	0.5
5	Denmark	0.5
6	Slovenia	0.6
7	Austria	0.7
8	Iceland	0.8
9	Netherlands	0.8
10	Germany	0.8
11	Italy	0.9
12	Spain	0.9
13	Australia	0.9
14	Ireland	0.9
15	Sweden	1.1
16	United Kingdom	1.1
17	Belgium	1.3
18	Finland	1.3
19	France	1.4
20	Portugal	1.4
21	Greece	1.4
22	Poland	1.5
23	New Zealand	1.5
24	Canada	2.0
25	Israel	2.0
26	Czech Republic	2.1
27	South Korea	2.3
28	Estonia	2.4
29	Hungary	2.6
30	Lithuania	3.5
31	Latvia	3.8
32	Chile	4.3
33	United States	6.4
34	Türkiye	2.6
35	Costa Rica	11.3
36	Colombia	26.8
37	Mexico	28.4

The US ranks 33rd out of 38 OECD countries. Our homicide rate is 32x higher than Japan’s, 7x higher than Canada’s, 6x higher than Australia’s.

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NOW FOR WHERE WE RANK #1

Here’s the twist: We do rank first in some things. But look at what they are.

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HEALTHCARE SPENDING PER CAPITA

Annual spending per person (2022)

Rank	Country	Spending
1	United States	$12,555
2	Switzerland	$8,049
3	Germany	$7,383
4	Norway	$7,065
5	Netherlands	$6,753
6	Austria	$6,693
7	Sweden	$6,262
8	Denmark	$6,192
9	Belgium	$6,047
10	Luxembourg	$5,891
11	Canada	$5,738
12	France	$5,700
13	Australia	$5,627
14	United Kingdom	$5,387
15	Japan	$5,086
16	Iceland	$5,055
17	Ireland	$4,915
18	New Zealand	$4,903
19	Finland	$4,876
20	Italy	$4,038
…	OECD Average	$4,715

We spend nearly 3x the OECD average and rank 36th in life expectancy, 32nd in infant mortality, and worst in maternal mortality.

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INCARCERATION RATE

Prisoners per 100,000 population

Rank	Country	Rate
1	United States	531
2	Türkiye	357
3	Costa Rica	374
4	Israel	234
5	Chile	229
6	Colombia	234
7	Poland	196
8	New Zealand	192
9	Czech Republic	187
10	Luxembourg	174
11	Mexico	169
12	Australia	160
13	United Kingdom	130
14	Portugal	127
15	Spain	124
16	South Korea	105
17	Canada	104
18	France	103
19	Greece	103
20	Belgium	93
21	Austria	91
22	Italy	89
23	Ireland	79
24	Switzerland	76
25	Netherlands	63
26	Denmark	63
27	Germany	69
28	Sweden	59
29	Finland	50
30	Norway	49
31	Japan	37
32	Iceland	36

The US has 4% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s prisoners. We incarcerate at 5-15x the rate of other developed democracies.

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OTHER #1 RANKINGS (No OECD Comparison Data)

Things only the United States does among developed nations:

Student loan debt – $1.77 trillionOTHER #1 RANKINGS (No OECD Comparison Data)

Zero mandatory paid parental leave – We’re the only developed nation with ZERO

Zero mandatory paid vacation days – We’re the only developed nation with ZERO

Medical bankruptcies – We’re the only developed nation where this is common

Gun ownership – 120 guns per 100 people (highest in world)

Military spending – $877 billion (more than the next 10 countries combined)

Number of billionaires – 813

Things only the United States does among developed nations:

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OTHER #1 RANKINGS

Here’s the twist: We do rank first in some other things. But look at what they are – and look at the gap between us and everyone else.

GUN OWNERSHIP

Civilian-owned firearms per 100 people (2017)

Rank	Country	Guns per 100 People
1	United States	120.5
2	Yemen	52.8
3	New Caledonia	42.5
4	Serbia	39.1
4	Montenegro	39.1
6	Canada	34.7
6	Uruguay	34.7
8	Cyprus	34.0
9	Finland	32.4
10	Lebanon	31.9

The US has nearly double the guns per capita of the #2 country (Yemen, a nation in the midst of a seven-year conflict). We have 120.5 guns per 100 people – meaning more guns than people. Canada, our neighbor, has 34.7 guns per 100 people – less than one-third of our rate.

Context: With less than 5% of the world’s population, Americans own 46% of the world’s civilian-owned guns – 393 million out of 857 million globally.

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MILITARY SPENDING

Annual defense spending (2024, in billions USD)

Rank	Country	Spending (Billions)
1	United States	$968.4
2	China	$317.6
3	Russia	$150.5
4	India	$86.3
5	United Kingdom	$83.6
6	Saudi Arabia	$75.8
7	Germany	$66.8
8	France	$61.3
9	Ukraine	$60.0
10	South Korea	$47.6
11	Japan	$46.0
12	Italy	$35.5

The US spends more than the next 10 countries combined. We spend $968.4 billion annually – over 3x more than China (#2) and nearly 6.5x more than Russia (#3).

Context: US military spending accounts for 37% of total global military expenditure. We spend more on defense than China, Russia, India, UK, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Ukraine, South Korea, and Japan combined.

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BILLIONAIRES

Total number of billionaires by country (2024)

Rank	Country	Number of Billionaires
1	United States	813
2	China	406
3	India	200
4	Germany	132
5	Russia	120
6	United Kingdom	84
7	Italy	73
8	Hong Kong	67
9	France	51
10	Canada	50

The US has exactly twice as many billionaires as China, which has 4x our population. With 813 billionaires, we have more than China (406), India (200), Germany (132), and Russia (120) combined.

Context: The US and China together account for nearly half (49%) of the world’s 2,781 billionaires.

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STUDENT LOAN DEBT

Average student debt at graduation & total national debt

Rank	Country	Avg. Debt at Graduation	Total National Debt
1	United States	$37,000-38,000	$1.77 trillion
2	United Kingdom	$54,000*	~£205 billion ($236 billion)
3	Sweden	~$19,000	Data limited
4	Germany	~$2,400	Minimal
5+	Finland, Denmark, Norway	Minimal-None**	Minimal

*England specifically; other UK regions lower **Free tuition but living expense loans

While the UK has higher average individual debt, the US has by far the largest total student debt burden in the world – $1.77 trillion compared to the UK’s £205 billion ($236 billion).

Context: The US is one of only two developed nations where student loan debt is a major crisis. In most European countries, either tuition is free (Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway) or heavily subsidized with income-contingent repayment that doesn’t begin until graduates earn sufficient income.

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MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES

Share of bankruptcies caused by medical expenses

Country	% of Bankruptcies Due to Medical Reasons
United States	66.5%
Canada	~15% (seniors only)
Australia	~7.25%
United Kingdom	Extremely rare (<1%)
France	0%
Germany	Effectively 0%
Netherlands	Effectively 0%
All other OECD nations	Effectively 0%

Medical bankruptcy is virtually unique to the United States. About 530,000 Americans file for medical bankruptcy annually – two-thirds of all US bankruptcies. In France, there were zero medical bankruptcies in 2008. In the UK, Germany, Netherlands, and most developed nations, medical bankruptcy is essentially unheard of.

Context: As one researcher noted: “The main difference between these European countries and the United States is the absence of healthcare costs as a significant cause of financial difficulty.” Other developed nations use single-payer or tightly-regulated insurance systems where medical costs don’t lead to bankruptcy.

Even in countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK – where medical bankruptcies do occasionally occur – they result primarily from lost income during illness (while on waiting lists), not from the direct cost of medical care itself.

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THE COMPLETE PATTERN

Look at what we just documented:

Where we spend the MOST, we get the WORST results:

• #1 in healthcare spending ($12,555 per person) → 36th in life expectancy (76.4 years)
• #1 in incarceration (531 per 100k) → 33rd in homicide rate (6.4 per 100k – it’s not working)

Where we have the MOST, regular people suffer the MOST:

• #1 in guns (120.5 per 100 people – double anyone else) → 33rd in homicide rate
• #1 in billionaires (813 – twice China’s number) → 32nd in income equality, 33rd in child poverty
• #1 in military spending ($968B – more than next 10 combined) → while ranking 30th in work-life balance, 33rd in child poverty

Where we’re the ONLY developed nation doing something, it’s always harmful:

• Only developed nation with zero paid parental leave → Worst maternal mortality (22.3 per 100k)
• Only developed nation with zero paid vacation → 30th in work hours (we work more)
• Only developed nation with common medical bankruptcies → 66.5% of bankruptcies are medical

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THE QUESTION

These aren’t opinions. These are measurements.

When you’re told America is the greatest country on Earth, ask: By what measurement?

We rank #1 in spending money and #1 in things that hurt regular people. We rank near the bottom in things that help them.

So the questions are:

1. Why are we losing?
2. What’s stopping us from learning from what works?
3. Who benefits from us staying this way?

That’s what we’ll explore next.

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Sources

• Life Expectancy: OECD Health Statistics 2023
• Infant/Maternal Mortality: WHO, CDC, OECD Health Data
• Child Poverty: OECD Social Policy Division
• Income Inequality: OECD Income Distribution Database
• Social Mobility: World Economic Forum Social Mobility Index 2020
• PISA Scores: OECD PISA 2022 Results
• Work Hours: OECD Employment Database 2023
• Homicide: UNODC Global Study on Homicide
• Healthcare Spending: OECD Health Statistics 2023
• Incarceration: World Prison Brief, Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research

Note: Minor discrepancies may exist between sources depending on year and methodology. Rankings and overall patterns remain consistent.

SO WHAT’S THE ANSWER?

We’ve seen the numbers. We’ve seen where we rank. We’ve seen what we spend.

44th in life expectancy.
Worse infant mortality than Slovenia.
$12,555 per person on healthcare—double what other countries spend.
Worse outcomes across the board.

Now here’s the question that matters:

WHY?

Why does the richest country in human history rank 44th in life expectancy?

Why do we spend twice as much on healthcare and get worse results than countries that spend half as much?

Why can’t people afford housing even though we have more empty homes than homeless people?

Why is college a debt trap when other countries offer it for free?

Why does the American Dream—work hard, get ahead, give your kids a better life—feel dead for most people?

The answer isn’t what you’ve been told.

It’s not because government is inefficient.
It’s not because Americans are lazy or entitled.
It’s not because we can’t afford better systems.
It’s not because “socialism doesn’t work.”

Other countries prove all of that wrong. Germany, Japan, Denmark, Canada, the UK—they all have:

• Universal healthcare that costs less and works better
• Affordable housing
• Free or cheap university education
• Strong worker protections
• Fair tax systems
• Public services that actually work

They’re not richer than us. They’re not smarter than us. They just have governments that serve citizens instead of corporations.

So why don’t we have what they have?

Here’s the real answer:

BROKEN BY DESIGN

America ranks 44th not by accident, but BY DESIGN.

Our healthcare system is designed to extract maximum profit, not provide maximum health.
Our housing system is designed to treat homes as investment assets, not shelter.
Our education system is designed to trap students in debt, not educate them.
Our political system is designed to serve corporate donors, not voters.
Our media is designed to keep us divided and distracted, not informed.
Our public services are designed to fail so they can be privatized.

Every broken system you see—healthcare, housing, education, jobs, taxes, services—is broken ON PURPOSE.

Not because the people running these systems are incompetent.

Because the people profiting from these systems designed them to extract wealth from the bottom 90% and concentrate it at the top.

This isn’t a conspiracy theory. This is documented, public record. The companies are named. The politicians who take their money are named. The coordination between industries, think tanks, lobbyists, and media is visible.

Over the next 24 parts, I’m going to show you exactly how this works:

• Who profits from each broken system
• How much they extract
• Which politicians enable it (both parties)
• How media hides it
• Why you’ve been told “there’s no alternative”
• And most importantly: How we fix it

By the end of this series, you’ll understand why America ranks 44th.

You’ll see the extraction mechanisms.
You’ll recognize the propaganda.
You’ll know who’s profiting from your suffering.

And you’ll know what to do about it.

Because here’s the thing about systems that are broken by design:

They can be FIXED by better design.

Other countries prove it’s possible. The bottom 90% outnumber the extractors 9 to 1. We have the numbers. We have the power. We just need to organize and use it.

This series will show you how.

Let’s begin with the biggest, most expensive broken system of all:

Healthcare.

[END OF PART 1 – TRANSITION TO PART 2]