Population (2020): 329,480,000
Gross National Income, Atlas method (Current USD) (Billions) (2020): $21,266.81
GNI per capita, Atlas method (Current USD) (2020): $64,550
Income Share Held by Lowest 20% (2020): 5.2%
Gross Domestic Product (Current USD) (Billions) (2020): $20,893.75

Source: World Development Indicators database. Country: United States. World Bank. Last accessed Jan. 4, 2022.

Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (Current USD) (2010-2019): $65,298.0
Share of Household Income (2010-2019):
    Bottom 40%: 15.5%; Top 20%: 46.9%; Bottom 20%: 5.2%
Gini Coefficient (2010-2019): 41.5
Palma Index of Income Inequality (2010-2019): 2.0

Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, The State of the World’s Children 2021: On My Mind – Promoting, protecting and caring for children’s mental health, UNICEF, New York, October 2021.

“In 2017 the US had a GDP of over $19 trillion, 60% higher than China and more than four times that of every other country. Per capita GDP, at nearly $60 000, is among the highest in the world, although on most lists is still exceeded by several smaller countries, including, in Europe, Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland. The US economy is highly focused on the provision of services.

“In 2018, among private industry, 74% of value added to the GDP was from the service sector, followed by 13% from manufacturing,12% from other industry, with just 1% from agriculture. These figures are comparable to other wealthy high-income countries (Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, 2018).

“The unemployment rate, which exceeded 10% in 2010 in the wake of the global economic crisis, has decreased to just over 4% in 2017 and was only 3.7% in November 2018, one of the lowest levels on record (recent data not shown in table). Officially defined poverty rates, while varying year to year, have held fairly steady at around 12–14% although they rose to 15% during the Great Recession. The final line is the Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, where higher numbers indicate greater income inequality. Income inequality is considerably higher than in high-income European countries.

“Taxes as a percentage of GDP in the US are lower than in other high-income countries (Fig. 1.2). Over the past three decades tax rates have fallen. For example, the top federal marginal tax rate in 1980 was 70%, but dropped to 28% by 1988. Since that time rates have risen and in 2013 the top rate increased further from 35% to 39.6%. They have since fallen, however, to 37%.”

Source: Rice T, Rosenau P, Unruh LY, Barnes AJ, van Ginneken E. United States of America: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2020; 22(4): pp. i–441.

“Material wellbeing is high and Americans are doing well on average in comparison with residents of other OECD counties. The United States performs favourably in comparison to the rest of the OECD, particularly for measures of disposable income and household wealth, longterm unemployment and housing conditions. And the recovery from the crisis has led to marked gains in consumer confidence. On the other hand, gains in life expectancy since the 1960s have been moderate in comparison with other OECD countries and attaining a good work-life balance appears a particular issue for American workers.”

Source: Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (June 2018). OECD Economic Surveys: United States Overview.

“GDP per capita has exceeded the average of the upper half of OECD countries by 10% or more over the past few decades. Per capita output has begun to recover thanks to employment growth offsetting disappointing productivity growth.

“Income inequality remains higher than the OECD average, but has been declining recently. Greenhouse gas emissions remain among the highest compared to other OECD countries.

“Significant progress was made on reforming corporate income taxation in 2017. On other priorities progress has been more modest.

“Public infrastructure provision is insufficient and is contributing to congestion, urban sprawl, and environmental degradation, making actions to maintain existing and build new infrastructure desirable. Sizeable segments of the population lack opportunities to acquire and maintain skills valued by employers and find employment. These gaps could be bridged by measures to improve educational outcomes, facilitate retraining, and enhance employment flexibility for parents of young children. The US devotes more resources on healthcare than other OECD countries, with little apparent gain in health outcomes.”

Source: Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (2019). Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth. Country Note: United States.

“While well-being has benefited from job growth, the legacy of the great recession and past structural shocks – such as globalisation and automation – remains painfully visible across the country, notably in the industrial heartland. Joblessness, non-participation and poverty are concentrated in distressed cities, notwithstanding robust job growth in coastal areas and well-connected metropolitan areas (Weingarden, 2017[1]; Austin, Glaeser and Summers, 2018[2]). This has been exacerbated by fewer opportunities to thrive irrespective of one’s origin, which is central to the American social model. The dislocation of opportunities is also associated with the opioid epidemic, which tends to be most pronounced in areas suffering from employment loss. In addition, not all families have enjoyed the benefits of economic growth and workers are worried about the impact of automation on their lives (Smith and Anderson, 2017[3]).”

Source: Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (June 2018). OECD Economic Surveys: United States Overview.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated Sept. 13, 2022 by Doug McVay, Editor.