The United States ranks lowest or almost lowest in the indicators on this page.

HEALTH STATUS

COLOR CODING
GreenRanked first for statistic
RedRanked last for statistic
 Average Life Expectancy (Years)Infant MortalityMaternal MortalityLow Birth WeightAdult Obesity (%)Bloomberg Global Health Index
Australia83.33.33.56.229.089.75
Canada81.74.58.46.629.4
Denmark81.52.404.719.782.69
France82.43.77.67.321.686.94
Germany80.83.03.56.622.383.06
Italy82.72.32.76.819.991.59
Japan84.51.73.49.44.391.38
Netherlands81.43.32.85.620.485.86
Norway83.21.73.74.223.189.09
Sweden83.11.82.63.920.690.24
United Kingdom81.04.05.56.427.884.28
United States76.45.423.88.536.273.02

SOURCES

Columns 1 – 4: OECD (Health)

Average Life Expectancy: Health Status > Life Expectancy
All data from 2021 except for Canada, United Kingdom (2020).

Infant Mortality (Deaths per 1000 live births): Health Status > Maternal and Infant Mortality
All data from 2021 except for Canada, United States (2020).

Maternal Mortality (Deaths per 100,000 live births): Health Status > Maternal and Infant Mortality
All data from 2021 except for Canada, Italy, United States (2020), United Kingdom (2017), France (2015).

Low Birth Weight (% of total live births): Health Status > Infant Health

All data from 2021 except Germany (2013).

Adult Obesity (%): World Health Organization

Prevalence of obesity in adults, ages 18 and over, 2016.

Bloomberg Global Health Index 2019: World Population Review

Scores are out of 100. The health index takes into account life expectancy, environmental factors, causes of death, clean water availability and health risks factors among others.

Notes

“Federally-supported initiatives aim to reduce maternal mortality and shed light on the effects of therapeutics on pregnant and lactating women”

Lindsay Milliken, Michael A. Fisher and Federation of American Scientists
June 1, 2021.
FAS. The maternal mortality in the U.S. has been rising since 2000, the worst of all industrialized countries with about 700 deaths each year. NIH initiatives directed towards prescription drugs used by pregnant and lactating women has awarded over $7 million in grants to address disparities in maternal mortality.

“US to drop 21 places in global life expectancy ranking by 2040”

Kristin Hugo
October 19, 2018.
Life expectancy worldwide is expected to keep improving but the U.S. is not increasing as fast as other countries. It is estimated that the U.S. will drop from it’s 2016 rank of 21st to a rank of 43rd by 2040.

“Obesity Keeps Ballooning in U.S., With Rural Areas Seeing Biggest Spikes”

Lisa Esposito
July 11, 2018.
U.S. News. Obesity rates in children and adults keep climbing in the U.S. with the biggest spikes seen in rural areas. Youth obesity has increased from 15.4 percent (2005-2006) to 16.9 percent (2010) to 17 percent (2014) according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. While 5.1 percent of children in metropolitan areas are severely obese, 9.4 percent are considered severely obese in rural parts of the country.

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Page updated on 8/24/2023.