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Austria vs Czechia
France vs United States
Side-by-side comparison of France and United States from official statistics: size, economy, people, trade, natural resources, health, infrastructure and military, with world ranks, years and sources.
France
Europe & Central Asia · nation age 1,183 years
United States
North America · nation age 250 years
In short
France scores 74.8 in the NationsTree Index (21st in the world) and United States scores 72.3 (30th), a gap of 2.5 points. Their trees are 44 m and 115 m tall; tree height grows with real GDP and is adjusted by the index.
United States has 5.0 times the population of France. United States is 16 times larger than France by land area. United States has an economy 7.0 times the size of France (GDP at purchasing power parity). Population: France 68.7 million and United States 341.8 million (2025).
GDP per person at purchasing power parity is $90,027 in United States and $63,975 in France (2025, international dollars). People in France live on average 4.1 years longer (83.0 vs 78.9 years).
Of 37 indicators reported by both countries, France ranks higher in the world on 20 and United States on 17. France is clearly stronger in trade, society & health and institutions & safety. United States is clearly stronger in natural resources and military.
As a nation, France is the older of the two (statehood since 843, 1,183 years), compared with United States (since 1776). Over the last five years France improved faster (direction score 33 vs 24 out of 100).
Where they differ most
The indicators with the biggest gap in world position between France and United States.
Francebetter
31.8
34th of 108
United States
41.8
91st of 108
Extreme povertySociety & health
Francebetter
0.1%
10th of 108
United States
1.1%
52nd of 108
UnemploymentEconomy
France
7.5%
131st of 187
United Statesbetter
4.2%
70th of 187
Homicide rateInstitutions & safety
Francebetter
1.3
54th of 145
United States
5.8
100th of 145
InflationEconomy
Francebetter
0.9%
34th of 180
United States
2.9%
87th of 180
Over time
How the two countries moved against each other, from the yearly data.
France overtook United States in the NationsTree Index in 2020 and has stayed ahead since.
United States has been ahead of France in GDP per person (PPP), GDP (PPP) and population in every year since 1990.
France has been ahead of United States in life expectancy in every year since 1990.
Strength by category
Average world percentile of the indicators in each category (0–100, direction taken into account). i
FranceUnited States All indicators
Latest available value for each country with its year and world rank. Green: the better world position of the two, red: the weaker one.
| Indicator | France | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Land & people | ||
| Surface area km² | 606,41045th/216 · 2024 | 9,831,5103rd/216 · 2024 |
| Land area km² | 538,95048th/216 · 2024 | 9,147,4203rd/216 · 2024 |
| Population people | 68.7 m23rd/217 · 2025 | 341.8 m3rd/217 · 2025 |
| Population growth % | 0.25%158th/217 · 2025 | 0.52%134th/217 · 2025 |
| Population density people/km² | 127.288th/216 · 2024 | 37.2166th/216 · 2024 |
| Urban population % | 78.8%65th/217 · 2025 | 80.2%57th/217 · 2025 |
| Population aged 0–14 % | 16.2%162nd/217 · 2025 | 17.1%152nd/217 · 2025 |
| Population aged 65+ % | 22.5%17th/217 · 2025 | 18.4%45th/217 · 2025 |
| Economy | ||
| GDP USD | $3.37 trn7th/210 · 2025 | $30.77 trn1st/210 · 2025 |
| GDP (PPP) intl. USD | $4.40 trn10th/199 · 2025 | $30.77 trn2nd/199 · 2025 |
| Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) intl. USD 2021 | $3.79 trn9th/199 · 2025 | $26.29 trn2nd/199 · 2025 |
| GDP per person USD | $48,98634th/210 · 2025 | $90,02711th/210 · 2025 |
| GDP per person (PPP) intl. USD | $63,97534th/199 · 2025 | $90,02712th/199 · 2025 |
| GNI per person (Atlas) USD | $48,63029th/201 · 2025 | $88,8106th/201 · 2025 |
| GDP growth % | 0.8%179th/210 · 2025 | 2.2%139th/210 · 2025 |
| Inflation % | 0.9%34th/180 · 2025 | 2.9%87th/180 · 2024 |
| Unemployment % | 7.5%131st/187 · 2025 | 4.2%70th/187 · 2025 |
| Central government debt % of GDP | — | 115.8%53rd/55 · 2024 |
| General government gross debt % of GDP | 115.5%178th/189 · 2025 | 124.4%179th/189 · 2025 |
| Government budget balance % of GDP | -5.1%150th/192 · 2025 | -7.1%173rd/192 · 2025 |
| Main industries | ||
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing % of GDP | 1.4%161st/197 · 2025 | 0.9%172nd/197 · 2021 |
| Industry incl. construction % of GDP | 16.8%150th/200 · 2025 | 17.6%145th/200 · 2021 |
| Manufacturing % of GDP | 9.5%104th/192 · 2025 | 10.5%93rd/192 · 2021 |
| Services % of GDP | 70.9%32nd/200 · 2025 | 76.3%16th/200 · 2021 |
| Trade | ||
| Exports of goods & services USD | $1.12 trn5th/182 · 2025 | $3.22 trn2nd/182 · 2024 |
| Imports of goods & services USD | $1.14 trn5th/182 · 2025 | $4.11 trn1st/182 · 2024 |
| Exports % of GDP | 33.4%99th/183 · 2025 | 11.0%173rd/183 · 2024 |
| Imports % of GDP | 33.8%117th/183 · 2025 | 14.0%179th/183 · 2024 |
| Trade openness % of GDP | 67.2%116th/183 · 2025 | 25.0%180th/183 · 2024 |
| Fuel exports % of merchandise exports | 3.8%80th/170 · 2025 | 17.3%38th/170 · 2025 |
| Manufactures exports % of merchandise exports | 78.5%23rd/171 · 2025 | 54.9%63rd/171 · 2025 |
| Food exports % of merchandise exports | 13.4%97th/171 · 2025 | 9.0%118th/171 · 2025 |
| Ores & metals exports % of merchandise exports | 2.3%101st/171 · 2025 | 3.0%87th/171 · 2025 |
| High-tech exports % of manufactured exports | 23.1%26th/168 · 2024 | 24.3%23rd/168 · 2024 |
| Current account balance % of GDP | -0.4%79th/191 · 2025 | -3.8%127th/191 · 2025 |
| Foreign direct investment, inflows % of GDP | 1.8%111th/196 · 2025 | 1.0%145th/196 · 2025 |
| Natural resources | ||
| Natural resource rents % of GDP | 0.0%168th/209 · 2021 | 1.3%110th/209 · 2021 |
| Oil rents % of GDP | 0.01%109th/197 · 2021 | 0.61%53rd/197 · 2021 |
| Natural gas rents % of GDP | 0.00%96th/197 · 2021 | 0.36%43rd/197 · 2021 |
| Coal rents % of GDP | 0.00%68th/195 · 2021 | 0.17%25th/195 · 2021 |
| Mineral rents % of GDP | 0.00%91st/209 · 2021 | 0.10%70th/209 · 2021 |
| Forest rents % of GDP | 0.03%139th/209 · 2021 | 0.04%133rd/209 · 2021 |
| Arable land % of land area | 31.3%26th/206 · 2024 | 16.6%65th/206 · 2024 |
| Renewable freshwater per person m³ | 2,93386th/183 · 2022 | 8,43754th/183 · 2022 |
| Tourism | ||
| International tourist arrivals arrivals | 117.1 m1st/194 · 2020 | 45.0 m4th/194 · 2020 |
| Tourism receipts USD | $35.96 bn3rd/175 · 2020 | $84.21 bn1st/175 · 2020 |
| Tourism receipts % of exports | 4.8%87th/168 · 2020 | 3.9%93rd/168 · 2020 |
| Outbound trips departures | 21.3 m11th/107 · 2020 | 60.5 m2nd/107 · 2020 |
| Society & health | ||
| Life expectancy years | 83.024th/217 · 2024 | 78.961st/217 · 2024 |
| Under-5 mortality per 1,000 births | 4.335th/196 · 2024 | 6.553rd/196 · 2024 |
| Physicians per 1,000 people | 3.2854th/174 · 2022 | 3.6839th/174 · 2022 |
| Hospital beds per 1,000 people | 5.718th/145 · 2022 | 2.767th/145 · 2022 |
| DPT immunization % of children 12–23 months | 96%48th/193 · 2024 | 94%66th/193 · 2024 |
| Completed lower secondary, 25+ % of adults | 91.6%44th/153 · 2023 | 96.6%21st/153 · 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment % gross | 103.8%47th/173 · 2024 | 97.5%72nd/173 · 2022 |
| Old-age dependency ratio % of working-age population | 36.8%12th/217 · 2025 | 28.5%46th/217 · 2025 |
| Health spending % of GDP | 11.5%13th/193 · 2024 | 16.7%3rd/193 · 2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment % gross | 71.5%46th/150 · 2024 | 79.4%29th/150 · 2022 |
| Human Development Index index 0–1 | 0.92026th/193 · 2023 | 0.93817th/193 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini) index | 31.834th/108 · 2023 | 41.891st/108 · 2024 |
| Extreme poverty % of population | 0.1%10th/108 · 2023 | 1.1%52nd/108 · 2024 |
| Infrastructure & digital | ||
| Access to electricity % of population | 100.0%1st/215 · 2024 | 100.0%1st/215 · 2024 |
| Safely managed drinking water % of population | 99.7%20th/150 · 2024 | 97.6%39th/150 · 2024 |
| Safely managed sanitation % of population | 90.0%38th/144 · 2024 | 97.0%17th/144 · 2024 |
| Internet users % of population | 88.7%66th/186 · 2024 | 94.7%28th/186 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions per 100 people | 117100th/210 · 2023 | 113111th/210 · 2024 |
| Fixed broadband per 100 people | 48.97th/208 · 2024 | 38.929th/208 · 2024 |
| Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) score 1–5 | 3.8019th/164 · 2022 | 3.9016th/164 · 2022 |
| Rail lines route-km | 27,7167th/82 · 2021 | 148,5531st/82 · 2021 |
| Air passengers carried passengers | 64.6 m18th/161 · 2023 | 941.6 m1st/161 · 2023 |
| Environment & energy | ||
| CO₂ emissions per person t CO₂e | 4.00134th/203 · 2024 | 13.62189th/203 · 2024 |
| Renewable energy % of final energy use | 16.2%118th/212 · 2021 | 10.9%142nd/212 · 2021 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) µg/m³ | 8.232nd/200 · 2023 | 7.025th/200 · 2023 |
| Forest area % of land area | 32.9%106th/214 · 2024 | 33.8%102nd/214 · 2024 |
| Energy use per person kg oil eq. | 3,18331st/149 · 2024 | 6,45410th/149 · 2024 |
| Institutions & safety | ||
| Government effectiveness score 0–100 | 77.130th/205 · 2025 | 76.732nd/205 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption score 0–100 | 73.125th/207 · 2025 | 65.544th/207 · 2025 |
| Rule of law score 0–100 | 74.637th/207 · 2025 | 71.747th/207 · 2025 |
| Political stability score 0–100 | 64.0122nd/207 · 2025 | 60.3136th/207 · 2025 |
| Regulatory quality score 0–100 | 72.535th/205 · 2025 | 72.831st/205 · 2025 |
| Voice & accountability score 0–100 | 79.026th/205 · 2025 | 69.659th/205 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate per 100,000 | 1.354th/145 · 2023 | 5.8100th/145 · 2023 |
| Military | ||
| Military expenditure USD | $68.01 bn9th/156 · 2025 | $954.39 bn1st/156 · 2025 |
| Military expenditure % of GDP | 2.0%62nd/156 · 2025 | 3.1%27th/156 · 2025 |
| Military expenditure % of government spending | 3.5%121st/154 · 2025 | 8.3%37th/154 · 2025 |
| Armed forces personnel people | 304,00023rd/170 · 2020 | 1.4 m5th/170 · 2020 |
| Armed forces personnel % of labour force | 1.00%68th/168 · 2020 | 0.84%84th/168 · 2020 |
| Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) TIV | 236.0 m35th/163 · 2025 | 745.0 m13th/163 · 2025 |
| Arms exports (SIPRI TIV) TIV | 3.4 bn2nd/65 · 2025 | 14.0 bn1st/65 · 2025 |
| Science & innovation | ||
| R&D spending % of GDP | 2.18%17th/110 · 2023 | 3.45%5th/110 · 2023 |
| Patent applications by residents applications | 12,7518th/137 · 2024 | 270,2952nd/137 · 2024 |
| Scientific articles articles | 62,18011th/197 · 2023 | 430,8432nd/197 · 2023 |
Questions and answers
Which has more people, France or United States?
United States has the larger population: 341.8 m (2025) compared with 68.7 m for France (2025). Source: World Bank, SP.POP.TOTL.
Which is bigger by area, France or United States?
United States is larger: 9,831,510 km² (2024) compared with 606,410 km² for France (2024). Source: World Bank, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2.
Which economy is larger, France or United States?
United States has the larger economy at purchasing power parity: $30.77 trn intl. (2025) compared with $4.40 trn intl. for France (2025). Source: World Bank, NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD.
Which is richer per person, France or United States?
United States has the higher GDP per person (PPP): $90,027 intl. (2025) compared with $63,975 intl. for France (2025). Source: World Bank, NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD.
Where do people live longer, in France or United States?
France has the higher life expectancy at birth: 83.0 years (2024) compared with 78.9 years for United States (2024). Source: World Bank, SP.DYN.LE00.IN.
Which spends more on the military, France or United States?
United States spends more on the military: $954.39 bn (2025) compared with $68.01 bn for France (2025). Source: World Bank, MS.MIL.XPND.CD.
Which ranks higher in the NationsTree Index, France or United States?
France: 74.8 points (21st in the world); United States: 72.3 points (30th). The index combines foundations, economic strength, quality of life, problems and 5-year direction from public statistics.
Argentina
Australia
Canada
Indonesia
Italy
Mexico
South Africa
BermudaSources
World Bank World Development Indicators and Worldwide Governance Indicators, compiling UN agencies, the IMF, WHO, SIPRI and national statistical offices; every row links to its world ranking with the source series. See Sources & licences and Methodology.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). France vs United States — country comparison. https://nationstree.org/compare/france-vs-united-states. Data as of 26 October 2026.