Is America Still #1? Maybe Not
Americans have long been fascinated with global rankings. Where do we stand? How do we compare with other nations? We like to imagine ourselves as No. 1: the national equivalent of the racing halfback who raises his forefinger as he crosses the goal line. Common sense says otherwise.
We excel in some things and not in others. The latest evidence of this comes from a massive report that collected indicators on a wide range of well-being - from incomes to leisure time - for most advanced countries.
On some indicators, the United States does rank No. 1. Average after-tax household income (including both cash and non-cash government transfers) totals about $40,000; Norway is next highest at nearly $35,000.
Among 29 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average is $27,630.
But the United States is also near the top in income inequality; this means that middle-class Americans don't do quite as well as the average suggests.
What do Americans get with their extra income? More housing, for starters.
In both the United States and Canada, the average house has nearly 2.5 rooms per person, substantially higher than the OECD average of about 1.7. Italy, South Korea and Estonia have less than 1.5.
Although U.S homes are larger than their foreign counterparts, Americans spend less of their incomes on housing (about 17%) than most other nationalities. The OECD average is about 20%.
The global data confirm the American stereotype as workaholics.
About one in eight U.S. workers report they regularly spend more than 50 hours a week on the job. In Europe, the ratio is usually less than one in 20. In the Netherlands, it plunges to one in 250.
By the same token, Americans devote less time to "leisure and personal care," including sleep, than most Europeans. Here, the French are champs.
They spend about 16.5 hours per day tending to their personal needs and interests; the comparable U.S. figure is two hours less at 14.5.
The report, called "How's Life? Measuring Well-Being," is compiled by the OECD every two years and was first published in 2011. It covers mainly wealthy countries, though a few poorer nations (Mexico and Turkey, for example) are also included. Some comparisons are confusing or seemingly contradictory.
Take crime. On murder, the United States ranks high at about five murders per 100,000 population; among OECD countries, only Mexico is higher (at nearly 25 per 100,000 people), and most European countries are much lower (at one or two per 100,000 people).
But only 2% of Americans report being assaulted over a year, among the lowest in the study and about half the OECD average of 4. The contrast is not easily explained.
One area where the United States does not do well on the OECD rankings is the welfare of children. About 20% of American children live in poverty, which - as defined by the OECD - is to grow up in households with less than half the median income of the total population.
By contrast, the average OECD poverty rate for children is 13.7%. In neighboring Canada, it's 14.5%.
However, when judged simply by the amount of income, American children live in relatively wealthy households.
Still, on many other indicators, American children do poorly. More than one-third of U.S. children aged 11 to 15 are overweight or obese, the highest rate among OECD countries and twice the average.
After Mexico and Chile, the United States has the highest birth rate among teenage women aged 15 to 19. Reading proficiency among 15-year-olds is stuck at the OECD average.
On children, the OECD concludes that "the United States, Poland and Turkey rank among the bottom third performers."
We're definitely not No. 1.
