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International Comparisons

A promotional image for the the KFF Health Policy 101 International Comparison of Health Systems chapter

Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care politics. The International Comparison of Health Systems chapter explores the performance of the U.S. health system on a number of cost, outcomes, and quality measures by comparing it with those in similarly large and wealthy OECD nations. It highlights that despite significant spending, Americans have shorter life expectancies and encounter more barriers to health care, influenced by both the health system's structure and broader socioeconomic factors. View the Chapter →

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  • U.S. Has the Highest Rate of Gun Deaths for Children and Teens Among Peer Countries

    News Release

    Firearms were responsible for 20 percent of all child and teen deaths in the U.S. for both 2020 and 2021, compared to an average of less than 2 percent in similarly large and wealthy nations, according to a new KFF analysis. This puts the U.S. far ahead of peer nations in child and teen firearm deaths. Data show that U.S. firearm deaths for children and teens again surpassed motor vehicle deaths – the second leading…

  • Child and Teen Firearm Mortality in the U.S. and Peer Countries

    Issue Brief

    Firearms were responsible for 20 percent of all child and teen deaths in the U.S. for both 2020 and 2021, compared to an average of less than 2 percent in similarly large and wealthy nations. This puts the U.S. far ahead of peer nations in child and teen firearm deaths.

  • Premature Mortality During COVID-19 in the U.S. and Peer Countries

    Issue Brief

    This analysis finds that the U.S. had the highest rate of premature deaths amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021 among a group of 12 large, wealthy peer countries. The U.S. on average had more than two times the average years of life lost per 100,000 people as the United Kingdom, the country with the next highest rate.

  • Firearms are the Leading Cause of Death for Children in the United States But Rank No Higher Than Fifth in Other Industrialized Nations

    News Release

    Firearms are now the number one cause of death for children in the United States, but rank no higher than fifth in 11 other large and wealthy countries, a new KFF analysis finds. Guns - including accidental deaths, suicides, and homicides - killed 4,357 children (ages 1-19 years old) in the United States in 2020, or roughly 5.6 per 100,000 children. In each of the peer countries, guns kill fewer children than motor vehicles, cancer,…

  • During Pandemic, Higher Premature Excess Deaths in U.S. Compared to Peer Countries Partly Driven by Racial Disparities

    Feature

    Among excess deaths in 2020, the average person lost 14 years of life in the U.S. compared to an average of 8 years in peer countries before the age of 75. The higher premature excess mortality rate among people of color in the U.S., and in the U.S. as a whole compared to similar countries, is likely due in part to higher COVID-19 risk factor rates and broader racial inequities.

  • COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Excess Mortality and Potential Years of Life Lost in the U.S. and Peer Countries

    Issue Brief

    A new issue brief reviews excess death rates in the U.S. and peer countries by age groups to examine how the pandemic has affected excess mortality rate among younger people. The analysis looks specifically at the excess deaths that arose in 2020 to examine how the age at death during the pandemic has differed between the U.S. and peer nations, and estimates the excess potential years of life lost (a measure of “premature excess death”)…

  • Compared to Peer Countries, the U.S. Had the Highest Rate of Mortality Among People Under Age 65 and Potential Years of Life Lost in 2020 Due to the Pandemic

    News Release

    A new KFF issue brief examines 2020 data on excess mortality – the number of deaths above what is expected in a typical year - and finds that among similarly large and wealthy nations, the United States had the highest premature excess mortality rate in 2020, indicating that younger people in the U.S. were more likely to have died due to the pandemic than younger people in other countries. The excess mortality rate among Americans…

  • Health System Dashboard

    Interactive

    The Peterson-KFF Health System Dashboard examines the U.S. health system's performance in four areas: access and affordability, health and well-being, health spending, and quality of care. Users can explore trends over time, as well as disparities and differences across demographic groups.

  • Analysis: COVID-19 Ranks as a Top 3 Leading Cause of Death in the U.S., Higher than in Almost All Other Peer Countries

    News Release

    A new KFF analysis examines leading causes of death and mortality rates in the United States and comparable countries. The U.S. has a higher COVID-19 mortality rate than many of its peer countries, with COVID-19 ranking as the nation’s third-leading cause of death in 2020, behind only heart disease and cancer. Among similarly large and wealthy countries, only in Belgium does COVID-19 also rank as the third highest cause of death. COVID-19 ranks fourth in…