The AI-enabled observatory of government performance

Explore, track and compare government performance across key indicators and synthesis notes from reliable international and national sources

Featured indicators

Economy & public finances

United States — GDP Growth

2.5%

Q3 2026

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis· Data Q3 2026

Upd. 11/2026

Labour market

United States — Unemployment Rate

4.1%

Q3 2026

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis· Data Q3 2026

Upd. 11/2026

Environment, energy & climate

United States — Electricity production by source

4,391TWh

Total production · 2024

Source: Ember — Yearly Electricity Data· Data 2024

Defense

United States — Armed forces at a glance

1,300,000

Active personnel · 2024· ≈ order of magnitude

≈800,000
Reserves
≈2,500
Main battle tanks
≈38,000
Armoured vehicles

Source: IISS Military Balance 2024 · U.S. DoD · FAS/SIPRI· Data 2024

approximate values

Defense

United States — Overseas deployments

~153,132

Deployed abroad · March 2026

Open fullscreen

Presence forcesOverseas sovereignty

Source: Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) — Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country (Location Country Report), Active Duty, as of March 31, 2026· Data March 2026

Purchasing power & prices

United States — Inflation (CPI)

3.5%

Q3 2026

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics· Data Q3 2026

Upd. 11/2026

Economy & public finances

United States — Public Debt / GDP

121.2% GDP

Q2 2026

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis· Data Q2 2026

Upd. 11/2026Y-axis truncated

Browse by category — See all

Economy & public finances

Purchasing power & prices

Labour market

Health

Security & crime

Immigration & integration

Housing

Pensions

Education & training

Environment, energy & climate

Social cohesion, poverty & inequality

Artificial intelligence

Demography

Synthesis notes — See all

United StatesEconomy & public finances

The world's leading economy sped up in 2026 despite the war with Iran and the tariff turmoil, but the federal deficit reached $2 trillion and inflation forced the Fed to raise rates again — a legacy the Democratic Congress elected on 3 November will have to manage.

2.5%
GDP growth: Q3 2026; 121.2% GDP
Public debt: Q2 2026; -5.8% GDP
Budget balance: 2025

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesPurchasing power & prices

Back near 2.5% in early 2026, inflation picked up again with the oil shock of the war with Iran (3.7% in September); real wages are falling once more and the Fed raised rates for the first time since 2023.

3.5%
Inflation (CPI): Q3 2026; 2.5%
Core inflation: Q3 2026; 322index
Food prices: Q3 2026

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesLabour market

Unemployment is still low (4.1% in October 2026) but job creation has slowed, federal employment has fallen sharply and real wages are declining again: the American labour market has entered a "low-hire, low-fire" phase.

4.1%
Unemployment rate (ILO): Q3 2026; 59.1%
Employment rate (15-64): Q3 2026; 61.6%
Activity rate: Q3 2026

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesHealth

The highest health spending in the world (18% of GDP in 2024), a life expectancy finally back up to 79 years but still the lowest among large rich countries, and health coverage weakened by the end of the enhanced subsidies and the Medicaid reform.

78.7years
Life expectancy: 2018; 17.2% GDP
Health expenditure: 2024; 5.31; per 1,000
Infant mortality: Q1 2026

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesSecurity & crime

A homicide rate that fell in 2025 to its lowest level since the 1950s, yet remains several times higher than that of the other major wealthy countries — a gap inseparable from a circulation of firearms unique in the world.

4.1; per 100k
Homicides: 2025; 1,535; per 100k
Assault & violence: 2025

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesImmigration & integration

A « nation of immigrants » (15% of the population foreign-born) where southern border crossings have fallen to their lowest level in decades, while detention, removals and narrower legal pathways reshape migration policy.

14.7%
Immigrant population share: 2025; 843.1K
Naturalisations: 2024; 1.3M
Net migration: 2024

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesHousing

The 30-year mortgage rate climbed back above 7.3% in autumn 2026 with the return of inflation and the Fed's rate hike: the market remains frozen, construction is stuck at around 1.35 million homes a year and access to homeownership is slipping.

161index
Property price index: 2024; 65.5%
Home ownership rate: Q3 2026; 340.9K
Housing construction: Q3 2026

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesPensions

A Social Security system paying benefits to more than 70 million Americans and private savings accounts among the most developed in the world — but a trust fund whose depletion is projected for late 2032, with no political deal in sight.

7.3% GDP
Pension expenditure (% of GDP): 2023

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesEducation & training

Spending per student among the highest, PISA 2025 results average in mathematics and falling in reading, $1.65 trillion of student debt — and a federal department being broken up.

5.4% GDP
Education expenditure: 2021; 19.3KEUR
Spending per student: 2021; 502points
PISA 2025 ranking: Science · 13th of 91 · 2025

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesEnvironment, energy & climate

The world's second-largest emitter and among the highest per capita: after two years of decline, emissions rose again in 2025, while Washington dismantles most of its climate regulation.

4,781MtCO2e
GHG emissions: 2024; 9.1%
Renewable energy share: 2025; 330; gCO2/kWh
Electricity carbon intensity: 2024

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesSocial cohesion, poverty & inequality

Official poverty fell to 10.2% in 2025, its lowest on record, but income inequality remains the highest in the G7 — the richest fifth receives 52% of income — and 2026 inflation is again eroding real wages ahead of new restrictions on Medicaid and food assistance.

41.8index
Gini index: 2024

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesJustice

The highest incarceration rate in the developed world — about 1.9 million people detained — with strong racial disparities; the post-pandemic decline has given way to a rebound, while immigration detention reaches record levels.

1.3M
Prison population: 2023

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesTransport & mobility

Car-dominated mobility, road deaths down sharply in 2025 but still two to four times higher than in other rich countries, and electrification slowed by the end of federal support, against the backdrop of an oil shock.

12.7
Road mortality: 2023; 1,753MtCO2e
Transport emissions: 2022

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesDefense

The world's foremost military power by a wide margin — a third of the planet's military spending in 2025 —, engaged against Iran and in a technological competition with China, with the administration requesting a defence budget of about $1.5 trillion for 2027.

3.4% GDP
Defense spending: 2024; 1TUSD
Military spending (USD): 2024; 13.7BUSD
Arms exports: 2024

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

United StatesInstitutional trust

Trust in the federal government down to 17%, one of the lowest levels ever measured, democracy indices in clear decline and a polarization that flips trust depending on who holds power — as the November 2026 midterm elections take place.

Data as of Nov 7, 2026

Analyses — See all

United StatesEconomy & public finances

Where do the US deficit and debt come from?

Federal revenue and spending since 1960, item by item: health, retirement, taxes, interest and customs duties.

20152025

Data as of Oct 27, 2026

European UnionPensions

Pensions: what the figures say

Pension expenditure, exit age and normal retirement age, older workers’ employment and the income of people aged 65+ in Europe; the COR’s French trajectory to 2070.