OECD Economic Surveys: United States 2020

Abstract

This Survey is published on the responsibility of the Economic and Development Review Committee of the OECD, which is charged with the examination of the economic situation of member countries.

The draft report was discussed at a meeting of the Economic and Development Review Committee on 2 & 3 June 2020, with participation of representatives of the United States authorities.

The Secretariat’s draft report was prepared for the Committee by Douglas Sutherland and Mikkel Hermansen under the supervision of Patrick Lenain. Damien Azzopardi provided statistical assistance and Stephanie Henry provided editorial support. The Survey benefitted from contributions by Sebastian Benz, Fozan Fareed , Fernando Galindo-Rueda and Alexander Jaax. Support from the government of United States is gratefully acknowledged.

The previous Economic Survey of the USA was issued in June 2018.

Basic statistics of United States, 2019

(Numbers in parentheses refer to the OECD average)*

LAND, PEOPLE AND ELECTORAL CYCLE
Population (million)	327.2		Population density per km2	35.8	(37.8)
Under 15 (%)	18.7	(17.8)	Life expectancy (years, 2015)	78.5	(80.1)
Over 65 (%)	15.8	(17.1)	Men	76.1	(77.5)
Foreign-born (%, 2011)	13.6		Women	81.1	(82.9)
Latest 5-year average growth (%)	0.7	(0.6)	Latest general election	November	2016
ECONOMY
Gross domestic product (GDP)			Value added shares (%, 2017, OECD: 2018)
In current prices (billion USD, 2018)	20 580.2		Agriculture, forestry and fishing	0.9	(2.4)
Latest 5-year average real growth (%)	2.5	(2.3)	Industry including construction	18.9	(27.3)
Per capita (000 USD PPP, 2018)	62.9	(47.1)	Services	80.2	(70.4)
GENERAL GOVERNMENT Per cent of GDP
Expenditure (2018)	37.9	(41.2)	Gross financial debt (2018, OECD: 2017)	106.7	(109.5)
Revenue (2018)	31.2	(38.2)	Net financial debt (2018, OECD: 2017)	82.2	(69.4)
EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS
Exchange rate (EUR per USD)	0.893		Main exports (% of total merchandise exports, 2018)
PPP exchange rate (USA = 1)	1.0		Machinery and transport equipment	32.2
In per cent of GDP			Chemicals and related products, n.e.s.	13.4
Exports of goods and services (2018)	12.2	(55.5)	Commodities and transactions, n.e.s.	12.1
Imports of goods and services (2018)	15.3	(51.3)	Main imports (% of total merchandise imports, 2018)
Current account balance (2018)	-2.4	(0.3)	Machinery and transport equipment	42.0
Net international investment position (2018)	-46.4		Miscellaneous manufactured articles	15.8
			Manufactured goods	11.0
LABOUR MARKET, SKILLS AND INNOVATION
Employment rate (aged 15 and over, %, 2018)	60.4	(57.1)	Unemployment rate, Labour Force Survey (aged 15 and over, %, 2018)	3.9	(5.3)
Men (2018)	66.3	(65.3)	Youth (aged 15-24, %, 2018)	8.6	(11.1)
Women (2018)	54.9	(49.4)	Long-term unemployed (1 year and over, %, 2018)	0.5	(1.5)
Participation rate (aged 15 and over, %, 2018)	62.9	(60.5)	Tertiary educational attainment (aged 25-64, %, 2018)	47.4	(36.9)
Average hours worked per year (2018)	1 786	(1734)	Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP, 2017)	2.8	(2.6)
ENVIRONMENT
Total primary energy supply per capita (toe, 2018)	6.8	(4.1)	CO2 emissions from fuel combustion per capita (tonnes, 2018)	15.0	( 8.9)
Renewables (%, 2018)	7.8	(10.5)	Water abstractions per capita (1 000 m³, 2015)	1.2
Exposure to air pollution (more than 10 μg/m³ of PM 2.5, % of population, 2017)	3.1	(58.7)	Municipal waste per capita (tonnes, 2015, OECD: 2017)	0.7	(0.5)
SOCIETY
Income inequality (Gini coefficient, 2017, OECD: 2016)	0.390	(0.310)	Education outcomes (PISA score, 2018)
Relative poverty rate (%, 2017, OECD: 2016)	17.8	(11.6)	Reading	505	(489)
Median disposable household income (000 USD PPP, 2017, OECD: 2016)	35.6	(23.6)	Mathematics	478	(492)
Public and private spending (% of GDP)			Science	502	(491)
Health care (2018)	16.9	(8.8)	Share of women in parliament (%, 2018)	19.6	(29.7)
Pensions (2017, OECD: 2015)	7.1	(8.5)	Net official development assistance (% of GNI, 2017)	0.2	(0.4)
Education (public, 2017)	4.4	(4.5)

Note: The year is indicated in parenthesis if it deviates from the year in the main title of this table.

* Where the OECD aggregate is not provided in the source database, a simple OECD average of latest available data is calculated where data exist for at least 80% of member countries.

Source: Calculations based on data extracted from databases of the following organisations: OECD, International Energy Agency, International Labour Organisation, International Monetary Fund, World Bank.