OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: United States 2023

Basic statistics of the United States

2021 or latest available year (OECD values in parentheses)^a

 

PEOPLE AND SOCIETY
Population (million)	331			Population density per km2		34		(37)
Share of population by type of region:				Population compound annual growth rate, latest 5 years		0.5		(0.5)
Predominantly urban (%)	42	(68)		Income inequality (Gini coefficient)		0.38		(0.32)
Intermediate (%)	20	..		Poverty rate (% of pop. with less than 50% median income)		18		(12)
Rural (%)	38	(32)		Life expectancy		77		(81)
ECONOMY AND EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS
Total GDP (National currency, billion)	23 315			Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)		15		(29)
Total GDP (USD, billion, current prices and PPP)	23			Main exports (% of total merchandise exports)
GDP compound annual real growth rate, latest 5 years	2.1	(1.6)		Machinery and transport equipment		33
GDP per capita (1 000 USD current PPP)	70	(49)		Chemicals and related products		15
Value added shares (%)				Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials		11
Agriculture	1	(2)		Main imports (% of total merchandise imports)
Industry including construction	19	(24)		Machinery and transport equipment		42
Services	80	(74)		Manufactured articles		17
Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)	12	(29)		Chemicals and related products		12
GENERAL GOVERNMENT Percentage of GDP
Expenditure	45	(46)		Education expenditure		6		(5)
Revenue	33	(39)		Health expenditure		11		(9)
Gross financial debt	126	(124)		Environment protection expenditure		..		(0.5)
Fiscal balance	-12	-(8)		Environmental taxes: (% of GDP)		0.6		(1.4)
				(% of total tax revenue)		2.3		(4.6)
LABOUR MARKET, SKILLS AND INNOVATION
Unemployment rate (% of civilian labour force)	5.4	(6.2)		Patent applications in environment-related technologies (% of all technologies, average of latest 3 years b		10		(11)
Tertiary educational attainment of 25-64 year-olds (%)	50	(40)		Environmental management		3		(3)
Gross expenditure on R&D, % of GDP	3.5	(2.7)		Climate change mitigation technologies		8		(10)
				Climate change adaptation technologies		2		(1)
ENVIRONMENT
Energy intensity: TES per capita (toe/cap.)	6.3	(3.81)		Road vehicle stock (vehicles/100 inhabitants)	91		(67)
TES per GDP (toe/1 000 USD, 2015 PPP)	0.10	(0.09)		Water stress (abstraction as % of available resources)	16		(7)
Renewables (% of TES)	8	(12)		Water abstraction per capita (m3/cap./year)	1 207		(691)
Carbon intensity (energy-related CO2):				Municipal waste per capita, (kg/capita)	811		(534)
Emissions per capita (t/cap.)	13.6	(7.9)		Material productivity (USD, 2015 PPP/DMC, kg)	2.5		(2.5)
Emissions per GDP (t/1 000 USD, 2015 PPP)	0.22	(0.18)		Land area (1 000 km2)	9 147
GHG intensity: c				% of arable land and permanent crops	18		(11)
Emissions per capita (t/cap.)	18	(10.5)		% of permanent meadows and pastures	27		(23)
Emissions per GDP (t/1 000 USD, 2015 PPP)	0.31	(0.26)		% of forest area	34		(33)
Mean population exposure to air pollution (PM2.5), µg/m3	8	(14)		% of other land (built-up and other land)	22		(32)

a. Values earlier than 2016 are not taken into consideration. OECD value: where the OECD aggregate is not provided in the source database, a simple OECD average of the latest available data is calculated where data exist for a significant number of countries.

b. Higher-value inventions that have sought protection in at least two jurisdictions.

c. Excluding emissions/removals from land use, land-use change and forestry.

Source: Calculations based on data extracted from databases of the OECD, IEA/OECD, EUROSTAT and the World Bank.