The Human Index
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United States

Composite stress
41.9Moderate▼ -4.6
90-day trend · stress easing
Last updated
20h ago

Composite trend, 90 days

Daily-bucketed composite stress score. Dashed gridlines mark the band thresholds (25 / 45 / 65 / 80) — crossing one signals a category change.

025456580100Jun 4Jun 5Jun 6
Bandslowmoderateelevatedhighcritical

Stress by domain

Five weighted meta-indexes. Together they constitute the composite.

Economic
25.9moderate
weight 25%
Social
36.1moderate
weight 20%
Mental
37.1moderate
weight 20%
Technological
65.9high
weight 20%
Environmental
50.7elevated
weight 15%

Latest Pulse

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Wired, Anxious, and Running on Debt

America's Opening Score: Elevated, and Led by the Machine The United States enters The Human Index at a Composite Human Stress Score of 47.4 — squarely in the Elevated band. This is a baseline reading, the first of its kind for the country, and it arrives with a clarity that m…

Indicators in detail

The raw measurements feeding into each meta-index, grouped by domain. Click any indicator to read the underlying source.

Economic8 indicators
Economic avg25.9

  • Unemployment Rate

    Share of the labor force without work but available and seeking employment.

    World Bank· 2025-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    4.20 %
    Stress
    12

  • Youth Unemployment Rate

    Unemployment rate among the population aged 15-24.

    World Bank· 2025-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    9.34 %
    Stress
    11

  • Gini Index

    Income inequality (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality).

    World Bank· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    41.8 index
    Stress
    56

  • Housing Affordability

    Median house price relative to median annual income (higher = less affordable).

    OECD· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    5.40 ratio
    Stress
    19

  • Inflation Rate

    Annual consumer price inflation (year-on-year % change). Sustained inflation above central-bank targets (typically 2%) is a meaningful economic stress signal.

    IMF World Economic Outlook· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    2.95 %
    Stress
    1

  • GDP Growth Rate

    Annual % growth of real gross domestic product. Negative = recession, very high (>8%) often reflects overheating or recovery from a crash.

    World Bank· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    2.79 %
    Stress
    17

  • Government Debt (% of GDP)

    General government gross debt as a share of GDP (IMF WEO October 2024). High debt constrains fiscal space for transition investment and is a structural stress signal. Japan ~252%, Italy ~139%, US ~123% — the high-debt regime is now fully visible across all 25 countries (previously WB lacked coverage for 12).

    IMF World Economic Outlook October 2024· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    123 % of GDP
    Stress
    55

  • Age Dependency Ratio

    Total dependents (under-15 and over-64) as a percentage of the working-age population (15-64). High values stress pension systems, healthcare budgets, and the productive economy; low values can signal aging crisis or population collapse.

    World Bank· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    54.4 % of working-age
    Stress
    36
Social7 indicators
Social avg36.1

  • Fertility Rate

    Births per woman; below 2.1 indicates below-replacement fertility.

    World Bank· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    1.63 births/woman
    Stress
    43

  • Divorce Rate

    Divorces per 1000 population per year.

    UN Statistics / national stats· 2023-12-31Aging
    Raw
    2.30 per 1000
    Stress
    23

  • Social Trust

    Share of adults who agree that most people can be trusted (higher = healthier).

    World Values Survey· 2023-12-31Aging
    Raw
    37.0 %
    Stress
    66

  • Loneliness

    Share of adults reporting frequent or persistent loneliness.

    OECD / Eurobarometer· 2023-12-31Aging
    Raw
    22.0 %
    Stress
    68

  • Adolescent Fertility Rate

    Births per 1,000 women aged 15-19. A composite signal of educational access, contraceptive availability, and economic opportunity for young women. Persistent high values mark inter-generational poverty traps.

    World Bank· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    12.4 per 1,000 women
    Stress
    10

  • Homicide Rate

    Intentional homicides per 100,000 population. The most universally collected violence metric — captures social cohesion, rule-of-law, and conflict exposure. Vast range: from 0.2 (JP) to 35+ (parts of Latin America).

    World Bank / UNODC· 2023-12-31Aging
    Raw
    5.76 per 100k
    Stress
    12

  • Work-Life Balance

    Percentage of dependent employees working very long hours (50+ hours per week). High values indicate structural overwork that erodes family time, leisure, and mental recovery. Korea (26.5%) and Türkiye (28.1%) lead globally; Netherlands and Sweden under 1%.

    OECD Employment Database 2024· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    10.0 % employees 50h+/week
    Stress
    31
Mental8 indicators
Mental avg37.1

  • Depression Prevalence

    Share of adults living with a depressive disorder.

    WHO / IHME· 2021-12-31Stale
    Raw
    4.60 %
    Stress
    43

  • Anxiety Prevalence

    Share of adults living with an anxiety disorder.

    WHO / IHME· 2021-12-31Stale
    Raw
    6.60 %
    Stress
    51

  • Workplace Burnout

    Share of workers reporting frequent burnout symptoms.

    Gallup State of the Global Workplace· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    49.0 %
    Stress
    48

  • Suicide Rate

    Suicides per 100,000 population per year.

    World Bank / WHO· 2021-12-31Stale
    Raw
    15.6 per 100K
    Stress
    43

  • Life Expectancy

    Average life expectancy at birth (years). Shorter life expectancy reflects accumulated public-health, mental-health, and lifestyle stresses.

    World Bank· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    78.9 years
    Stress
    14

  • Child Mortality (Under-5)

    Deaths of children under five years per 1,000 live births. A composite signal of healthcare access, maternal health, nutrition, and socioeconomic conditions.

    World Bank / UNICEF· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    6.50 per 1,000
    Stress
    8

  • Alcohol Consumption

    Total recorded alcohol consumption per capita (liters of pure alcohol) among the population aged 15+. A coping-mechanism proxy and major contributor to disease burden, family stress, and mortality.

    World Bank / WHO Global Health Observatory· 2020-12-31Very stale
    Raw
    9.90 liters/year
    Stress
    58

  • Life Satisfaction

    Average self-reported life satisfaction on a 0-10 ladder (Cantril ladder). The most-tracked subjective wellbeing metric in cross-country comparison. Nordic countries top the rankings (7.4-7.5); South Africa and Türkiye sit near the bottom (4.9-5.7).

    OECD Better Life Index 2024· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    6.70 0-10 scale
    Stress
    33
Technological3 indicators
Technological avg65.9

  • Daily Screen Time

    Average hours of screen time per adult per day.

    DataReportal Digital Report· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    7.00 hours/day
    Stress
    57

  • Digital Addiction

    Share of adults reporting problematic device use.

    Pew Research / Eurostat ICT· 2023-12-31Aging
    Raw
    31.0 %
    Stress
    70

  • Automation Exposure

    Share of work activities potentially automatable by 2030 (McKinsey Generative AI estimates). Higher = more labour-displacement pressure from AI and automation. Service-heavy economies face higher exposure than agrarian ones.

    McKinsey Global Institute 2023· 2023-12-31Aging
    Raw
    30.0 %
    Stress
    71
Environmental5 indicators
Environmental avg50.7

  • Temperature Anomaly

    Annual mean temperature deviation from the 1951-1980 baseline.

    NASA GISS GISTEMP· 2025-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    0.01 °C
    Stress
    1

  • Water Stress

    Ratio of total water withdrawals to renewable water supply.

    WRI Aqueduct· 2023-12-31Aging
    Raw
    35.0 %
    Stress
    29

  • Air Pollution (PM2.5)

    Mean annual fine particulate matter concentration.

    WHO Ambient Air Quality DB· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    8.40 µg/m³
    Stress
    6

  • CO₂ Emissions per Capita

    Annual CO₂ emissions per person (metric tons). Tracks the country's climate footprint and dependence on fossil fuels.

    World Bank· 2024-12-31Fresh
    Raw
    13.6 tonnes/person
    Stress
    65

  • Renewable Energy Share

    Renewable energy consumption as a share of total final energy consumption. Higher = greener transition; lower = continued fossil-fuel dependence.

    World Bank· 2021-12-31Stale
    Raw
    10.9 %
    Stress
    89

60-second assessment

How exposed are you to United States's stress signals?

Five quick questions on your sector, age, and concerns — we map your answers to the live numbers above and rank the five domains by personal relevance.

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Every number on this page can be traced back to its source. See full sourcing audit for raw values, divergence history, and source comparison.

How composites are computed →