13 ways other countries are leaving the United States in the dust

USA America American flag

Technological and social innovations mean things are changing quickly around the world.
The United States is slipping behind other countries in key measures of progress.
The US trails other nations in areas such as press freedom, passport strength, internet speed, and cost of education.

American politicians often boast that their country is the greatest in the world.

But in a lot of ways, the United States is slipping in the world rankings. From the price Americans pay for education to the strength of their passports, there are plenty of ways people from other countries have it better.

Read on to see 13 areas where America has some catching up to do:

DON'T MISS: After traveling to 24 countries, I found people all around the world have the same 5 mistaken ideas about Americans

Healthcare

While every country does healthcare a little differently, the fact remains that the United States is the only wealthy country in the world without universal healthcare coverage.

The US spends about three times more per capita on healthcare expenditures than other countries with comparable incomes, yet Americans have a lower life expectancy than people in those countries, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The US also leads wealthy countries in preventable deaths — in 2013, 112 out of every 100,000 Americans under 75 died from complications or conditions that could have been avoided with better healthcare, the Times reported.

Social progress

The not-for-profit Social Progress Imperative ranked social progress in 128 countries in 2017 based on three criteria: basic human needs like food, water, and shelter; foundations of well-being such as access to information and environmental quality; and opportunity, including personal rights and freedoms and access to education.

The US came in 18th on the list, while Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland took the first five spots.

Free higher education

The price of college tuition is becoming harder and harder for Americans to afford. Collectively, Americans hold more than $1.3 trillion in college loan debt.

The daunting prospect of affording college is inspiring some Americans to study in countries with free higher education.

Countries such as Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, and Slovenia all offer free or virtually free college education.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider