Shashi Tharoor says Kerala leads us in key health numbers
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor recently highlighted something pretty impressive: Kerala, despite its much smaller size and economy, now leads the United States in several important health and development numbers.
He calls this the "real Kerala story," showing that the state is ahead of the US in literacy, infant and maternal mortality rates, and even poverty levels.
Kerala ahead of the US in these numbers
Kerala's literacy rate is a standout at 96.2%, way above the US's 79%.
The state also has a slightly lower infant mortality rate (5 per 1,000 live births) compared to the US (5.6), and fewer mothers die during childbirth—18 per 100,000 versus America's 22.3.
Plus, only about 0.55% of Keralites face multidimensional poverty; for Americans, it's over 10 times higher at 5.68%.
Life expectancy and GDP
Even though Kerala's economy ($67.9 billion GDP) is tiny next to America's ($30 trillion+), people there live almost as long—74 years on average versus 79.6 in the US.
Tharoor mentioned he saw this trend starting back in his 1997 book; now he says Kerala has actually pulled ahead in these areas.