Have you ever wondered which U.S. states resemble countries more closely than others? The Country – US State Comparisons are designed to quantify just that — measuring how similar each U.S. state is to different countries around the world relative to the United States. This index provides a data-driven way to make those comparisons. It equally weights five major factors: demographics, culture, politics, technology, and geography. Over 1,000 different data points are used to generate the results.
Top 10 Countries More Similar to Iowa than the US
Iowa is more rural, agricultural, and socially conservative. Iowans tend to start families earlier, often have more children, and live in tight-knit communities. The state is relatively flat and is landlocked, like most countries on this list.
- Moldova has a lot in common with Iowa. They have a similar continental climate and the vast majority of their land is for agriculture. The country is relatively conservative, especially on social issues, and has limited urbanization, much like Iowa. In addition, they also have many people that work in industry.
- Central African Republic is a landlocked country in Africa, where most people live in rural areas. Iowa and Central African Republic have similar population densities. They also have minimal urbanization. Another similarity is that both have relatively high rates of circumcision as well. Their terrain tends to be relatively flat as well.
- Bosnia & Herzegovina, particularly outside its major cities, offers a lifestyle reminiscent of Iowa’s. Small farming communities dominate. The continental climate supports a similar agricultural economy. Both grow a lot of corn. Most of their people have European ancestry. Furthermore, a high percentage of their people own guns.
- Burundi and Iowa are mostly farmlands. They employ a significant portion of their populations. Family and traditional values are central to their social fabric. Both have banned capital punishment and corporal punishment in schools as well. They also have high labor force participation rates.
- Togo is located in West Africa. Agriculture is a major part of the economy in Togo and Iowa. A significant portion of the population in both regions lives in rural areas, residing in small villages. Traditional values are prominent in both societies. Their terrains are relatively flat as well. However, unlike other countries on this list, Togo is not landlocked.
- Zambia, 7. Burkina Faso, 8. Lithuania, 9. Belarus, 10. Poland
Top 10 Countries Less Similar to Iowa than the US
Interestingly enough, the five countries with significantly fewer similarities to Iowa than the United States overall have populations with either European ancestry or East Asian ancestry. These countries have a lot of coastline and are much more mountainous than Iowa.
- Chile is a Spanish-speaking country in South America. It has a massive amount of coastline, in contrast to Iowa. In addition, Chile’s climate varies dramatically from north to south, while Iowa has a continental climate.
- Spain has a lot of coastline and its climate is significantly warmer than Iowa’s. Furthermore, Iowa has relatively few Latinos, so a low percentage of its people speak Spanish, compared to the rest of the United States.
- Japan is a highly mountainous East Asian island nation with a very large coastline. It also is extremely densely populated and urbanized, in contrast to Iowa. Its cities also have many more skyscrapers.
- Malaysia, located in Southeast Asia, is a tropical country with an extensive coastline. This is in stark contrast to Iowa’s four distinct seasons and landlocked geography. The country also has a more diverse population with a mix of Malay, Chinese, and Indian populations.
- Canada and Iowa both have relatively cold climates and are sparsely populated. Canada has a much more diverse geography that includes vast coastlines on three different oceans. Iowa is landlocked. Canada’s population is also more diverse
- Angola, 7. Thailand, 8. South Korea, 9. Australia, 10. Myanmar
Full Ranking of Countries and Territories More Similar to Iowa than the US
All data accurate as of 2025.