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 Kansas than the US
Kansas is more rural, agricultural, and socially conservative than the United States overall. Kansas is relatively flat, landlocked, and has little forested land, like all five countries on this list.
- Moldova and Kansas are mostly farmland, growing a lot of corn and wheat. They have a similar climate. The country is relatively conservative, especially on social issues, and has limited urbanization, much like Kansas. Furthermore, most of the people in Moldova and Kansas have European ancestry.
- Niger is located in Africa. It is a nation with a largely rural population and many of their people work in agriculture. Both governments have passed conservative laws that ban same sex marriage. However, one big difference is that Niger has a much drier climate than Kansas.
- Central African Republic is another country in Africa on this list. Both have a low population density. Its economy is also highly reliant on agriculture, and the country is known for its relatively flat terrain. In addition, Kansas and Central African Republic have a mix of Protestants and Catholics.
- Burkina Faso, like Kansas, it has a largely rural and agricultural population and is one of the world’s flattest countries. Both governments have passed conservative laws banning same-sex marriage. They have low minimum wages and few laws that protect their workers. In addition, they have relatively high rates of smoking.
- Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Like Kansas, it has a predominantly flat landscape, and a notable portion of its population is engaged in agriculture. They irrigate large portions of their land. Both also exhibit strong social conservatism. They both have made marijuana and smoking tobacco in most public places illegal.
- Benin, 7. Togo, 8. Chad, 9. Mali, 10. Senegal
Top 10 Countries Less Similar to Kansas than the US
Interestingly enough, the five countries with the fewest similarities to Kansas than the United States overall are located on four different continents. These countries tend to have a lot of coastline and are much more mountainous than Kansas.
- Canada and Kansas both have relatively cold climates and are sparsely populated. However, Canada has a much more diverse geography that includes vast coastlines on three different oceans. Canada’s population is also more diverse than the population in Kansas.
- Japan is a mountainous archipelago nation that’s densely packed with megacities like Tokyo. Its humid subtropical to temperate climate brings heavy rainfall and typhoons. As a result, it is far different from landlocked and relatively flat, Kansas.
- Malaysia is far different from Kansas in both geography and culture. It is a tropical, nation made up of two main landmasses and hundreds of islands. Malaysia is ethnically and religiously diverse, with Islam as the majority faith. Its cities are dense and modern.
- Chile is a Spanish-speaking country in South America. It has a massive amount of coastline, in contrast to Kansas. In addition, Chile’s climate varies dramatically from north to south, while Kansas has a temperate climate.
- New Zealand has a maritime climate with lush forests. It also has a strong environmental policies and liberal values. It ranks high on global indexes of trust in quality of life. These traits that align more with progressive coastal states than Kansas.
- Spain, 7. Australia, 8. Singapore, 9. China, 10. Germany
Full Ranking of Countries and Territories More Similar to Kansas than the US
All data accurate as of 2025.