Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Suriname instead of Belize, you would:

Health

live 3.4 years less

In Belize, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022. In Suriname, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 48.4% more money

Belize has a GDP per capita of $12,800 as of 2023, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $19,000 as of 2023.

be 70.7% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Belize, 41.0% live below the poverty line as of 2013. In Suriname, however, that number is 70.0% as of 2002.

Life

be 26.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In Belize, approximately 130.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Suriname, 96.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.7 times more likely to die during infancy

In Belize, approximately 11.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Suriname, on the other hand, 30.2 children do as of 2022.

have 15.8% fewer children

In Belize, there are approximately 17.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 42.5% less on education

Belize spends 8.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Suriname spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Suriname: At a glance

Suriname is a sovereign country in South America, with a total land area of approximately 156,000 sq km. First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of African slavery in 1863, workers were brought in from India and Java. Independence from the Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In 1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a democratically elected government - a four-party coalition - returned to power in 1991. The coalition expanded to eight parties in 2005 and ruled until August 2010, when voters returned former military leader Desire BOUTERSE and his opposition coalition to power.
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How big is Suriname compared to Belize? See an in-depth size comparison.

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