Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Suriname instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

be 2.8 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Costa Rica, 0.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2020.

live 7.2 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 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 26.4% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $19,000 as of 2023.

be 2.7 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Suriname, however, that number is 70.0% as of 2002.

pay a 2.5 times higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Suriname, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 38.0% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 4.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Suriname, 96.0 women do as of 2020.

be 3.6 times more likely to die during infancy

In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 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.

Basic Needs

be 20.5% less likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Suriname, about 66.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 25.4% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Suriname spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 13.9% less on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 70.1% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

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 Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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