Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.6 years less

In Greenland, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 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

be 15.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Greenland, 9.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2015. In Suriname, that number is 7.7% as of 2023.

make 72.1% less money

Greenland has a GDP per capita of $68,100 as of 2021, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $19,000 as of 2023.

be 4.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Greenland, 16.2% live below the poverty line as of 2015. In Suriname, however, that number is 70.0% as of 2002.

Life

have 10.4% more children

In Greenland, there are approximately 13.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 3.5 times more likely to die during infancy

In Greenland, approximately 8.8 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.

Expenditures

spend 51.0% less on education

Greenland spends 10.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Suriname spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 99.1% less coastline

Greenland has a total of 44,087 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

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 Greenland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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