Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 15.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Guyana, 1.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2020.

be 30.7% more likely to be obese

In Guyana, 20.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Suriname, that number is 26.4% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 38.1% less likely to be unemployed

In Guyana, 12.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 7.7% as of 2023.

make 61.8% less money

Guyana has a GDP per capita of $49,800 as of 2023, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $19,000 as of 2023.

be 100.0% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Guyana, 35.0% live below the poverty line as of 2006. In Suriname, however, that number is 70.0% as of 2002.

Life

be 36.6% more likely to die during infancy

In Guyana, approximately 22.1 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 10.8% fewer children

In Guyana, there are approximately 16.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 22.4% less likely to have internet access

In Guyana, approximately 85.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Suriname, about 66.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 11.1% more on education

Guyana spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Suriname spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 23.6% more on healthcare

Guyana spends 5.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 15.9% less coastline

Guyana has a total of 459 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 Guyana? See an in-depth size comparison.

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