Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 86.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Malawi, 8.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2020.

be 4.6 times more likely to be obese

In Malawi, 5.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Suriname, that number is 26.4% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 11.2 times more money

Malawi has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2023, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $19,000 as of 2023.

be 52.8% more likely to be unemployed

In Malawi, 5.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 7.7% as of 2023.

be 38.1% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Malawi, 50.7% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Suriname, however, that number is 70.0% as of 2002.

pay a 26.7% higher top tax rate

Malawi has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Suriname, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 74.8% less likely to die during childbirth

In Malawi, approximately 381.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Suriname, 96.0 women do as of 2020.

be 41.2% more likely to be literate

In Malawi, the literacy rate is 67.3% as of 2021. In Suriname, it is 95.0% as of 2021.

have 44.0% fewer children

In Malawi, there are approximately 26.6 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 7.1 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Malawi, approximately 14% of people have electricity access (54% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Suriname, that number is 99% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 97% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 2.8 times more likely to have internet access

In Malawi, approximately 24.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Suriname, about 66.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 72.4% more on education

Malawi spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Suriname spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 25.9% more on healthcare

Malawi spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Malawi Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance.

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 Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.

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