Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Suriname instead of New Zealand, you would:

Health

be 14.3% less likely to be obese

In New Zealand, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Suriname, that number is 26.4% of people as of 2016.

be 11.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In New Zealand, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2020.

live 10.1 years less

In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 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 66.8% less money

New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $45,200 as of 2022, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $15,000 as of 2022.

be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed

In New Zealand, 3.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Suriname, that number is 8.2% as of 2022.

pay a 15.2% higher top tax rate

New Zealand has a top tax rate of 33.0% as of 2016. In Suriname, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 18.3% more children

In New Zealand, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 13.7 times more likely to die during childbirth

In New Zealand, approximately 7.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Suriname, 96.0 women do as of 2020.

be 8.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In New Zealand, approximately 3.4 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 31.2% less likely to have internet access

In New Zealand, approximately 96.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Suriname, about 66.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 16.7% less on education

New Zealand spends 6.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Suriname spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 32.0% less on healthcare

New Zealand spends 10.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 97.4% less coastline

New Zealand has a total of 15,134 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, New Zealand Inland Revenue Department.

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.
Read more

How big is Suriname compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Suriname.or New Zealand It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.