Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malawi instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
be 78.0% less likely to be obese
In Suriname, 26.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Malawi, that number is 5.8% of people as of 2016.
be 7.4 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Suriname, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Malawi, that number is 8.1% of people as of 2020.
Economy
be 34.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 7.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Malawi, that number is 5.0% as of 2023.
be 27.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Suriname, 70.0% live below the poverty line as of 2002. In Malawi, however, that number is 50.7% as of 2019.
pay a 21.1% lower top tax rate
Suriname has a top tax rate of 38.0% as of 2016. In Malawi, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2016.
make 91.1% less money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $19,000 as of 2023, while in Malawi, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2023.
Life
have 78.5% more children
In Suriname, there are approximately 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Malawi, there are 26.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 4.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Suriname, approximately 96.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Malawi, 381.0 women do as of 2020.
be 29.2% less likely to be literate
In Suriname, the literacy rate is 95.0% as of 2021. In Malawi, it is 67.3% as of 2021.
be 10.5% more likely to die during infancy
In Suriname, approximately 30.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Malawi, on the other hand, 33.4 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 85.9% less likely to have access to electricity
In Suriname, approximately 99% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 97% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Malawi, that number is 14% of people on average (54% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2022.
be 63.6% less likely to have internet access
In Suriname, approximately 66.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Malawi, about 24.0% do as of 2021.
Expenditures
spend 42.0% less on education
Suriname spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Malawi spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 20.6% less on healthcare
Suriname spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Malawi, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2020.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Malawi Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance.
Malawi: At a glance
How big is Malawi compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.