Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 34.8% less likely to be obese

In Suriname, 26.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Namibia, that number is 17.2% of people as of 2016.

be 10.5 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Suriname, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Namibia, that number is 11.6% of people as of 2020.

live 6.0 years less

In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Namibia, that number is 66 years (64 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 75.1% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Suriname, 70.0% live below the poverty line as of 2002. In Namibia, however, that number is 17.4% as of 2015.

make 39.5% less money

Suriname has a GDP per capita of $19,000 as of 2023, while in Namibia, the GDP per capita is $11,500 as of 2023.

be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed

In Suriname, 7.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Namibia, that number is 19.4% as of 2023.

Life

have 63.1% more children

In Suriname, there are approximately 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Namibia, there are 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Suriname, approximately 96.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Namibia, 215.0 women do as of 2020.

Basic Needs

be 43.2% 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 Namibia, that number is 56% of people on average (75% in urban areas, and 33% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 19.7% less likely to have internet access

In Suriname, approximately 66.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Namibia, about 53.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 92.0% more on education

Suriname spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Namibia spends 9.6% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 30.9% more on healthcare

Suriname spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Namibia, that number is 8.9% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 4.1 times more coastline

Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Namibia, that number is 1,572 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Namibia: At a glance

Namibia is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 823,290 sq km. South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after World War II, when it annexed the territory. In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that became Namibia, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. Namibia has been governed by SWAPO since the country won independence in 1990. Hifikepunye POHAMBA was elected president in November 2004 in a landslide victory replacing Sam NUJOMA who led the country during its first 14 years of self rule. POHAMBA was reelected in November 2009.
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How big is Namibia compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.

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