Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Suriname instead of Western Sahara, you would:

Health

live 7.9 years longer

In Western Sahara, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 7.6 times more money

Western Sahara has a GDP per capita of $2,500 as of 2007, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $19,000 as of 2023.

Life

be 36.8% less likely to die during infancy

In Western Sahara, approximately 47.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In Suriname, on the other hand, 30.2 children do as of 2022.

have 46.8% fewer children

In Western Sahara, there are approximately 28.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020. In Suriname, there are 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Geography

see 65.2% less coastline

Western Sahara has a total of 1,110 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.
Read more

How big is Suriname compared to Western Sahara? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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