Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Belgium instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
live 9.4 years longer
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Belgium, that number is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.
be 16.3% less likely to be obese
In Suriname, 26.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Belgium, that number is 22.1% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 3.0 times more money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $16,100 as of 2020, while in Belgium, the GDP per capita is $48,200 as of 2020.
be 39.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 8.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Belgium, that number is 5.4% as of 2019.
be 78.9% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Suriname, 70.0% live below the poverty line as of 2002. In Belgium, however, that number is 14.8% as of 2018.
pay a 41.3% higher top tax rate
Suriname has a top tax rate of 38.0% as of 2016. In Belgium, the top tax rate is 53.7% as of 2016.
Life
be 95.8% less likely to die during childbirth
In Suriname, approximately 120.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Belgium, 5.0 women do as of 2017.
be 89.5% less 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 Belgium, on the other hand, 3.2 children do as of 2022.
have 28.8% fewer children
In Suriname, there are approximately 15.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Belgium, there are 10.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 31.4% more likely to have internet access
In Suriname, approximately 70.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Belgium, about 92.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 11.1% less on education
Suriname spends 7.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Belgium spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
spend 10.3% more on healthcare
Suriname spends 9.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Belgium, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 82.8% less coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Belgium, that number is 66 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Service Public Fédéral Finances, The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance.
Belgium: At a glance
How big is Belgium compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.