Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
be 17.4 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Suriname, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In South Africa, that number is 19.1% of people as of 2020.
live 7.1 years less
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In South Africa, that number is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
be 76.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Suriname, 70.0% live below the poverty line as of 2002. In South Africa, however, that number is 16.6% as of 2016.
make 28.6% less money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $16,100 as of 2020, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $11,500 as of 2020.
be 3.2 times more likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 8.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In South Africa, that number is 28.5% as of 2019.
pay a 18.4% higher top tax rate
Suriname has a top tax rate of 38.0% as of 2016. In South Africa, the top tax rate is 45.0% as of 2017.
Life
be 14.5% 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 South Africa, on the other hand, 25.9 children do as of 2022.
have 20.7% more children
In Suriname, there are approximately 15.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Africa, there are 18.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Geography
see 7.2 times more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, South African Revenue Service.
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.