Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 2.7 years less

In Aruba, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

make 81.7% less money

Aruba has a GDP per capita of $38,591 as of 2024, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.

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Life

have 2.3 times more children

In Aruba, there are approximately 7.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 22.4% more likely to die during infancy

In Aruba, approximately 12.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Suriname, on the other hand, 14.8 children do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 20.7% less on education

Aruba spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Geography

see 5.6 times more coastline

Aruba has a total of 68 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

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Environment

emit 21.2% less CO2

Aruba emits 5.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this

Compare further: Aruba vs. Suriname

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Suriname is 53.5% cheaper than Aruba overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Aruba is about 910 times smaller than Suriname.
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Moving from Aruba to Suriname · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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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.
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How big is Suriname compared to Aruba? See an in-depth size comparison.

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