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

Health

be 49.2% more likely to be obese

In Belarus, 20.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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see 47.9% less spent on your healthcare

Belarus spends $2,194 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.

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have 71.3% fewer doctors per person

Belarus has 47.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.

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have 20.3% less access to essential health services

Belarus scores 79 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Suriname scores 63 as of 2021.

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be 42.6% more likely to die by suicide

Belarus has a suicide rate of 15.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Suriname, it is 22.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 2.3 times more likely to be unemployed

In Belarus, 3.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.

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be 5.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Belarus, 3.5% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Suriname, however, that number is 17.6% as of 2022.

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make 31.2% less money

Belarus has a GDP per capita of $10,279 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.

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Life

have 2.4 times more children

In Belarus, there are approximately 7.0 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 84.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Belarus, approximately 1.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Suriname, 84.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 8.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Belarus, approximately 1.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Suriname, on the other hand, 14.8 children do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 43.2% less on education

Belarus spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 23.6% less on healthcare

Belarus spends 7.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 2.2 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Belarus, road accidents kill 7.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Suriname, they kill 16.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 15.2% less strain on fresh water

Belarus withdraws 5% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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find 48.3% less home broadband

Belarus has 36.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.

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use 31.0% less electricity

Belarus uses 4,198 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Suriname uses 2,897 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 42.6% less likely to die from air pollution

In Belarus, air pollution causes 68.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.

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emit 31.6% less CO2

Belarus emits 5.9 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), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

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 Belarus? See an in-depth size comparison.

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