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

Health

be 2.3 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Brazil, 0.7% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 1.6% of people as of 2024.

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live 2.3 years less

In Brazil, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 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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see 44.8% less spent on your healthcare

Brazil spends $2,070 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.

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have 42.5% fewer doctors per person

Brazil has 23.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.

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have 21.2% less access to essential health services

Brazil scores 80 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Suriname scores 63 as of 2021.

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be 2.9 times more likely to die by suicide

Brazil has a suicide rate of 7.6 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 31.2% more likely to be unemployed

In Brazil, 6.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.

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make 34.0% less money

Brazil has a GDP per capita of $10,713 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.

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Life

have 41.4% more children

In Brazil, there are approximately 12.1 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 25.4% more likely to die during childbirth

In Brazil, approximately 67.0 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 20.3% more likely to die during infancy

In Brazil, approximately 12.3 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 48.9% less on education

Brazil spends 5.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 44.4% less on healthcare

Brazil spends 9.7% 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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Geography

see 94.8% less coastline

Brazil has a total of 7,491 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

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Safety

be 66.2% less likely to be murdered

Brazil has a homicide rate of 19.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 6.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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Infrastructure

find 22.1% less home broadband

Brazil has 24.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.

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live with 2.6 times more strain on fresh water

Brazil withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 69.6% more likely to die from air pollution

In Brazil, air pollution causes 23.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.

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emit 75.0% more CO2

Brazil emits 2.3 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), The World Factbook. 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 Brazil? See an in-depth size comparison.

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