Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 10.2% less likely to be obese

In Canada, 29.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Suriname, that number is 26.4% of people as of 2016.

live 11.4 years less

In Canada, the average life expectancy is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Suriname, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 64.9% less money

Canada has a GDP per capita of $45,900 as of 2020, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $16,100 as of 2020.

be 57.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Canada, 5.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Suriname, that number is 8.9% as of 2017.

be 7.4 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Canada, 9.4% live below the poverty line as of 2008. In Suriname, however, that number is 70.0% as of 2002.

pay a 15.2% higher top tax rate

Canada has a top tax rate of 33.0% as of 2016. In Suriname, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 51.2% more children

In Canada, there are approximately 10.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Suriname, there are 15.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

be 12.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Canada, approximately 10.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Suriname, 120.0 women do as of 2017.

be 6.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Canada, approximately 4.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Suriname, on the other hand, 30.2 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 27.8% less likely to have internet access

In Canada, approximately 97.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Suriname, about 70.0% do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 10.2% less on healthcare

Canada spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Suriname, that number is 9.7% of GDP as of 2019.

spend 35.8% more on education

Canada spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2011. Suriname spends 7.2% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

Geography

see 99.8% less coastline

Canada has a total of 202,080 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Canada Revenue Agency.

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.
Read more

How big is Suriname compared to Canada? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Suriname.or Canada It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.