Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Suriname instead of District of Columbia, you would:

Health

be 21.7% more likely to be obese

In District of Columbia, 25.3% of adults are obese as of 2022. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 22.3% more likely to be unemployed

In District of Columbia, 6.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.

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be 29.4% more likely to live below the poverty line

In District of Columbia, 13.6% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Suriname, however, that number is 17.6% as of 2022.

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make 96.6% less money

District of Columbia has a GDP per capita of $209,167 as of 2024, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), World Health Organization (2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: District of Columbia vs. Suriname

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Suriname is 67.7% cheaper than District of Columbia
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Size Comparison · See true size
District of Columbia is about 926 times smaller than Suriname.
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Moving from District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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