If you lived in Suriname instead of Dominican Republic, you would:

Health

be 60.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Dominican Republic, 1.0% 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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have 44.1% fewer doctors per person

Dominican Republic has 24.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.

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have 18.2% less access to essential health services

Dominican Republic scores 77 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Suriname scores 63 as of 2021.

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be 5.3 times more likely to die by suicide

Dominican Republic has a suicide rate of 4.2 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 53.8% more likely to be unemployed

In Dominican Republic, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.

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make 36.1% less money

Dominican Republic has a GDP per capita of $11,059 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.

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Life

be 32.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In Dominican Republic, approximately 124.0 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 46.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Dominican Republic, approximately 27.7 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 23.7% less on education

Dominican Republic spends 3.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 17.6% more on healthcare

Dominican Republic spends 4.6% 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 70.0% less coastline

Dominican Republic has a total of 1,288 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

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Safety

be 40.3% less likely to be murdered

Dominican Republic has a homicide rate of 10.9 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 6.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 40.9% less likely to die in a road accident

In Dominican Republic, road accidents kill 27.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Suriname, they kill 16.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 67.4% more home broadband

Dominican Republic has 11.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.

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live with 90.0% less strain on fresh water

Dominican Republic withdraws 40% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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use 55.1% more electricity

Dominican Republic uses 1,867 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Suriname uses 2,897 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 44.4% more likely to die from air pollution

In Dominican Republic, air pollution causes 27.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.

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emit 35.8% more CO2

Dominican Republic emits 3.0 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 Dominican Republic? See an in-depth size comparison.

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