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

Health

live 2.0 years longer

In Egypt, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 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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be 29.9% less likely to be obese

In Egypt, 43.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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see 26.3% more spent on your healthcare

Egypt spends $905 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.

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have 2.0 times more doctors per person

Egypt has 6.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.

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be 16.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Egypt, 0.1% 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 10.0% less access to essential health services

Egypt scores 70 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Suriname scores 63 as of 2021.

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be 35.3 times more likely to die by suicide

Egypt has a suicide rate of 0.6 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 47.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Egypt, 33.5% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Suriname, however, that number is 17.6% as of 2022.

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make 2.3 times more money

Egypt has a GDP per capita of $3,086 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.

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be 15.5% more likely to be unemployed

In Egypt, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.

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Life

be 19.6% more likely to be literate

In Egypt, the literacy rate is 79.5% as of 2022. In Suriname, it is 95.0% as of 2021.

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be 28.8% less likely to die during infancy

In Egypt, approximately 20.8 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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be 4.9 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Egypt, approximately 17.0 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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have 18.0% fewer children

In Egypt, there are approximately 20.9 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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Basic Needs

be 17.1% more likely to have internet access

In Egypt, approximately 74.7% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Suriname, about 87.4% do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 14.8% more on education

Egypt spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 10.9% more on healthcare

Egypt spends 4.9% 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 84.2% less coastline

Egypt has a total of 2,450 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

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Safety

be 72.3% more likely to die in a road accident

In Egypt, road accidents kill 9.4 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 60.4% more home broadband

Egypt has 11.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.

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live with 97.2% less strain on fresh water

Egypt withdraws 141% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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use 94.1% more electricity

Egypt uses 1,493 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Suriname uses 2,897 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 62.9% less likely to die from air pollution

In Egypt, air pollution causes 105.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.

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emit 62.4% more CO2

Egypt emits 2.5 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 (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020–2021), 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 Egypt? See an in-depth size comparison.

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