Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Suriname instead of Guyana, you would:
Health
live 3.4 years longer
In Guyana, the average life expectancy is 70 years (67 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.
be 10.2% less likely to die by suicide
Guyana has a suicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Suriname, it is 22.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 14.2% less spent on your healthcare
Guyana spends $1,331 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.
have 17.1% less access to essential health services
Guyana scores 76 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Suriname scores 63 as of 2021.
Economy
be 34.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Guyana, 12.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.
make 78.2% less money
Guyana has a GDP per capita of $32,414 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.
Life
be 36.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Guyana, approximately 23.2 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.
have 13.7% fewer children
In Guyana, there are approximately 19.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.2 times more on healthcare
Guyana spends 2.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 15.9% less coastline
Guyana has a total of 459 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.
Safety
be 65.9% less likely to be murdered
Guyana has a homicide rate of 19.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 6.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 44.9% more home broadband
Guyana has 12.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.
live with 19.7% more strain on fresh water
Guyana withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.
Environment
be 25.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Guyana, air pollution causes 52.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.
emit 11.0% less CO2
Guyana emits 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Guyana vs. Suriname
Suriname: At a glance
How big is Suriname compared to Guyana? See an in-depth size comparison.