Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Suriname instead of Iraq, you would:
Health
live 1.3 years longer
In Iraq, 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.
be 22.4% less likely to be obese
In Iraq, 39.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.
see 35.6% more spent on your healthcare
Iraq spends $843 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.
have 32.6% more doctors per person
Iraq has 10.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.
be 16.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Iraq, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 1.6% of people as of 2024.
be 7.5 times more likely to die by suicide
Iraq has a suicide rate of 3.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Suriname, it is 22.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 49.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Iraq, 15.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.
make 30.7% more money
Iraq has a GDP per capita of $5,410 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.
Life
be 13.0% more likely to be literate
In Iraq, the literacy rate is 84.1% as of 2021. In Suriname, it is 95.0% as of 2021.
be 26.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Iraq, approximately 20.1 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.
be 27.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Iraq, approximately 66.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Suriname, 84.0 women do as of 2023.
have 33.0% fewer children
In Iraq, there are approximately 25.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Geography
see 6.7 times more coastline
Iraq has a total of 58 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.
Safety
be 24.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Iraq, road accidents kill 21.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Suriname, they kill 16.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 93.4% less strain on fresh water
Iraq withdraws 60% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.
use 2.1 times more electricity
Iraq uses 1,377 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Suriname uses 2,897 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 55.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Iraq, air pollution causes 87.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.
emit 21.6% less CO2
Iraq emits 5.2 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 (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Iraq vs. Suriname
Suriname: At a glance
How big is Suriname compared to Iraq? See an in-depth size comparison.