Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Suriname instead of Jamaica, you would:
Health
live 2.2 years longer
In Jamaica, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 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 12.5% less likely to be obese
In Jamaica, 35.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.
see 31.6% more spent on your healthcare
Jamaica spends $869 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.
have 2.9 times more doctors per person
Jamaica has 4.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.
be 45.5% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Jamaica, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 1.6% of people as of 2024.
have 14.9% less access to essential health services
Jamaica scores 74 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Suriname scores 63 as of 2021.
be 13.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Jamaica has a suicide rate of 1.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Suriname, it is 22.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.4 times more likely to be unemployed
In Jamaica, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.
be 2.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Jamaica, 7.8% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Suriname, however, that number is 17.6% as of 2022.
make 11.7% less money
Jamaica has a GDP per capita of $8,003 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.
Life
be 35.4% less likely to die during childbirth
In Jamaica, approximately 130.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Suriname, 84.0 women do as of 2023.
have 49.8% more children
In Jamaica, there are approximately 11.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 11.9% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Jamaica, approximately 88% of people have access to drinking water (90% in urban areas, and 84% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 98% of people on average (99% in urban areas, and 97% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 47.9% less on education
Jamaica spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 28.8% less on healthcare
Jamaica spends 7.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 62.2% less coastline
Jamaica has a total of 1,022 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.
Safety
be 86.8% less likely to be murdered
Jamaica has a homicide rate of 49.4 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 6.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 17.3% more home broadband
Jamaica has 16.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.
live with 68.1% less strain on fresh water
Jamaica withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.
use 2.4 times more electricity
Jamaica uses 1,205 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Suriname uses 2,897 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 77.3% more likely to die from air pollution
In Jamaica, air pollution causes 22.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.
emit 43.0% more CO2
Jamaica emits 2.8 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), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Jamaica vs. Suriname
Suriname: At a glance
How big is Suriname compared to Jamaica? See an in-depth size comparison.