Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Suriname instead of Palau, you would:
Health
live 4.4 years longer
In Palau, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 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 24.0% less likely to be obese
In Palau, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.
see 38.5% less spent on your healthcare
Palau spends $1,857 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.
have 25.1% fewer doctors per person
Palau has 18.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.
Economy
make 63.8% less money
Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.
Life
be 20.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Palau, approximately 18.6 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 60.4% more children
In Palau, there are approximately 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.6% less on education
Palau spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 50.1% less on healthcare
Palau spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 74.6% less coastline
Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.
Safety
be 27.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Suriname, they kill 16.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 2.6 times more home broadband
Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 95.1% less CO2
Palau emits 82.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2023–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Palau vs. Suriname
Suriname: At a glance
How big is Suriname compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.