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

Health

be 11.2% less likely to be obese

In Paraguay, 34.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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be 3.2 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Paraguay, 0.5% 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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see 22.2% less spent on your healthcare

Paraguay spends $1,469 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.

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have 65.2% fewer doctors per person

Paraguay has 38.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.

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have 12.5% less access to essential health services

Paraguay scores 72 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Suriname scores 63 as of 2021.

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be 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide

Paraguay has a suicide rate of 6.4 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 63.1% more likely to be unemployed

In Paraguay, 4.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.

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be 10.0% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Paraguay, 16.0% live below the poverty line as of 2025. In Suriname, however, that number is 17.6% as of 2022.

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Life

be 44.8% more likely to die during childbirth

In Paraguay, approximately 58.0 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 13.1% fewer children

In Paraguay, there are approximately 19.7 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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Expenditures

spend 18.7% less on education

Paraguay spends 3.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 35.3% less on healthcare

Paraguay spends 8.4% 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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Safety

be 22.9% less likely to die in a road accident

In Paraguay, road accidents kill 21.0 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 45.6% more home broadband

Paraguay has 12.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.

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use 21.3% more electricity

Paraguay uses 2,389 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Suriname uses 2,897 kWh as of 2023.

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live with 2.1 times more strain on fresh water

Paraguay withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 56.0% more likely to die from air pollution

In Paraguay, air pollution causes 25.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.

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emit 3.5 times more CO2

Paraguay emits 1.2 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 (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), 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 Paraguay? See an in-depth size comparison.

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