Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Suriname instead of Saint Lucia, you would:
Health
live 0.9 years longer
In Saint Lucia, the average life expectancy is 73 years (69 years for men, 76 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 11.5% less likely to be obese
In Saint Lucia, 34.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.
be 4.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Saint Lucia, 0.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 1.6% of people as of 2024.
have 68.0% fewer doctors per person
Saint Lucia has 42.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Suriname has 13.6 as of 2023.
have 18.2% less access to essential health services
Saint Lucia scores 77 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Suriname scores 63 as of 2021.
be 4.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Saint Lucia has a suicide rate of 5.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Suriname, it is 22.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 17.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Saint Lucia, 9.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.
make 52.1% less money
Saint Lucia has a GDP per capita of $14,746 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.
Life
have 53.0% more children
In Saint Lucia, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 90.9% more likely to die during childbirth
In Saint Lucia, approximately 44.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Suriname, 84.0 women do as of 2023.
Basic Needs
be 28.1% more likely to have internet access
In Saint Lucia, approximately 68.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Suriname, about 87.4% do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 25.5% less on education
Saint Lucia spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 14.4% more on healthcare
Saint Lucia spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.4 times more coastline
Saint Lucia has a total of 158 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.
Safety
be 83.3% less likely to be murdered
Saint Lucia has a homicide rate of 39.0 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 6.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 82.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Saint Lucia, road accidents kill 8.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Suriname, they kill 16.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 38.2% more home broadband
Saint Lucia has 13.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.
live with 72.4% less strain on fresh water
Saint Lucia withdraws 14% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.
Environment
be 95.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Saint Lucia, air pollution causes 20.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Suriname, it causes 39.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.4 times more CO2
Saint Lucia emits 1.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Saint Lucia vs. Suriname
Suriname: At a glance
How big is Suriname compared to Saint Lucia? See an in-depth size comparison.