If you lived in Suriname instead of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, you would:

Health

live 2.4 years longer

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the average life expectancy is 71 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.

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be 11.0% less likely to be obese

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 34.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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see 25.9% more spent on your healthcare

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines spends $908 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Suriname spends $1,143 as of 2023.

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be 100.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 0.8% 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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be 54.3 times more likely to die by suicide

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a suicide rate of 0.4 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 56.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 18.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.

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make 43.7% less money

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a GDP per capita of $12,562 as of 2025, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.

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Life

have 43.4% more children

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, there are approximately 12.0 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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be 50.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, approximately 56.0 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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be 45.1% more likely to die during infancy

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, approximately 10.2 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.

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Basic Needs

be 14.7% more likely to have internet access

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, approximately 76.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Suriname, about 87.4% do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 55.6% less on education

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines spends 6.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Suriname spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 21.8% more on healthcare

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines spends 4.4% 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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Geography

see 4.6 times more coastline

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a total of 84 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

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Safety

be 87.3% less likely to be murdered

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a homicide rate of 51.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Suriname, that number is 6.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 3.4 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, road accidents kill 4.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Suriname, they kill 16.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 50.0% less strain on fresh water

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Suriname withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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find 36.4% less home broadband

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has 29.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.

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Environment

be 56.0% more likely to die from air pollution

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 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 3.1 times more CO2

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines emits 1.3 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), The World Factbook. 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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