Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Colombia instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
be 62.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Suriname, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Colombia, that number is 0.6% of people as of 2024.
live 4.1 years longer
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Colombia, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 19.1% less likely to be obese
In Suriname, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Colombia, that number is 24.9% of people as of 2024.
see 53.8% more spent on your healthcare
Suriname spends $1,143 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Colombia spends $1,758 as of 2024.
have 87.1% more doctors per person
Suriname has 13.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Colombia has 25.4 as of 2023.
have 27.0% more access to essential health services
Suriname scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Colombia scores 80 as of 2021.
be 77.7% less likely to die by suicide
Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Colombia, it is 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 21.1% more money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Colombia, the GDP per capita is $8,562 as of 2025.
be 80.7% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Suriname, 17.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Colombia, however, that number is 31.8% as of 2024.
Life
be 29.8% less likely to die during childbirth
In Suriname, approximately 84.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Colombia, 59.0 women do as of 2023.
be 29.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Suriname, approximately 14.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Colombia, on the other hand, 10.5 children do as of 2024.
have 22.7% fewer children
In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Colombia, there are 13.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 83.3% more on education
Suriname spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Colombia spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 50.5% more on healthcare
Suriname spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Colombia, that number is 8.1% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 8.3 times more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Colombia, that number is 3,208 km.
Safety
be 3.8 times more likely to be murdered
Suriname has a homicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Colombia, that number is 24.9 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
use 46.5% less electricity
Suriname uses 2,897 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Colombia uses 1,551 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 38.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Suriname, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Colombia, it causes 24.0 as of 2019.
emit 55.7% less CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Colombia emits 1.8 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: Suriname vs. Colombia
Colombia: At a glance
How big is Colombia compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.