Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica, that number is 0.6% of people as of 2024.
live 7.2 years longer
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
see 68.7% more spent on your healthcare
Suriname spends $1,143 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 98.3% more doctors per person
Suriname has 13.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
have 28.6% more access to essential health services
Suriname scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Costa Rica scores 81 as of 2021.
be 63.8% less likely to die by suicide
Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 12.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 7.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
make 2.8 times more money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 71.4% 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 Costa Rica, 24.0 women do as of 2023.
be 38.5% 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 Costa Rica, on the other hand, 9.1 children do as of 2024.
have 41.7% fewer children
In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 85.0% more on education
Suriname spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Costa Rica spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 27.0% more on healthcare
Suriname spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.3 times more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 2.7 times more likely to be murdered
Suriname has a homicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 24.2% more home broadband
Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
live with 48.9% more strain on fresh water
Suriname withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
use 21.2% less electricity
Suriname uses 2,897 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 61.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Suriname, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 59.9% less CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Suriname vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.