Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Jamaica instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
be 31.2% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Suriname, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Jamaica, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2024.
have 17.5% more access to essential health services
Suriname scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Jamaica scores 74 as of 2021.
be 92.4% less likely to die by suicide
Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Jamaica, it is 1.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 2.2 years less
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Jamaica, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.
be 14.3% more likely to be obese
In Suriname, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Jamaica, that number is 35.2% of people as of 2024.
see 24.0% less spent on your healthcare
Suriname spends $1,143 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Jamaica spends $869 as of 2023.
have 66.1% fewer doctors per person
Suriname has 13.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Jamaica has 4.6 as of 2023.
Economy
be 58.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 7.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Jamaica, that number is 3.3% as of 2025.
be 55.7% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Suriname, 17.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Jamaica, however, that number is 7.8% as of 2024.
make 13.2% more money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Jamaica, the GDP per capita is $8,003 as of 2025.
Life
be 54.8% more 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 Jamaica, 130.0 women do as of 2023.
be 10.8% more 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 Jamaica, on the other hand, 16.4 children do as of 2024.
have 33.2% fewer children
In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Jamaica, there are 11.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 10.7% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Suriname, approximately 98% of people have access to drinking water (99% in urban areas, and 97% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Jamaica, that number is 88% of people on average (90% in urban areas, and 84% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 92.0% more on education
Suriname spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Jamaica spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 40.5% more on healthcare
Suriname spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Jamaica, that number is 7.6% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.6 times more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Jamaica, that number is 1,022 km.
Safety
be 7.6 times more likely to be murdered
Suriname has a homicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Jamaica, that number is 49.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 14.8% less home broadband
Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Jamaica has 16.0 as of 2024.
live with 3.1 times more strain on fresh water
Suriname withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Jamaica withdraws 12% as of 2022.
use 58.4% less electricity
Suriname uses 2,897 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Jamaica uses 1,205 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 43.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Suriname, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Jamaica, it causes 22.0 as of 2019.
emit 30.0% less CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Jamaica emits 2.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Suriname vs. Jamaica
Jamaica: At a glance
How big is Jamaica compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.