Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
live 10.3 years longer
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 87 years for women) as of 2024.
be 80.8% less likely to be obese
In Suriname, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 4.7 times more spent on your healthcare
Suriname spends $1,143 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 95.5% more doctors per person
Suriname has 13.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
have 31.7% more access to essential health services
Suriname scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Japan scores 83 as of 2021.
be 21.7% less likely to die by suicide
Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 68.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 7.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 5.1 times more money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 96.4% 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 Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 87.8% 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 Japan, on the other hand, 1.8 children do as of 2024.
have 66.8% fewer children
In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.4% more on education
Suriname spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 98.5% more on healthcare
Suriname spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 77.1 times more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 96.5% less likely to be murdered
Suriname has a homicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 83.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In Suriname, road accidents kill 16.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 2.1 times more home broadband
Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Japan has 38.6 as of 2023.
use 2.6 times more electricity
Suriname uses 2,897 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
live with 9.3 times more strain on fresh water
Suriname withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
Environment
be 69.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Suriname, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 93.1% more CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Japan emits 7.8 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. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.