Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Palau instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
see 62.5% more spent on your healthcare
Suriname spends $1,143 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Palau spends $1,857 as of 2023.
have 33.4% more doctors per person
Suriname has 13.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Palau has 18.1 as of 2023.
live 4.4 years less
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Palau, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024.
be 31.6% more likely to be obese
In Suriname, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Palau, that number is 40.5% of people as of 2024.
Economy
make 2.8 times more money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Palau, the GDP per capita is $19,532 as of 2025.
Life
be 25.7% 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 Palau, on the other hand, 18.6 children do as of 2024.
have 37.7% fewer children
In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Palau, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 19.9% more on education
Suriname spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Palau spends 3.4% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 2.0 times more on healthcare
Suriname spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Palau, that number is 10.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.9 times more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Palau, that number is 1,519 km.
Safety
be 37.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Suriname, road accidents kill 16.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Palau, they kill 22.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 60.9% less home broadband
Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Palau has 7.3 as of 2023.
Environment
emit 20.4 times more CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Palau emits 82.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2023–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Suriname vs. Palau
Palau: At a glance
How big is Palau compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.