Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Puerto Rico instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
live 8.1 years longer
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Puerto Rico, that number is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.
be 75.7% less likely to die by suicide
Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Puerto Rico, it is 5.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 37.7% more likely to be obese
In Suriname, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Puerto Rico, that number is 42.4% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 23.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 7.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Puerto Rico, that number is 6.0% as of 2025.
make 5.7 times more money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Puerto Rico, the GDP per capita is $40,620 as of 2025.
Life
be 86.9% 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 Puerto Rico, 11.0 women do as of 2023.
be 59.2% 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 Puerto Rico, on the other hand, 6.0 children do as of 2022.
have 66.8% fewer children
In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Puerto Rico, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 48.8% more on education
Suriname spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Puerto Rico spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 29.8% more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Puerto Rico, that number is 501 km.
Safety
be 22.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Suriname, road accidents kill 16.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Puerto Rico, they kill 12.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 2.2 times more likely to be murdered
Suriname has a homicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Puerto Rico, that number is 14.6 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 49.3% more home broadband
Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Puerto Rico has 28.0 as of 2024.
live with 4.9 times more strain on fresh water
Suriname withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Puerto Rico withdraws 20% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 18.7% more CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Puerto Rico emits 4.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Suriname vs. Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico: At a glance
How big is Puerto Rico compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.