Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Somalia instead of Suriname, you would:
Health
be 93.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Suriname, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
be 51.6% less likely to be obese
In Suriname, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 14.9% of people as of 2024.
be 64.2% less likely to die by suicide
Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 8.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 14.8 years less
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 59 years (56 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024.
see 95.4% less spent on your healthcare
Suriname spends $1,143 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Somalia spends $52 as of 2023.
have 57.1% less access to essential health services
Suriname scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Somalia scores 27 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.4 times more likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 7.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Somalia, that number is 18.9% as of 2025.
be 3.1 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Suriname, 17.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Somalia, however, that number is 55.4% as of 2022.
make 90.6% less money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Somalia, the GDP per capita is $661 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.5 times more children
In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Somalia, there are 42.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 6.7 times 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 Somalia, 563.0 women do as of 2023.
be 43.0% less likely to be literate
In Suriname, the literacy rate is 95.0% as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 54.1% as of 2022.
be 4.4 times 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 Somalia, on the other hand, 65.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 49.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Suriname, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 99% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 50% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 24% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 68.0% less likely to have internet access
In Suriname, approximately 87.4% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In Somalia, about 27.9% do as of 2024.
be 23.2% 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 Somalia, that number is 75% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 30.9% less on healthcare
Suriname spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 7.8 times more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Somalia, that number is 3,025 km.
Safety
be 24.7% more likely to die in a road accident
In Suriname, road accidents kill 16.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Somalia, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 96.2% less home broadband
Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Somalia has 0.7 as of 2023.
live with 6.2 times more strain on fresh water
Suriname withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Somalia withdraws 25% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 98.8% less CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Somalia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
be 64.1% more likely to die from air pollution
In Suriname, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Somalia, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Suriname vs. Somalia
Somalia: At a glance
How big is Somalia compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.