Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 3.9 years longer
In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 78 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 63.6% less likely to be obese
In Suriname, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.
be 33.8% less likely to die by suicide
Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 14.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 55.6% less spent on your healthcare
Suriname spends $1,143 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sri Lanka spends $507 as of 2023.
have 16.2% fewer doctors per person
Suriname has 13.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sri Lanka has 11.4 as of 2023.
Economy
be 48.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Suriname, 7.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.0% as of 2025.
be 18.8% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Suriname, 17.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.
make 29.2% less money
Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $5,002 as of 2025.
Life
be 78.6% 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 Sri Lanka, 18.0 women do as of 2023.
be 64.9% 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 Sri Lanka, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2024.
have 41.1% fewer children
In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, there are 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 37.5% less likely to have internet access
In Suriname, approximately 87.4% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, about 54.6% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 36.2% less on education
Suriname spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 32.0% less on healthcare
Suriname spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.5 times more coastline
Suriname has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.
Safety
be 29.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Suriname, road accidents kill 16.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, they kill 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 54.8% less home broadband
Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sri Lanka has 8.5 as of 2024.
live with 23.0 times more strain on fresh water
Suriname withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sri Lanka withdraws 91% as of 2022.
use 77.8% less electricity
Suriname uses 2,897 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Sri Lanka uses 644 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 73.9% less CO2
Suriname emits 4.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Suriname vs. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to Suriname? See an in-depth size comparison.