Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Suriname instead of Virgin Islands, you would:

Health

live 7.0 years less

In Virgin Islands, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Suriname, that number is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

be 31.6% less likely to be unemployed

In Virgin Islands, 11.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Suriname, that number is 7.8% as of 2025.

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make 84.0% less money

Virgin Islands has a GDP per capita of $44,321 as of 2022, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $7,070 as of 2025.

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Life

have 54.5% more children

In Virgin Islands, there are approximately 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 93.5% more likely to die during infancy

In Virgin Islands, approximately 7.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Suriname, on the other hand, 14.8 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 34.9% more likely to have internet access

In Virgin Islands, approximately 64.8% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Suriname, about 87.4% do as of 2023.

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Geography

see 2.1 times more coastline

Virgin Islands has a total of 188 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

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Infrastructure

find 86.2% more home broadband

Virgin Islands has 10.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Suriname has 18.8 as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this

Compare further: Virgin Islands vs. Suriname

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Suriname is 66.4% cheaper than Virgin Islands overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Virgin Islands is about 86 times smaller than Suriname.
→
Moving from Virgin Islands to Suriname · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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Suriname: At a glance

Suriname is a sovereign country in South America, with a total land area of approximately 156,000 sq km. First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of African slavery in 1863, workers were brought in from India and Java. Independence from the Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In 1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a democratically elected government - a four-party coalition - returned to power in 1991. The coalition expanded to eight parties in 2005 and ruled until August 2010, when voters returned former military leader Desire BOUTERSE and his opposition coalition to power.
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How big is Suriname compared to Virgin Islands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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