Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Suriname instead of Libya, you would:

Health

be 18.8% less likely to be obese

In Libya, 32.5% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Suriname, that number is 26.4% of people as of 2016.

be 11.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Libya, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Suriname, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2020.

live 4.8 years less

In Libya, the average life expectancy is 77 years (75 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2022. In Suriname, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 57.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Libya, 19.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Suriname, that number is 8.2% as of 2022.

make 24.2% less money

Libya has a GDP per capita of $19,800 as of 2022, while in Suriname, the GDP per capita is $15,000 as of 2022.

pay a 3.8 times higher top tax rate

Libya has a top tax rate of 10.0% as of 2016. In Suriname, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 33.3% more likely to die during childbirth

In Libya, approximately 72.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Suriname, 96.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.7 times more likely to die during infancy

In Libya, approximately 11.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Suriname, on the other hand, 30.2 children do as of 2022.

have 26.6% fewer children

In Libya, there are approximately 20.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Suriname, there are 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 40.7% more likely to have access to electricity

In Libya, approximately 70% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 96% in rural areas) as of 2021. In Suriname, that number is 99% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 97% in rural areas) as of 2021.

be 42.9% more likely to have internet access

In Libya, approximately 46.2% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Suriname, about 66.0% do as of 2021.

Geography

see 78.2% less coastline

Libya has a total of 1,770 km of coastline. In Suriname, that number is 386 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance.

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 Libya? See an in-depth size comparison.

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