Latin America & Caribbean
A life that begins in Suriname
One in every 12,221 babies in the world is born here: about 10,975 a year, 0.021 a minute.
- Population
- 639,850
- Births a year
- 10,975
- Life expectancy
- 73.8
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 15.8
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
77
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
70.6
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
14.8
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
15.8
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
84
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
1.6
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
≈ 12
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
5.9
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
15.3
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
6.5
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
2.23
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
36
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
86
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
76
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
3
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
≈ 6.2
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$19,357
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
39
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
2.2
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
7.8
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
7
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
45
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
20
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
66
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
99
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
98
World: 91
Internet users (%)
87
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
6.27
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.01
World: 0.34
≈ Estimated from the region
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 56.7 → 2026: 73.8 → 2050: 77.6
World
1960: 124 → 2026: 15 → 2050: 8
World
1960: 6.6 → 2026: 2.2 → 2050: 1.9
World
1960: 61 → 2026: 66 → 2050: 75
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Suriname comes up about once in every 12,221 lives.
Be born nowOther countries in Latin America & Caribbean
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.