Photo: WiDi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 06 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Suriname: Development & Human Capital
Is a country turning its resources into better lives?
Suriname is placed 122nd of 196 countries on development & human capital in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: Social Protection Coverage 33.6 (2025); Maternal Mortality Ratio 83.64 (2023).
Development & Human Capital
122nd
of 196 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 3 key statistics
01The evidence
The 3 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Suriname on development & human capital — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 2 of 3
Maternal Mortality Ratio
UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG)
Why it is a key: Whether a woman survives giving birth — the reach of a health system at the moment it is hardest to fake.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
83.64
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
Lower is better
Suriname: 83.64. Across the 195 countries in this edition, values run from 0.11 (Cook Islands) to 992.83 (Nigeria); the world median is 46.65.
- World median
- 46.65
- Best in South America
- 9.88 Chile
- Land neighbours
- Brazil 66.91 · France 7.3 · Guyana 74.73
Each grey tick is one of 195 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 3 of 3
Human Development Index
UNDP Human Development Report Office
Why it is a key: The standard composite of health, schooling and income, carrying UNDP's own published rank.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
0.722
HDI score (0–1)
Higher is better
Ranked 114th of 193 by UNDP Human Development Report Office
Suriname: 0.722. Across the 193 countries in this edition, values run from 0.388 (South Sudan) to 0.972 (Iceland); the world median is 0.762.
- World median
- 0.762
- Best in South America
- 0.878 Chile
- Land neighbours
- Brazil 0.786 · France 0.92 · Guyana 0.776
Each grey tick is one of 193 countries in the 2023 edition.
02Over time
Which way Suriname is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Maternal Mortality Ratio
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births · lower is better
SurinameWorld median
Suriname fell from 281.55 in 2000 to 83.64 in 2023; the world median went from 70.99 to 46.65.
Every year’s figures
Year Suriname World median 2023 84 46.7 2022 88 53.0 2021 144 76.6 2020 94 56.0 2019 97 48.4 2018 101 49.3 2017 105 47.2 2016 109 50.6 2015 115 51.9 2014 120 52.8 2013 121 53.3 2012 122 54.6 2011 126 55.0 2010 134 56.1 2009 147 56.3 2008 161 55.8 2007 173 56.8 2006 187 58.1 2005 202 60.1 2004 219 63.0 2003 238 66.8 2002 253 66.0 2001 270 68.1 2000 282 71.0 Human Development Index
HDI score (0–1) · higher is better
SurinameWorld median
Suriname rose from 0.679 in 2004 to 0.722 in 2023; the world median went from 0.696 to 0.762.
Every year’s figures
Year Suriname World median 2023 0.722 0.7620 2022 0.719 0.7610 2021 0.697 0.7450 2020 0.714 0.7425 2019 0.720 0.7515 2018 0.719 0.7520 2017 0.715 0.7480 2016 0.716 0.7500 2015 0.718 0.7430 2014 0.715 0.7410 2013 0.714 0.7390 2012 0.711 0.7350 2011 0.708 0.7250 2010 0.707 0.7250 2009 0.704 0.7220 2008 0.701 0.7180 2007 0.697 0.7100 2006 0.690 0.7045 2005 0.685 0.6960 2004 0.679 0.6960 2003 — 0.6910 2002 — 0.6845 2001 — 0.6770 2000 — 0.6720
03In context
Suriname beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 196 countries on development & human capital, never a place within the region.
Suriname and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 196 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Social Protection CoveragePopulation covered by at least one social protection benefit (%) | Maternal Mortality RatioMaternal deaths per 100,000 live births | Human Development IndexHDI score (0–1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 France | =19th | 99.4 | 7.3 | 0.92 |
 Guyana | 68th | 100 | 74.73 | 0.776 |
 Brazil | 87th | 71.2 | 66.91 | 0.786 |
| Suriname | 122nd | 33.6 | 83.64 | 0.722 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across South America
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 196.
Placed either side on development & human capital
The countries immediately above and below Suriname in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Suriname is ahead of the world, and behind
20 more statistics filed under development & human capital, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median5
Statistics on which Suriname does better than the middle country measured.
Gender Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.9710.9930.971No real change since 2013
Suriname: 0.993 · world median 0.971 · Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.407 to 1.038; higher is better.
Position 23rd of 184 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 2025 · world median 0.0390.0110.039▲ Improved since 2018
Suriname: 0.011 · world median 0.039 · MPI (0–1). Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 0.517; lower is better.
Position 77th of 109 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveUNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) · 2024 · world median 13.88.31113.8No earlier reading
Suriname: 8.311 · world median 13.8 · Children under 5 who are stunted (%). UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.518 to 52.8; lower is better.
Position 109th of 162 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Cereal YieldFAO · 2023 · world median 3,0724,0793,072▼ Worsened since 2013
Suriname: 4,079 · world median 3,072 · Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 23 to 29,147; higher is better.
Position 62nd of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GDP per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 17,26519,35717,265▼ Worsened since 2015
Suriname: 19,357 · world median 17,265 · GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1,067 to 139,593; higher is better.
Position 86th of 185 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median13
Statistics on which Suriname does worse than the middle country measured.
Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.498.398.4No earlier reading
Suriname: 98.3 · world median 98.4 · Children under 5 whose birth is registered (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.7 to 100; higher is better.
Under-Five Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 14.5415.7914.54▲ Improved since 2014
Suriname: 15.79 · world median 14.54 · Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.26 to 115.65; lower is better.
Position 94th of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Life Expectancy at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 74.6373.6374.63▲ Improved since 2013
Suriname: 73.63 · world median 74.63 · Years a newborn would live at current death rates. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 54.46 to 86.37; higher is better.
Position 121st of 222 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.3510.3910.351▲ Improved since 2013
Suriname: 0.391 · world median 0.351 · GII (0 = full equality, 1 = maximum inequality). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 0.838; lower is better.
Ranked 97th of 172 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.
Infant Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 12.2614.7612.26No real change since 2014
Suriname: 14.76 · world median 12.26 · Deaths before age one (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.214 to 71.87; lower is better.
Position 87th of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Access to ElectricityWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 10099100No real change since 2014
Suriname: 99 · world median 100 · Population with electricity access (%). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 5.4 to 100; higher is better.
Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.9338.439.933▼ Worsened since 2013
Suriname: 8.43 · world median 9.933 · Mean years of schooling (adults 25+). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.412 to 14.3; higher is better.
Position 123rd of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Country Policy and Institutional AssessmentWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 3.2463.0173.246▲ Improved since 2024
Suriname: 3.017 · world median 3.246 · IDA Resource Allocation Index (1 = low to 6 = high). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.617 to 4.225; higher is better.
Position 52nd of 78 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Statistical Performance IndicatorsWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 69.358.6369.3▲ Improved since 2016
Suriname: 58.63 · world median 69.3 · SPI overall score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 27.12 to 94.14; higher is better.
Position 139th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3410.9613.34▼ Worsened since 2013
Suriname: 10.96 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.
Position 159th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Violent Discipline of ChildrenUNICEF · 2025 · world median 75.887.375.8No earlier reading
Suriname: 87.3 · world median 75.8 · Children aged 1-14 experiencing violent discipline (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 37.6 to 94; lower is better.
Position 15th of 90 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Child MarriageUNICEF · 2025 · world median 17.13617.1No earlier reading
Suriname: 36 · world median 17.1 · Women 20–24 married before 18 (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.3; lower is better.
Position 16th of 143 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six MonthsUNICEF · 2024 · world median 40.748.91640.74No earlier reading
Suriname: 8.916 · world median 40.74 · Infants under 6 months exclusively breastfed (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3.497 to 83.3; higher is better.
Position 132nd of 136 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end2
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Children with Functional DifficultiesUNICEF · 2024 · world median 1313.613No earlier reading
Suriname: 13.6 · world median 13 · Children aged 5-17 with a functional difficulty (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.9 to 35.2.
Net Official Development Assistance ReceivedOECD Development Assistance Committee · 2023 · world median 2.5791.3812.579Moved since 2013
Suriname: 1.381 · world median 2.579 · Net ODA received (% of GNI). OECD Development Assistance Committee, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from -0.001 to 101.78.
Position 82nd of 130 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Suriname
Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Coefficient of Human Inequality, GNI per Capita (PPP) (last 2021), Human Capital Index, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP) (last 2024), Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day (last 2022), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day (last 2022), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day (last 2022) and Prosperity Gap (last 2022). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Development & Human Capital among Suriname’s 16 topics
Development & Human Capital is Suriname’s 11th best-placed topic of 16. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Democracy & Civil Libertiesjoint 60th of 1983/3 keys
- Energy61st of 1932/3 keys
- Peace & Securityjoint 58th of 1773/4 keys
- Gender & Equality60th of 1833/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability81st of 1812/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing92nd of 2003/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions94th of 1944/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience94th of 1923/3 keys
- Economy & Innovation94th of 1762/4 keys
- Poverty & Inequality94th of 1592/2 keys
- Development & Human Capital122nd of 1963/3 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 119th of 1824/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture122nd of 1754/4 keys
- Mobility & Tradejoint 112th of 1472/3 keys
- Education & Knowledge131st of 1714/4 keys
- Digital & Technology153rd of 1983/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on development & human capital
The three countries placed highest of 196, and the leaders Suriname can most readily be measured against.
1
Cook IslandsPolynesia
1st of 196 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: Benedict Adam · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
2
NorwayNorthern Europe
2nd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
DenmarkNorthern Europe
3rd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Americas
Canada27th3/3 keysHighest in South America
Uruguay45th3/3 keysThis page
Suriname122nd3/3 keys
Positions out of 196 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Suriname and development & human capital
On development & human capital
Global Hunger Index 2025: Countries with the Most Alarming Hunger Crisis
Thirteen countries scored across four editions — 2000, 2008, 2016 and 2025 — and five the report could not score at all. DR Congo and South Sudan share 121st place on 37.5.
On development & human capital
India vs Pakistan 2025: Comparison of Hunger Index, Happiness, HDI, Rule of Law, Literacy & GDP
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita. India is the better placed on five of them; Pakistan on one.
08Questions
Suriname on development & human capital: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Suriname rank on development & human capital?
Suriname is placed 122nd of 196 countries on Development & Human Capital in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (Social Protection Coverage, Maternal Mortality Ratio and Human Development Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Social Protection Coverage figure for Suriname?
33.6 in 2025 (population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 52.1.
What is the latest Maternal Mortality Ratio figure for Suriname?
83.64 in 2023 (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), according to UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). The world median in the same edition was 46.65.
How does Suriname compare with Brazil on development & human capital?
Brazil is placed 87th of 196, and Suriname 122nd. Social Protection Coverage: Brazil 71.2, Suriname 33.6; Maternal Mortality Ratio: Brazil 66.91, Suriname 83.64; Human Development Index: Brazil 0.786, Suriname 0.722.
How have Suriname’s development & human capital figures changed?
Maternal Mortality Ratio fell from 281.55 in 2000 to 83.64 in 2023; Human Development Index rose from 0.679 in 2004 to 0.722 in 2023.
Which development & human capital statistics are missing for Suriname?
No current reading is published for Suriname on Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Coefficient of Human Inequality, GNI per Capita (PPP), Human Capital Index, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP), Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day and Prosperity Gap. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Suriname, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions94th of 194
- Economy & Innovation94th of 176
- Work & Labour=119th of 182
- Education & Knowledge131st of 171
- Health & Wellbeing92nd of 200
- Environment & Sustainability81st of 181
- Gender & Equality60th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties=60th of 198
- Peace & Security=58th of 177
- Risk & Resilience94th of 192
- Mobility & Trade=112th of 147
- Food & Agriculture122nd of 175
- Poverty & Inequality94th of 159
- Energy61st of 193
- Digital & Technology153rd of 198
- The full Suriname profile
Nearby, on development & human capital
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Poverty lines, inequality and aid received are published here as context rather than as keys, often because they cover fewer countries or are measured too rarely. Development is also not the same as economic size or growth, which belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Development & Human Capital standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 31 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 196 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Social Protection Coverage — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Maternal Mortality Ratio — UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Human Development Index — UNDP Human Development Report Office, CC BY 3.0 IGO
The other 20 statistics on this page come from 9 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Suriname’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Suriname (banner) — WiDi, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Cook Islands — Benedict Adam, CC BY 2.0
- Norway — Ximonic , Simo Räsänen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Suriname: Development & Human Capital — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/suriname/development