# Guyana and Suriname compared

Guyana and Suriname side by side: 39 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, their chronicles record no events of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/guy-vs-sur
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Guyana: 26 May 1966 — Guyana becomes independent of Britain
- Suriname: 25 November 1975 — Suriname is proclaimed independent at Paramaribo

## Economy

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $25 B | 2024 | $4.4 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $29,675 | 2024 | $6,962 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 43.8% | 2024 | 1.7% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 2.9% | 2024 | 16.2% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 194.4% | 2005 | 91.0% | 2010 |

## Society

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 831,000 | 2024 | 634,000 | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 70.3 yrs | 2024 | 73.8 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 26.5% | 2024 | 65.8% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 2.4 | 2024 | 2.2 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 55.0 | 2024 | 57.8 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 69.6 | 2024 | 74.1 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 49.4 | 2024 | 42.5 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 47.8 | 2024 | 40.4 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 51.2 | 2024 | 53.4 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 40.8 | 2024 | 40.2 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 2.5% | 2023 | 5.4% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 1.39 | 2020 | 1.35 | 2023 |
| Under-5 mortality | 25.2 | 2024 | 15.8 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 99.0% | 2024 | 73.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 67.2% | 2024 | 55.8% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 85.6% | 2020 | 92.9% | 2012 |
| Education spending | 4.5% | 2018 | 2.9% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 97.6% | 2024 | 91.9% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 91.4% | 2024 | 76.1% | 2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 26.4% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 83.0% | 2024 | 87.4% | 2023 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 113 | 2022 | 142 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 13.3% | 2024 | 10.4% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 211,140 km² | 2023 | 160,508 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 87.1% | 2023 | 94.4% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 3.4% | 2023 | 0.4% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 4.6 | 2024 | 4.1 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 12.1% | 2022 | 14.5% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 33.7% | 2021 | 9.6% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 22.1% | 2021 | 7.9% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 9.4% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 2.2% | 2021 | 1.6% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 98.9% | 2023 | 99.6% | 2023 |

## Military

| Metric | Guyana | Observed | Suriname | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 0.9% | 2024 | — | — |
| Defense spending | $202 M | 2024 | — | — |
| Armed forces | 3,000 | 2020 | 2,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/GUY.md and https://terralore.co/country/SUR.md.

## Entangled histories (0 events)

Neither nation's sourced chronicle names the other — across both archives, no recorded event crosses between them. That is a fact about the two records as they stand, not a gap filled here.

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- Education statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/GUY/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SUR/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Guyana and Suriname compared", terralore.co/compare/guy-vs-sur, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.