Suriname vs Syria
Syria is 13% larger than Suriname.
SurinameSyriaSuriname moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
0.88×
Suriname is 0.88× the area of Syria. Put the other way, Syria is 1.13× the size of Suriname.
 Suriname |  Syria | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSyria: 1.13× the area | 163,270 km²#91 of 194 | 185,180 km²#87 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 5 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSyria: 40× the population | 639,850#164 of 194 · 2025 | 25,620,427#57 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySyria: 35.3× the density | 3.9 / km²#189 of 194 | 138 / km²#66 of 194 |
| Urban populationSyria: 1.1× the urban share | 66%#87 of 192 · 2025 | 72%#65 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSyria: 1.21× the births per woman | 2.23 per woman#83 of 192 · 2024 | 2.70 per woman#62 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSyria: 2.92 points higher | +0.85%#105 of 192 · 2025 | +3.77%#5 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSyria: 1.35× the birth rate | 17.2 per 1,000#85 of 192 · 2024 | 23.2 per 1,000#57 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSuriname: 1.39× the death rate | 6.8 per 1,000#112 of 192 · 2024 | 4.9 per 1,000#173 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Syria: 3.1 points higher | 25.3%#89 of 192 · 2025 | 28.4%#76 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Suriname: 3.4 points higher | 8.2%#93 of 192 · 2025 | 4.8%#127 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSyria: 18.0 per 1,000 higher | −1.5 per 1,000#128 of 192 · 2025 | +16.5 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSyria: 2,110× the refugees for its size | 0.09 per 1,000#119 of 190 · 2025 | 189.92 per 1,000#2 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySuriname: 1.2 years longer | 73.8 years#96 of 192 · 2024 | 72.6 years#108 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySyria: 1.2× the infant mortality | 14.8 per 1,000 births#83 of 191 · 2024 | 17.7 per 1,000 births#72 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSyria: 1.12× the doctors per person | 1.36 per 1,000#98 of 178 · 2023 | 1.52 per 1,000#94 of 178 · 2021 |
| University enrolment | 2.6%#145 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexSuriname: 0.158 higher | 0.722#113 of 190 · 2023 | 0.564#159 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSuriname: 8.53× the income per person | $6,140#104 of 185 · 2025 | $720#177 of 185 · 2022 |
| GDPSyria: 5.25× the economy | $4.52B2025 | $23.74B2022 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Suriname: 4.62× the output per person | $22,652#85 of 184 · 2025 | $4,905#152 of 184 · 2022 |
| GDP growthSuriname: 2.0 points higher | +1.8%#137 of 187 · 2025 | −0.2%#175 of 187 · 2022 |
| Inflation | +9.2%#22 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentSyria: 1.74× the unemployment | 7.8%#52 of 178 · 2025 | 13.6%#18 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertySyria: 8.18× the share in extreme poverty | 2.2%#71 of 149 · 2022 | 18.0%#37 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Suriname: 12.8 higher | 39.2#44 of 149 · 2022 | 26.4#140 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureSyria: 9.3 points higher | 7.0% of jobs#121 of 178 · 2025 | 16.3% of jobs#87 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySuriname: 0.9 points higher | 26.1% of jobs#34 of 178 · 2025 | 25.2% of jobs#42 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSuriname: 8.4 points higher | 66.9% of jobs#65 of 178 · 2025 | 58.5% of jobs#88 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | 45.4% of GDP#2 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | — | 6.8% of GDP#165 of 168 · 2022 |
| Internet users | 87%#71 of 184 · 2023 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsSuriname: 2.0× the mobile subscriptions | 142 per 100#32 of 191 · 2024 | 71 per 100#157 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSuriname: 31.6× the forest share | 92% of land#2 of 192 · 2024 | 3% of land#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSuriname: 3.2× the CO₂ per person | 4.06 t a year#59 of 185 · 2024 | 1.27 t a year#121 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySuriname: 13.4 points higher | 14.5%#125 of 190 · 2021 | 1.1%#173 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySuriname: 9.7 points higher | 99.0%#112 of 192 · 2024 | 89.3%#139 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Syria: 2.04× the air pollution | 15.7 µg/m³#112 of 191 · 2023 | 32.1 µg/m³#42 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSuriname: 14.1 points higher | 14.8% of land#119 of 191 · 2025 | 0.7% of land#185 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSyria: 23.7 points higher | 0.3% of land#186 of 190 · 2024 | 24.0% of land#41 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSyria: 31.1× the water stress | 4.0%#130 of 176 · 2022 | 124.4%#12 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSuriname: 9.25× the rain and snow | 2,331 mm#19 of 180 · 2022 | 252 mm#157 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySuriname: 2.92 higher | +0.60#62 of 193 · 2025 | −2.32#191 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSuriname: 1.24 higher | −0.38#109 of 193 · 2025 | −1.62#190 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 6.5 per 100,000#42 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Military or transitionaltransitional presidential republic |
| Capital | Paramaribo | Damascus |
| Currency | Surinamese dollar (SRD) | Syrian pound (SYP) |
| Official languages | Dutch | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +597 | +963 |
| Region | South America | Western Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Suriname sits at about 4° N and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; Syria at 35° N is stretched to 1.49×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Suriname bigger than Syria?
- No. Suriname is 12% smaller than Syria. Suriname covers 163,270 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
- How many times does Suriname fit into Syria?
- About 1.1 times: Syria has 1.13× the area of Suriname.
- Why do Suriname and Syria look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Suriname is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and Syria about 1.49×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Suriname or Syria?
- Syria: 25,620,427 people against 639,850. Density: Suriname 3.9 per km², Syria 138 per km².
- Which is richer, Suriname or Syria?
- By gross national income per person, Suriname: $6,140 against $720 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 8.53× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Suriname or Syria?
- In Suriname: life expectancy at birth is 73.8 years, against 72.6 — 1.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Suriname and Syria have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Suriname: presidential republic; Syria: military or transitional.