180 countries ranked by safety, peace, freedom and LGBT+ equality
Visiting: RecommendedLGBT+ visiting: Recommended
Suriname is the most forested country on earth and it feels like it: a wooden UNESCO-listed capital, Maroon villages reached by dugout canoe, and rainforest with no roads in it at all. Dutch-speaking, calm and genuinely friendly, it's about as far off the trail as the continent gets. The only real challenge is logistics at jungle pace. Come with time and flexibility.
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Suriname: 4.3
Ranked 77th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
4.26 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024 — a moderate rate by world standards.
Higher than 55% of the 230 countries and territories measured.
How peaceful the country is — lower is better.
Suriname: 1.6
Ranked 36th most peaceful country in the world.
The GPI doesn't rank Suriname, so 1.58 is our estimate from its 23-indicator methodology.
Near the floor on everything military; what registers is street crime, the 2023 storming of parliament, and a dormant border dispute with Guyana.
Personal and economic freedom — higher is better.
Suriname: 7.0
Ranked 76th freest country in the world.
Freer than 53% of the 165 countries measured — 7.04 out of 10.
Day-to-day life (speech, movement, religion) scores 8.14; doing business and owning property, 5.50.
LGBT+ equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Suriname: 4.1
Ranked 86th most equal in the world for LGBT+ people.
Better for LGBT+ equality than 53% of the 197 countries scored — 41 out of 100.
The law runs ahead of public opinion here — legal protections score 59 out of 100, everyday attitudes 23.