Country profile

Suriname

Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income634K inhabitants

Last updated April 1, 2026

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Composite GEFRI Score

Severely underprepared

Suriname is severely underprepared (31st percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.

35.94Composite score
Global percentile
31st
Global rank
#123
Regional rank
#23
Viewing data for
Infrastructure
71.19
63rd percentileGlobal avg. 59.93
Human Capital
39.44
28th percentileGlobal avg. 47.03
Innovation
27.37
19th percentileGlobal avg. 42.53
Governance
41.69
41st percentileGlobal avg. 47.71
Access & Parity
0.00
14th percentileGlobal avg. 43.89

Country profile

Suriname trails global peers in Human Capital (39, 28th percentile), Innovation (27, 19th percentile), and School Access and Gender Parity (0, 14th percentile). A coordinated reform effort is needed to strengthen education futures readiness.

Wide gaps between dimensions reveal structural weaknesses that slow coordinated progress. Limited tertiary enrollment narrows future talent pipelines and innovation capacity.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.

Governance and Human Capital present a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning.

Note: Several indicators use imputed values. Policymakers and planners should validate results further before committing to major initiatives.

Key insights

  • Falls below many peers at the 31st percentile.
  • Places 123rd worldwide.
  • Holds a regional position of 23rd within Latin America & Caribbean .
  • Scores range from Infrastructure (71.2) to Access & Parity (0.0), reflecting variation across dimensions.
  • Trails regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.

Regional peers: Latin America & Caribbean

Composite GEFRI score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
321Chile69.22
412Argentina63.46
453Uruguay61.84
——BarbadosMicrostate61.53
——Cayman IslandsMicrostate60.64
——St. Kitts and NevisMicrostate59.49
——Antigua and BarbudaMicrostate58.12
614Peru57.90
——GrenadaMicrostate56.27
——Turks and Caicos IslandsMicrostate55.44
735Colombia55.23
756Mexico54.99
797Cuba53.32
818Puerto Rico (US)53.10
869Dominican Republic51.42
——DominicaMicrostate51.11
8810Ecuador51.07
8911Brazil51.03
——St. LuciaMicrostate50.66
9312Bolivia50.30
9413Costa Rica50.00
——St. Vincent and the GrenadinesMicrostate49.59
——ArubaMicrostate48.98
——British Virgin IslandsMicrostate48.56
——St. Martin (French part)Microstate47.36
10014Jamaica46.92
——CuracaoMicrostate46.80
——Sint Maarten (Dutch part)Microstate46.76
——Virgin Islands (U.S.)Microstate46.46
10115Panama46.26
10216Bahamas, The46.13
10317Belize44.33
10418Trinidad and Tobago43.67
10519Paraguay43.39
11120Venezuela, RBFCS39.80
11821El Salvador37.88
12022Guyana37.09
12323Suriname35.94
13024Honduras33.08
13325Guatemala32.18
13926Nicaragua30.15
16127HaitiFCS22.72