Suriname: Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 5.6 percentage points from 57.27% in 2011. Since 1987 it is up 8.73 percentage points from 42.94% in 1987. The World Bank has no value for 14 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2016, Suriname's employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) fell 3.96 percentage points on 2015 (from 55.63% to 51.67%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2015), the average change was +0.69 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 7.97 percentage points in 1990 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.96 percentage points in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2016 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.51 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 34% of the movement over 8 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Suriname in the 2016 ranking

• Kuwait — 1st of 3: 72.24%
• Macao SAR, China — 2nd of 3: 70.9%

What this measures

Employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed.

Limitations: Comparability of employment-to-population ratios across countries is affected most significantly by variations in the definitions used for the employment and population figures. Differences result from age coverage, such as the lower and upper bounds for labor force activity. Estimates of both employment and population are also likely to vary according to whether members of the armed forces are included. Another area with scope for measurement differences has to do with the national treatment of particular groups of workers. The international definition of employment calls for inclusion of all persons who worked for at least one hour during the reference period.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 16 values

Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 57.63% (2025)
• Bahamas, The — 46.87% (2024)
• Barbados — 58.99% (2024)
• Belize — 63.41% (2019)
• Bolivia — 78.05% (2025)
• Brazil — 59.51% (2025)
• Cayman Islands — 79.28% (2015)
• Chile — 56.93% (2025)
• Colombia

More social protection & labor data for Suriname

• Net migration — -967 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 56 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 27.67% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 42.36% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 35.11% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 51.01% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 69.04% (2025)

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Questions people ask

What is Suriname's employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate)?

51.67% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1987?

It is up 8.73 percentage points from 42.94% in 1987. The highest value was 58.55% in 2014 and the lowest 38.73% in 1989.

Is the latest change in employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) unusual for Suriname?

In 2016, Suriname's employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) fell 3.96 percentage points on 2015 (from 55.63% to 51.67%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2015), the average change was +0.69 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.NE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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