First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of African slavery in 1863, workers were brought in from India and Java. The Netherlands granted the colony independence in 1975. Five years later, the civilian government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared Suriname a socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In 1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a democratically elected government - a four-party coalition - returned to power in 1991. The coalition expanded to eight parties in 2005 and ruled until August 2010, when voters returned former military leader Desire BOUTERSE and his opposition coalition to power. President BOUTERSE was reelected unopposed in 2015. Opposition parties campaigned hard against BOUTERSE in the lead up to the May 2020 elections and, in July 2020, a multi-party coalition led by Chandrikapersad SANTOKHI’s VHP and Ronnie Brunswijk’s ABOP was installed. The SANTOKHI government promised to tackle COVID-19, the economic crisis it inherited, and corruption.
land: 156,000 sq km
water: 7,820 sq km
border countries (3): Brazil 515 km; French Guiana 556 km; Guyana 836 km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m
mean elevation: 246 m
arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0.1% (2018 est.)
forest: 94.6% (2018 est.)
other: 4.9% (2018 est.)
639,759 (2023 est.)
noun: Surinamer(s)
adjective: Surinamese
Hindustani (also known locally as “East Indians”; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter part of the 19th century) 27.4%, Maroon (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 21.7%, Creole (mixed White and Black) 15.7%, Javanese 13.7%, mixed 13.4%, other 7.6%, unspecified 0.6% (2012 est.)
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is the native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
major-language sample(s):
Het Wereld Feitenboek, een omnisbare bron van informatie. (Dutch)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)
Protestant 23.6% (includes Evangelical 11.2%, Moravian 11.2%, Reformed .7%, Lutheran .5%), Hindu 22.3%, Roman Catholic 21.6%, Muslim 13.8%, other Christian 3.2%, Winti 1.8%, Jehovah’s Witness 1.2%, other 1.7%, none 7.5%, unspecified 3.2% (2012 est.)
Suriname is a pluralistic society consisting primarily of Creoles (persons of mixed African and European heritage), the descendants of escaped African slaves known as Maroons, and the descendants of Indian and Javanese (Indonesian) contract workers. The country overall is in full, post-industrial demographic transition, with a low fertility rate, a moderate mortality rate, and a rising life expectancy. However, the Maroon population of the rural interior lags behind because of lower educational attainment and contraceptive use, higher malnutrition, and significantly less access to electricity, potable water, sanitation, infrastructure, and health care.Some 350,000 people of Surinamese descent live in the Netherlands, Suriname’s former colonial ruler. In the 19th century, better-educated, largely Dutch-speaking Surinamese began emigrating to the Netherlands. World War II interrupted the outflow, but it resumed after the war when Dutch labor demands grew - emigrants included all segments of the Creole population. Suriname still is strongly influenced by the Netherlands because most Surinamese have relatives living there and it is the largest supplier of development aid. Other emigration destinations include French Guiana and the United States. Suriname’s immigration rules are flexible, and the country is easy to enter illegally because rainforests obscure its borders. Since the mid-1980s, Brazilians have settled in Suriname’s capital, Paramaribo, or eastern Suriname, where they mine gold. This immigration is likely to slowly re-orient Suriname toward its Latin American roots.
0-14 years: 22.77% (male 73,914/female 71,762)
15-64 years: 69.96% (male 223,807/female 223,762)
65 years and over: 7.27% (2023 est.) (male 19,152/female 27,362)
total dependency ratio: 50.9
youth dependency ratio: 40
elderly dependency ratio: 11
potential support ratio: 9.1 (2021 est.)
total: 31.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 30.7 years
female: 32.6 years
1.11% (2023 est.)
15.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
6.6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
population concentrated along the nothern coastal strip; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated
urban population: 66.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
239,000 PARAMARIBO (capital) (2018)
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
96 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 29.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 38 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.3 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 72.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 68.9 years
female: 76.5 years
1.91 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.92 (2023 est.)
39.1% (2018)
improved: urban: 99.5% of population
rural: 98.2% of population
total: 99.1% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.5% of population
rural: 1.8% of population
total: 0.9% of population (2020 est.)
6.8% of GDP (2020)
0.82 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
3 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: urban: 98.5% of population
rural: 91.2% of population
total: 96% of population
unimproved: urban: 1.5% of population
rural: 8.8% of population
total: 4% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria
26.4% (2016)
total: 6.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.14 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 2.87 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
6.7% (2018)
52.1% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 8.8%
women married by age 18: 36%
men married by age 18: 19.6% (2018 est.)
5% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95%
male: 96.5%
female: 93.4% (2021)
deforestation as timber is cut for export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
tropical; moderated by trade winds
agricultural land: 0.5% (2018 est.)
arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0.1% (2018 est.)
forest: 94.6% (2018 est.)
other: 4.9% (2018 est.)
urban population: 66.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2.36% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 12.17 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 1.74 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 2.28 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 78,620 tons (2010 est.)
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km)
municipal: 50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 140 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 430 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
99 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
upper middle-income South American economy; new floating currency regime; key aluminum goods, gold, and hydrocarbon exporter; new IMF plan for economic recovery and fiscal sustainability; controversial hardwood industry
$9.052 billion (2021 est.)
$9.306 billion (2020 est.)
$11.075 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
-2.73% (2021 est.)
-15.98% (2020 est.)
1.17% (2019 est.)
$14,800 (2021 est.)
$15,300 (2020 est.)
$18,400 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$3.419 billion (2017 est.)
59.11% (2021 est.)
34.89% (2020 est.)
22% (2017 est.)
Fitch rating: C (2020)
Moody’s rating: Caa3 (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: SD (2020)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 11.6% (2017 est.)
industry: 31.1% (2017 est.)
services: 57.4% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 27.6% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 11.7% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 52.5% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 26.5% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 68.9% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -60.6% (2017 est.)
rice, sugar cane, bananas, oranges, vegetables, plantains, coconuts, poultry, cassava, eggs
gold mining, oil, lumber, food processing, fishing
-10.92% (2021 est.)
244,200 (2021 est.)
10.06% (2021 est.)
9.78% (2020 est.)
8.04% (2019 est.)
total: 30.5% (2021 est.)
male: 22.1%
female: 46.1%
70% (2002 est.)
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $863 million (2019 est.)
expenditures: $1.648 billion (2019 est.)
-7.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
69.3% of GDP (2017 est.)
75.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
16.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
calendar year
$176.13 million (2021 est.)
$259.846 million (2020 est.)
-$448.255 million (2019 est.)
$2.299 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.446 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.287 billion (2019 est.)
Switzerland 51%, United Arab Emirates 22%, Belgium 6%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, Guyana 2% (2021)
gold, lumber, refined petroleum, excavation machinery, rice (2021)
$1.876 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$1.845 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.413 billion (2019 est.)
United States 19%, China 16%, Netherlands 15%, Trinidad and Tobago 8%, Japan 3% (2021)
refined petroleum, excavation machinery, delivery trucks, cars, cigarettes (2021)
$992.257 million (31 December 2021 est.)
$584.929 million (31 December 2020 est.)
$647.935 million (31 December 2019 est.)
$1.7 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.436 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Surinamese dollars (SRD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
18.239 (2021 est.)
9.31 (2020 est.)
7.458 (2019 est.)
7.463 (2018 est.)
7.488 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 98.8% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 99.5% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 97.4% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 542,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 2,938,391,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 808 million kWh (2019 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 234 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 40.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 58.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 14,800 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 15,800 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 89 million barrels (2021 est.)
7,571 bbl/day (2015 est.)
14,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
10,700 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
2.372 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 2.361 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 11,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
82.356 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 4 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 20
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 272,347 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 33.2 million (2018) mt-km
PZ
55 (2021)
6
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
49
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
50 km oil (2013)
total: 4,304 km (2003)
paved: 1,119 km (2003)
unpaved: 3,185 km (2003)
1,200 km (2011) (most navigable by ships with drafts up to 7 m)
total: 10 (2022)
by type: general cargo 5, oil tanker 3, other 2
major seaport(s): Paramaribo, Wageningen
manyapis