Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Suriname. Smallest independent country on South American continent; mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population, mostly along the coast. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 96 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana |
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Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 56 00 W |
Map references | South America |
Tarrain | mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps |
Natural Resources | timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore |
Natural Hazards | flooding |
Irrigated Land | 600 sq km (2020) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | |
Major aquifers | |
Land Boundaries | 1,907 km |
Border Countries | Brazil 515 km; French Guiana 556 km; Guyana 836 km |
Coastline | 386 km |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 156,000 sq km |
Water Area | 7,820 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly larger than Georgia |
Maritime Claims | |
Territorial sea | 12 nm |
Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Juliana Top 1,230 m |
Lowest point | unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m |
Mean elevation | 246 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 0.5% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 0.1% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 94.6% (2018 est.) |
Other | 4.9% (2018 est.) |
Population concentrated along the nothern coastal strip; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated
In Suriname, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: 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.)
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 1.07% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 14.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | 6.8% of GDP (2020) |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | 3 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
Total fertility rate | 1.89 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 0.91 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | 39.1% (2018) |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 52.1% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
Education expenditures | 5% of GDP (2020 est.) |
Net Migration rate | 2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Surinamese | Surinamer(s) |
Languages | |
Religions | Protestant 23.6% (includes Evangelical 11.2%, Moravian 11.2%, Reformed 0.7%, Lutheran 0.5%), 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.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 22.5% (male 73,864/female 71,573) |
15-64 years | 70% (male 226,417/female 226,235) |
65 years and over | 7.5% (2024 est.) (male 20,071/female 28,598) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 50.9 |
Youth dependency ratio | 40 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 11 |
Potential support ratio | 9.1 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 32 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 31 years |
Female | 32.9 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 66.4% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 0.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 239,000 PARAMARIBO (capital) (2018). |
Sex Ratio | |
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 (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 29.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 37.6 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 21 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 72.7 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 69 years |
Female | 76.7 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: 99.5% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 98.2% of population |
Improved: total | total: 99.1% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.5% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 1.8% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 0.9% of population (2020 est.) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: 98.5% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 91.2% of population |
Improved: total | total: 96% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 1.5% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 8.8% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 4% of population (2020 est.) |
Alcohol consumption per capita | |
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.) |
Child marriage | |
Women married by age 15 | 8.8% |
Women married by age 18 | 36% |
Men married by age 18 | 19.6% (2018 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.
Want to know more about Suriname? Check all different factbooks for Suriname below.