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 | 0.4% (2022 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 0.3% (2022 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 0.1% (2022 est.) |
Forest | 94.5% (2022 est.) |
Other | 5% (2022 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 | 5.7% of GDP (2021) |
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.) |
Want to know more about Suriname? Check all different factbooks for Suriname below.