Suriname Location:
Physical. Suriname is located in northern South America between French Guiana and Guyana. It covers an area slightly larger than Georgia. The climate is tropical, moderated by trade winds from the North Atlantic Ocean. The terrain consists of rolling hills, with some narrow coastal plains and swamps. Natural resources include timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, and gold.
Suriname Geography:
Geography
Area: 63,037 square miles
Capital: Paramaribo (pop 216,000)
Environmental concerns: deforestation; water pollution; threatened wildlife populations
Geographical features: mostly rolling hills; a narrow coastal plain with swamps; mostly tropical rain forest
Climate: tropical
Suriname People:
People. Almost 437,000 people live in Suriname. Dutch is the official language, but English is widely spoken, as well as Sranang Tongo (native language of the Creoles) Hindustani and Javanese. Ethnically, the Surinamese come from many different backgrounds: Hindustani (37%), Creole (mixed black and white 31%), Javanese (15%), Black (whose African ancestors were brought over as slaves 10%), Amerindian (3%), and Chinese (3%). The religious practices are: Hindu (27%), Protestant (predominantly Moravian 25%), Roman Catholic (23%), Muslim (20%), and indigenous beliefs (5%).
436,935 people; Hindustani or East Indian (37%); Creole (31%); Javanese (15%); Black or slave descendents (10%); Amerindian (3%); Chinese (3%)
Annual growth rate: 0.31%
Major language: Dutch; Sranang Tongo; English; Hindustani
Religions: Hindu (27%); Protestant (25%); Roman Catholic (23%); Muslim (20%); Other (5%)
Suriname Government:
Government. From independence in 1975 until 1980 when the military seized power, Suriname was a parliamentary democracy. After 8 years, a new president was inaugurated but the military played a strong role until the mid-90's when an Organization of American States-brokered peace ended the decade of insurgency. The current president, Ronald Venetiaan, elected in 1991, ruled through the early part of this process and is still in power, in part because of the pragmatic decision to allow the military a role in government. Parliamentary elections were hotly contended in 2005 between President Ronald Venetiaan's New Front Coalition and the National Democratic Party.
Suriname is a constitutional democracy that gained its independence from the Netherlands on November 25, 1975
President Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan is both the head of state and government
4 major political parties
Suffrage: universal at 18
Suriname Communication:
Communication and transportation
78,700 main telephone lines (2003)
20,000 Internet users (2002)
2,813 miles of highway
103 miles of railroad
46 airfields
66,000 motor vehicles
Suriname Economy:
Economy. Suriname has a small foreign debt and depends on its exports for its ability to repay the loans, but inflation is high. The bauxite industry (in decline for two decades) accounts for 15%of the Suriname GDP. With regard to Suriname’s economic policy, most politicians see the integration into Latin American and Caribbean markets as critical. The Dutch offered loans in 2001 to help Suriname develop bauxite and the gold mining industry. Unfortunately, the development policy threatens deforestation because of timber exportation and pollution of waterways through mining.
Currency: guilders
Per capita income: $3,500
GDP: $ 1.53 billion
GDP growth rate: 1.5%
Inflation rate: 17%
Labor force: 100,000
Suriname More Information:
www.dmoz.org | 
