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[[da:Surinam]]
{{short description|Country in South America}}
[[de:Surinam]]
{{redirect|Surinam|the former English colony|Surinam (English colony)|the former Dutch colony|Surinam (Dutch colony)|the constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands|Suriname (Kingdom of the Netherlands)|other uses|Suriname (disambiguation)}}
[[eo:Surinamo]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
[[fr:Surinam]]
{{Coord|4|N|56|W|display=title}}
[[ja:スリナム]]
{{Infobox country
[[nl:Suriname]]
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Suriname
[[sv:Surinam]]
| common_name = Suriname
[[pl:Surinam]]
| native_name = {{native name|nl|Republiek Suriname}}
| image_flag = Flag of Suriname.svg
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Suriname.svg
| national_motto = {{native phrase|la|"[[Justitia]] – [[Pietas]] – [[Faith|Fides]]"|italics=off}}<br />{{small|"Justice – Piety – Trust"}}<br />{{small|{{native phrase|nl|Gerechtigheid – Vroomheid – Vertrouwen|italics=on}}}}
| national_anthem = {{native name|nl|[[God zij met ons Suriname]]|nolink=on}}<br/>({{Lang-en|"God be with our Suriname"}})<br />[[File:Surinamese national anthem, performed by the U.S. Navy Band.ogg|center]]
| image_map = SUR orthographic.svg
| map_caption = {{map caption |location_color=dark green |region=South America |region_color= grey }}
| image_map2 =
| capital = [[Paramaribo]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|5|50|N|55|10|W|type:city}}
| largest_city = [[Paramaribo]]
| official_languages = [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| regional_languages = {{collapsible list
|titlestyle=background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal
|title=8 indigenous languages
|[[Akurio language|Akurio]]
|[[Arawak language|Arawak-Lokono]]
| [[Carib language|Carib-Kari'nja]]
| [[Sikiana language|Sikiana-Kashuyana]]
| [[Tiriyó language|Tiro-Tiriyó]]
| [[Waiwai language|Waiwai]]
| [[Warao language|Warao]]
| [[Wayana language|Wayana]]
}}
| ethnic_groups = {{unbulleted list
| 27.4% [[Indo-Surinamese|Indian]]
| 21.7% [[Afro-Surinamese people|African]]<br>{{small|(incl. [[Maroons|Maroon]]-[[Bushinengue]])}}
| 15.7% [[Creole peoples#Caribbean|Creole]]-[[Mulatto]]<ref>{{citation |url=http://history.rutgers.edu/honors-papers-2015/1302-sode-honors-thesis-2015/file|title=Suriname: An Asian Immigrant and the Organic Creation of the Caribbean's Most Unique Fusion Culture |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220092458/http://history.rutgers.edu/honors-papers-2015/1302-sode-honors-thesis-2015/file |archive-date=20 February 2017 |access-date=19 July 2017 }}</ref>
| 13.7% [[Javanese Surinamese|Javanese]]
| 13.4% [[Multiracial|Other Mixed]]<br>{{small|(incl. [[Dougla]]s)}}
| 3.8% [[Indigenous peoples in Suriname|Indigenous Amerindian]]
| 1.5% [[Chinese Surinamese|Chinese]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Suriname/SUR-Census2012-vol1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629112522/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Suriname/SUR-Census2012-vol1.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-06-29 |title=Censusstatistieken 2012 |work=Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname (General Statistics Bureau of Suriname) |page=76}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/|title=The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency|website=cia.gov}}</ref>
| 1% [[White Surinamese|European]]
| 1.8% [[Demographics of Suriname#Ethnic groups|Others]]<ref name="Census"/><ref name="statistics-suriname1">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics-suriname.org/index.php/statistieken/downloads/category/30-censusstatistieken-2012 |title=Census statistieken 2012 |publisher=Statistics-suriname.org |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113143359/http://www.statistics-suriname.org/index.php/statistieken/downloads/category/30-censusstatistieken-2012 |archive-date=13 November 2014 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Definitieve Resultaten (Vol I) Etniciteit |journal= Presentatie Evaluatie Rapport CENSUS 8 |pages= 42 }}</ref>
}}
| ethnic_groups_year = 2012
| religion = {{vunblist |48.4% [[Christianity|Christian]]| 22.3% [[Hinduism in Suriname|Hindu]]| 13.9% [[Islam in Suriname|Muslim]]| 1.8% [[Winti]]| 0.8% [[Kejawèn]]| 2.1% [[Religion in Suriname|Other]] <br />{{small|(incl. [[Native American religion|Indigenous Amerindian beliefs]], [[Afro-American religion|Afro-American beliefs]], [[History of the Jews in Suriname|Jewish]], [[Buddhism|Buddhist]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]])}}| 7.5% [[Irreligion|None]]| 3.2% Not stated<ref name="CENSUS2012"/>}}
| demonym = Surinamese
| government_type = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[republic]]
| leader_title1 = [[President of Suriname|President]]
| leader_name1 = [[Chan Santokhi]] {{small|([[Progressive Reform Party (Suriname)|VHP]])}}
| leader_title2 = [[Vice President of Suriname|Vice President]]
| leader_name2 = {{no wrap|[[Ronnie Brunswijk]] {{small|([[General Liberation and Development Party|ABOP]])}}}}
| legislature = [[National Assembly (Suriname)|National Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type = Independence
| established_event1 = [[Suriname (Kingdom of the Netherlands)|constituent country]] within the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]
| established_date1 = 15 December 1954
| established_event2 = from the Kingdom of the Netherlands
| established_date2 = 25 November 1975
| established_event3 = current constitution
| established_date3 = 30 September 1987
| area_km2 = 163,821
| area_rank = 90th <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]]-->
| area_sq_mi = 63,251 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| percent_water = 1.1
| population_estimate = {{UN_Population|Suriname}}{{UN_Population|ref}}
| population_census = 541,638<ref name="statistics-suriname1"/><!--DO ''not'' CHANGE UNTIL THE NEXT CENSUS-->
| population_estimate_year = July {{UN_Population|Year}}
| population_estimate_rank = 171st
| population_census_year = 2012 <!--DO ''not'' CHANGE UNTIL THE NEXT CENSUS-->
| population_density_km2 = 2.9
| population_density_sq_mi = 7.6 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| population_density_rank = 231st
| GDP_PPP = $9.044&nbsp;billion<ref name=imf2>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2018/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=74&pr.y=5&sy=2018&ey=2022&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=366&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=|title=Suriname |publisher=International Monetary Fund }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year = 2019
| GDP_PPP_rank =
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = $15,845<ref name=imf2/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
| GDP_nominal = $4.110&nbsp;billion<ref name=imf2/>
| GDP_nominal_year = 2019
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $6,881<ref name=imf2/>
| Gini = <!-- number only -->
| Gini_year =
| Gini_change = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref = <ref name=gini-index>{{cite web|title=GINI index|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=SR|publisher=[[World Bank]]|access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref>
| Gini_rank =
| HDI = 0.738 <!-- number only -->
| HDI_year = 2019<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref = <ref name="HDI">{{cite book|title=Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene|date=15 December 2020|publisher=United Nations Development Programme|isbn=978-92-1-126442-5|pages=343–346|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr2020.pdf|access-date=16 December 2020}}</ref>
| HDI_rank = 97th
| currency = [[Surinamese dollar]]
| currency_code = SRD
| time_zone = SRT
| utc_offset = -3
| utc_offset_DST =
| time_zone_DST =
| drives_on = [[Right- and left-hand traffic|left]]
| calling_code = [[+597]]
| cctld = [[.sr]]
| languages_type = Other languages
| languages = {{collapsible list
| titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
| title = 14 languages
| [[Sranan Tongo]] (Lingua franca)
| [[Caribbean Hindustani#Sarnami Hindustani|Sarnami Hindustani]]
| [[Ndyuka language|Ndyuka]]
| [[Saramaccan language|Saramaccan]]
| [[Matawai language|Matawai]]
| [[Aluku language|Aluku]]
| [[Paramaccan people#Language|Paramaccan]]
| [[Kwinti language|Kwinti]]
| [[Javanese language|Javanese]]
| [[Chinese language|Chinese]]
| [[English language|English]]
| [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| [[French language|French]]
| [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
}}
| today =


The '''Republic of Suriname''' (also spelled '''Surinam''') is a country in northern [[South America]], in between [[French Guiana]] to the east and [[Guyana]] to the west. The southern border is shared with [[Brazil]] and the northern border is the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast.
}}


<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right">
'''Suriname''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|sj|ʊər|ᵻ|n|æ|m|,_|-|n|ɑː|m}}, sometimes spelled '''Surinam'''), officially known as the '''Republic of Suriname''' ({{lang-nl|Republiek Suriname}} {{IPA-nl|reːpyˌblik syːriˈnaːmə|}}), is a country on the northeastern [[Atlantic]] coast of [[South America]]. [[Borders of Suriname|It is bordered]] by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, [[French Guiana]] to the east, [[Guyana]] to the west and [[Brazil]] to the south. At just under {{convert|165000|km2|abbr=off|sp=us}}, it is the smallest [[sovereign state]] in South America.{{refn|group=note|Both [[French Guiana]] and [[Falkland Islands]] are less extensive and populous, but they are an [[overseas department]] and [[overseas region|region]] of France and an [[British Overseas Territory|overseas territory]] of the United Kingdom respectively.}} Suriname has a population of approximately {{UN_Population|Suriname}},{{UN_Population|ref}} most of whom live on the country's north coast, in and around the capital and largest city, [[Paramaribo]].
<caption><font size="+1">'''Republiek Suriname'''</font></caption>

<tr><td style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan=2>
Situated slightly north of the [[Equator]], Suriname is a [[tropical country]] dominated by rain forests. Its extensive tree cover is vital to the country's efforts to [[Climate change in Suriname|mitigate climate change]] and maintain [[carbon negativity]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-01-31|title=Suriname's climate promise, for a sustainable future|work=UN News|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/01/1056422|url-status=live|access-date=2020-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110002634/https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/01/1056422|archive-date=2020-11-10}}</ref>{{Refn|Suriname has been carbon negative since at least 2014.|group=note}} A [[developing country]] with a [[Human Development Index|high level of human development]], [[economy of Suriname|Suriname's economy]] is heavily dependent on its abundant natural resources, namely bauxite, gold, petroleum and agricultural products.
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr><td align="center" width="140px">[[Image:Suriname_flag_medium.png]]</td>
Suriname was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BC by various indigenous peoples, including the Arawaks, Caribs, and Wayana. Europeans arrived in the 16th century, with the [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] establishing control over much of the country's current territory by the late 17th century. During the [[Dutch Surinam|Dutch colonial period]], Suriname was a lucrative source of [[sugar]], its [[plantation economy]] driven by African slave labor and, after abolition of slavery in 1863, [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]] from Asia. In 1954, Suriname became one of the [[constituent state|constituent countries]] of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]. On 25 November 1975, [[Suriname (Kingdom of the Netherlands)|Suriname]] left the Kingdom to become an [[independence|independent]] state, nonetheless maintaining close economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to its former colonizer.
<td align="center" width="140px" rowspan="2" height="110px">[[Image:Suriname_coa.png]]</td></tr>

<tr><td align="center" width="140px">([[Flag of Suriname|In Detail]])</td>
Suriname is considered to be a culturally [[Caribbean]] country, and is a member of the [[Caribbean Community]] (CARICOM). Suriname is the only sovereign nation outside Europe where [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is the official and prevailing language of government, business, media, and education.<ref name="cia" /> [[Sranan Tongo]], an English-based [[English creole|creole language]], is a widely used ''[[lingua franca]]''. As a legacy of centuries of colonialism, the [[people of Suriname]] are among the most diverse in the world, spanning a multitude of ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups.
</table></td></tr>

<tr><td align="center" colspan=2 style="border-bottom:3px solid gray;"><font size="-1">''National [[motto]]: Justitia - Pietas - Fides<br> ([[Latin]]: Justice - Piety - Loyalty)''</font></td></tr>
== Etymology == <!--linked-->
<tr><td align=center colspan=2>[[image:LocationSuriname.png]]</td></tr>
The name ''Suriname'' may derive from an indigenous people called ''Surinen,'' who inhabited the area at the time of European contact.<ref name=Britannica>"Suriname", ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica'', Volume 5. Edition 15, ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2002, p. 547</ref>
<tr><td>Official [[language]] </td><td>[[Dutch language|Dutch]]</td></tr>

<tr><td>[[Capital]] </td><td>[[Paramaribo]]</td></tr>
The earliest European sources give variants of "Suriname" as the name of the [[Suriname River|river]] on which colonies were eventually founded. [[Lawrence Kemys]] wrote in his ''Relation of the Second Voyage to Guiana'' of passing a river called "''Shurinama''". In 1598, a fleet of three Dutch ships visiting the Wild Coast mention passing the river "''Surinamo''". In 1617, a Dutch notary spelled the name of the river on which a Dutch trading post had existed three years earlier as "''Surrenant''".<ref name="De Naam Suriname">{{cite journal |last1=Oudschans Dentz |first1=F. |date=1919–1920 |title=De Naam Suriname |journal=De West-Indische Gids |volume=1ste Jaarg |issue=Tweede Deel |pages=13–17 |doi= 10.1163/22134360-90001870|jstor=41847495 }}</ref>
<tr><td>President </td><td>[[Ronald Venetiaan]]</td></tr>

<tr><td>[[Area]]<br>&nbsp;- Total <br>&nbsp;- % water</td><td>[[List of countries by area|Ranked 90th]] <br> 163,270 [[square kilometer|km&sup2;]] <br> 1.10% </td></tr>
British settlers, who in 1630 founded the first European colony at Marshall's Creek along the Suriname River, spelled the name as "''Surinam''"; this would long remain the standard spelling in English.<ref name="Marshall">{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=paQMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA253|title=Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, Volume XI|edition=Ninth Edition—Popular Reprint | quote=In 1614, the states of Holland granted to any Dutch citizen a four years' monopoly of any harbour or place of commerce which he might discover in that region (Guiana). The first settlement, however, in Suriname (in 1630) was made by an Englishman, whose name is still preserved by Marshall's Creek.| last1=Baynes| first1=Thomas Spencer| year=1888 }}</ref> The Dutch navigator [[David Pietersz. de Vries]] wrote of traveling up the "''Sername''" river in 1634 until he encountered the English colony there; the terminal vowel remained in future Dutch spellings and pronunciations. In 1640, a Spanish manuscript entitled "General Description of All His Majesty's Dominions in America" called the river "''Soronama''". In 1653, instructions given to a British fleet sailing to meet [[Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham|Lord Willoughby]] in [[Barbados]], which at the time was the seat of English colonial government in the region, again spelled the name of the colony "''Surinam''". A 1663 royal charter said the region around the river was "called Serrinam also Surrinam".<ref name="De Naam Suriname">{{cite journal |last1=Oudschans Dentz |first1=F. |date=1919–1920 |title=De Naam Suriname |journal=De West-Indische Gids |volume=1ste Jaarg |issue=Tweede Deel |pages=13–17 |doi= 10.1163/22134360-90001870|jstor=41847495 }}</ref>
<tr><td>[[Population]]

<br>&nbsp;- Total ([[2001]])
As a result of the "''Surrinam''" spelling, 19th-century British sources offered the folk etymology "''Surryham''", saying it was the name given to the Suriname River by Lord Willoughby in the 1660s in honour of the [[Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk|Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Surrey]] when an English [[Surinam (English colony)|colony]] was established under a grant from King [[Charles II of England|Charles II]].<ref name="De Naam Suriname">{{cite journal |last1=Oudschans Dentz |first1=F. |date=1919–1920 |title=De Naam Suriname |journal=De West-Indische Gids |volume=1ste Jaarg |issue=Tweede Deel |pages=13–17 |doi= 10.1163/22134360-90001870|jstor=41847495 }}</ref> This folk etymology can be found repeated in later English-language sources.<ref name="International Boundaries: A Case Study">{{cite journal |last1=Menon |first1=P.K. |date=October 1978 |title=International Boundaries: A Case Study of the Guyana-Surinam Boundary |journal=The International and Comparative Law Quarterly |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=738–768 |doi= 10.1093/iclqaj/27.4.738|jstor=758476 }}</ref><ref name="United Services Magazine">{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mFkcAQAAIAAJ&q=surinam+surryham&pg=PA205|title=The United Service Journal and Naval and Military Magazine|page=205 | quote=Coming from the south we pass Surinam, the original name of which was Surryham, so called after Lord Surry, in the time of Charles II., and since corrupted to Surinam.| last1=Wilkie| first1=Lieutenant-Colonel| year=1841 }}</ref>
<br>&nbsp;- [[Population density|Density]]</td><td>[[List of countries by population|Ranked 163rd]]

<br> 433,998
When the territory was taken over by the Dutch, it became part of a group of colonies known as [[Dutch colonization of the Guianas|Dutch Guiana]]. The official spelling of the country's English name was changed from "Surinam" to "Suriname" in January 1978, but "Surinam" can still be found in English; a notable example is Suriname's national airline, [[Surinam Airways]]. The older English name is reflected in the English pronunciation, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|sj|ʊər|ᵻ|n|æ|m|,_|-|n|ɑː|m}}. In [[Dutch language|Dutch]], the official language of Suriname, the pronunciation is {{IPA-nl|ˌsyriˈnaːmə|}}, with the main stress on the third syllable and a [[schwa]] terminal vowel.
<br> 2.66/km&sup2; </td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Independence]]
<br>&nbsp;- Date </td><td>From the [[Netherlands]]
<br>[[November 25]], [[1975]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Currency]] </td><td>Suriname [[Guilder]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Time zone]] </td><td>[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] -4</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[National anthem]] </td><td>[[God zij met ons Suriname]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Top-level domain|Internet TLD]]</td><td>.SR</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[List_of_country_calling_codes|Calling Code]]</td><td>597</td></tr>
</table>


== History ==
== History ==
''Main article: [[History of Suriname]]''
[[File:Maroon village, Suriname River, 1955.jpg|thumb|left|Maroon village, along [[Suriname River]], 1955]]
{{main|History of Suriname}}

Indigenous settlement of Suriname dates back to 3,000 BC. The largest tribes were the [[Arawak]], a nomadic coastal tribe that lived from hunting and fishing. They were the first inhabitants in the area. The [[Kalina people|Carib]] also settled in the area and conquered the Arawak by using their superior sailing ships. They settled in Galibi (''Kupali Yumï,'' meaning "tree of the forefathers") at the mouth of the [[Marowijne River]]. While the larger Arawak and Carib tribes lived along the coast and savanna, smaller groups of indigenous people lived in the inland rainforest, such as the [[Akurio]], [[Trió]], [[Warrau]], and [[Wayana]].

===Colonial period===
[[File:Presidential palace, Paramaribo, Suriname.jpg|thumb|[[Presidential Palace of Suriname]]]]

{{main|Surinam (English colony)}}
{{main|Surinam (Dutch colony)}}
Beginning in the 16th century, [[Kingdom of France|French]], [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish]] and [[Kingdom of England|English]] explorers visited the area. A century later, [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] and [[Kingdom of England|English]] settlers established [[plantation]] colonies along the many rivers in the fertile Guiana plains. The earliest documented colony in [[The Guianas|Guiana]] was an English settlement named Marshall's Creek along the Suriname River.<ref name="Marshall"/> After that there was another short-lived English colony called [[Surinam (English colony)|Surinam]] that lasted from 1650 to 1667.

Disputes arose between the Dutch and the English for control of this territory. In 1667, during negotiations leading to the [[Treaty of Breda (1667)|Treaty of Breda]] after the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]], the Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of Surinam they had gained from the English. In return the English kept [[New Amsterdam]], the main city of the former colony of [[New Netherland]] in North America on the mid-Atlantic coast. The British renamed it after the Duke of York: [[New York City]].

In 1683, the [[Society of Suriname]] was founded by the city of [[Amsterdam]], the [[Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck|Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck]] family, and the [[Dutch West India Company]]. The society was chartered to manage and defend the colony. The planters of the colony relied heavily on [[Slavery in Africa|African slaves]] to cultivate, harvest and process the commodity crops of coffee, cocoa, sugar cane and cotton plantations along the rivers. Planters' treatment of the slaves was notoriously brutal even by the standards of the time<ref>{{cite book|author=Streissguth, Tom |title=Suriname in Pictures|url=https://archive.org/details/surinameinpictur0000stre|url-access=registration |year= 2009|publisher=Twenty-First Century Books|isbn=978-1-57505-964-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/surinameinpictur0000stre/page/23 23]–}}</ref>—historian [[C. R. Boxer]] wrote that "man's inhumanity to man just about reached its limits in Surinam"<ref>{{cite book|title=The Dutch Seaborne Empire |author=Boxer, C.R. | author-link=C. R. Boxer|pages=271–272|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0140136180 |date=1990}}</ref>—and many slaves escaped the plantations. In November 1795, the Society was nationalized by the [[Batavian Republic]] and from then on, the Batavian Republic and its legal successors (the Kingdom of Holland and the Kingdom of the Netherlands) governed the territory as a national colony, barring a period of British occupation between 1799 and 1802, and between 1804 and 1816.

With the help of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|native South Americans]] living in the adjoining rain forests, these runaway slaves established a new and unique culture in the interior that was highly successful in its own right. They were known collectively in English as [[Maroon (people)|Maroons]], in French as ''Nèg'Marrons'' (literally meaning "brown negroes", that is "pale-skinned negroes"), and in Dutch as ''Marrons.'' The Maroons gradually developed several independent tribes through a process of [[ethnogenesis]], as they were made up of slaves from different African ethnicities. These tribes include the [[Saramaka]], Paramaka, [[Ndyuka people|Ndyuka]] or Aukan, [[Kwinti]], [[Aluku]] or Boni, and Matawai.

[[File:Water-front houses in Paramaribo, 1955.jpg|thumb|Waterfront houses in [[Paramaribo]], 1955]]
The Maroons often raided plantations to recruit new members from the slaves and capture women, as well as to acquire weapons, food and supplies. They sometimes killed planters and their families in the raids; colonists built defenses, which were so important they were shown on 18th-century maps.<ref>[http://www.wdl.org/en/item/524/ Simon M. Mentelle, "Extract of the Dutch Map Representing the Colony of Surinam"], c.1777, Digital World Library via Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 May 2013</ref>

The colonists also mounted armed campaigns against the Maroons, who generally escaped through the rain forest, which they knew much better than did the colonists. To end hostilities, in the 18th century the European colonial authorities signed several peace treaties with different tribes. They granted the Maroons sovereign status and trade rights in their inland territories, giving them autonomy.

===Abolition of slavery===
{{Further|Human rights in Suriname}}
From 1861 to 1863, with the [[American Civil War]] underway, and enslaved people escaping to Northern territory controlled by the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]], United States President [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[Presidency of Abraham Lincoln|his administration]] looked abroad for places to relocate people who were freed from enslavement and who wanted to leave the United States. It opened negotiations with the Dutch government regarding African-American emigration to and colonization of the [[Surinam (Dutch colony)|Dutch colony of Suriname]]. Nothing came of the idea, and the idea was dropped after 1864.<ref>
{{cite journal|author=Douma, Michael J. |year=2015|url=https://michaeljdouma.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/douma-cwh.pdf |title= The Lincoln Administration's Negotiations to Colonize African Americans in Dutch Suriname|journal=Civil War History|volume=61|issue=2|pages=111–137|doi=10.1353/cwh.2015.0037}}</ref>

The Netherlands abolished slavery in Suriname in 1863, under a gradual process that required enslaved people to work on plantations for 10 transition years for minimal pay, which was considered as partial compensation for their masters. After that transition period expired in 1873, most [[freedmen]] largely abandoned the plantations where they had worked for several generations in favor of the capital city, [[Paramaribo]]. Some of them bought the plantation they worked on, especially in the district of Para and Coronie. Their descendants still live on those grounds today. Several plantation owners did not pay their former enslaved workers the pay they owed them for the ten years after 1863. They paid the workers with the property rights of the ground of the plantation to get out of debt.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.surinameview.com/sranan/geschiedenis/suriname-geschiedenis-deel-5-weer-nederlands-en-nieuwe-immigranten/ |title=Suriname View Geschiedenis |date=30 July 2020}}</ref>

[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Suriname immigranten afkomstig uit Nederlands-Indië de vrouw rechts draagt een peniti tak broche TMnr 60008927.jpg|thumb|left|[[Javanese people|Javanese]] immigrants brought as contract workers from the [[Dutch East Indies]]. Picture was taken between 1880 and 1900.]]
As a plantation colony, Suriname had an economy dependent on labor-intensive commodity crops. To make up for a shortage of labor, the Dutch recruited and transported contract or [[indentured laborer]]s from the [[Dutch East Indies]] (modern [[Indonesia]]) and [[India]] (the latter through an arrangement with the British, who then ruled the area). In addition, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, small numbers of laborers, mostly men, were recruited from China and the Middle East.

Although Suriname's population remains relatively small, because of this complex colonization and exploitation, it is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries in the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1211306.stm |title=Suriname Country Profile |date=14 September 2012 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dutch.berkeley.edu/mcnl/immigration/the-netherlands/the-surinamese/ |title=Multicultural Netherlands |year=2010 |publisher=UC Berkeley |access-date=13 August 2012 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723092050/http://dutch.berkeley.edu/mcnl/immigration/the-netherlands/the-surinamese/ |archive-date=23 July 2012 }}</ref>

===Decolonization===
{{see also|Decolonization of the Americas}}
During [[World War II]], on 23 November 1941, under an agreement with the [[Dutch government-in-exile|Netherlands government-in-exile]], the United States occupied Suriname to protect the [[bauxite]] mines to support the Allies' war effort.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120105003256/http://faculty.virginia.edu/setear/students/fdrneutr/38%20to%2041%20Alt.htm#November1 World War II Timeline]. Faculty.virginia.edu. Retrieved 15 August 2012.</ref> In 1942, the Dutch government-in-exile began to review the relations between the Netherlands and its colonies in terms of the post-war period.

In 1954, Suriname became one of the constituent countries of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]], along with the [[Netherlands Antilles]] and the [[Netherlands]]. In this construction, the Netherlands retained control of its defense and foreign affairs. In 1974, the local government, led by the [[National Party of Suriname]] (NPS) (whose membership was largely [[Creole peoples|Creole]], meaning ethnically African or mixed African-European) started negotiations with the Dutch government leading towards full independence, which was granted on 25 November 1975. A large part of Suriname's economy for the first decade following independence was fueled by foreign aid provided by the Dutch government.

===Independence===
[[File:Henck Arron, Beatrix, Johan Ferrier 1975.jpg|thumb|[[Henck Arron]], [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|Beatrix]] and [[Johan Ferrier]] on 25 November 1975]]
The first President of the country was [[Johan Ferrier]], the former governor, with [[Henck Arron]] (the then leader of the NPS) as Prime Minister. In the years leading up to independence, nearly one-third of the population of Suriname emigrated to the Netherlands, amidst concern that the new country would fare worse under independence than it had as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Surinamese politics did degenerate into ethnic polarisation and corruption soon after independence, with the NPS using Dutch aid money for partisan purposes. Its leaders were accused of fraud in the [[1977 Surinamese general election|1977 elections]], in which Arron won a further term, and the discontent was such that a large portion{{clarify|date=August 2020}} of the population fled to the Netherlands, joining the already significant Surinamese community there.<ref>Obituary "[[The Guardian]]", 24 January 2001.</ref>

===1980 military coup===
{{main|1980 Surinamese coup d'état}}

On 25 February 1980, a [[1980 Surinamese coup d'état|military coup]] overthrew Arron's government. It was initiated by a group of 16 sergeants, led by [[Dési Bouterse]].<ref name=cia>{{cite web|work=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |title=Suriname |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/ |year=2013 |access-date=4 August 2013}}</ref> Opponents of the military regime attempted counter-coups in April 1980, August 1980, 15 March 1981, and again on 12 March 1982. The first counter attempt was led by [[Fred Ormskerk]],<ref name="Janssen2011">{{cite book|author=Roger Janssen|title=In Search of a Path: An Analysis of the Foreign Policy of Suriname from 1975 to 1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXdhAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|date=1 January 2011|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-25367-4|pages=60–}}</ref> the second by [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninists]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:f0H7tfq41Z8J:refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/download/21454/20129+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca |title=Refugees from Suriname |author=Betty Sedoc-Dahlberg |access-date=26 August 2016}}</ref> the third by [[Wilfred Hawker]], and the fourth by [[Surendre Rambocus]].

Hawker escaped from prison during the fourth counter-coup attempt, but he was captured and summarily executed. Between 2&nbsp;am and 5&nbsp;am on 7 December 1982, the military, under the leadership of Dési Bouterse, rounded up 13 prominent citizens who had criticized the military dictatorship and held them at [[Fort Zeelandia (Paramaribo)|Fort Zeelandia]] in Paramaribo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.starnieuws.com/index.php/welcome/index/nieuwsitem/9910 |title=Bouterse heeft Daal en Rambocus doodgeschoten |date=23 March 2012 |publisher=Network Star Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname }}</ref> The dictatorship had all these men [[December murders|executed over the next three days]], along with Rambocus and [[Jiwansingh Sheombar]] (who was also involved in the fourth counter-coup attempt).

===Civil war, elections, and constitution===
The brutal [[Suriname Guerrilla War|civil war between the Suriname army and Maroons]] loyal to rebel leader [[Ronnie Brunswijk]], begun in 1986, continued and its effects further weakened Bouterse's position during the 1990s. Due to the civil war, more than 10,000 Surinamese, mostly Maroons, fled to [[French Guiana]] in the late 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blada.com/data/File/2012pdf/panoimmigr102012.pdf |title=Panorama de la population immigrée en Guyane |publisher=[[INSEE]]|access-date=2019-02-02}}</ref>

National elections were held in 1987. The National Assembly adopted a new constitution that allowed Bouterse to remain in charge of the army. Dissatisfied with the government, Bouterse summarily dismissed the ministers in 1990, by telephone. This event became popularly known as the "Telephone Coup". His power began to wane after the 1991 elections.

In 1999, the Netherlands tried Bouterse ''in absentia'' on drug smuggling charges. He was [[trial in absentia|convicted]] and sentenced to prison but remained in Suriname.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/17/world/world-briefing.html |work=The New York Times |title=World Briefing |first=Terence |last=Neilan |date=17 July 1999 |access-date=1 May 2010}}</ref> The [[1999 Surinamese protests]] occurred in 1999.


Though [[Netherlands|Dutch]] traders had established several colonies in the [[Guiana]] region before, the Dutch did not get hold of what is now Suriname until the [[Treaty of Breda]], settling the end of the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]].
===21st century===
On 19 July 2010, the former dictator [[Dési Bouterse]] returned to power when he was elected as the president of Suriname.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10690930 ''Suriname ex-strongman Bouterse back in power''], In: ''[[BBC News]]'', 19 July 2010</ref> Before his election in 2010, he, along with 24 others, had been charged with the murders of 15 prominent dissidents in the December murders. However, in 2012, two months before the verdict in the trial, the National Assembly extended its [[amnesty]] law and provided Bouterse and the others with amnesty of these charges. He was reelected on 14 July 2015.<ref>[http://www.voanews.com/content/suriname-bouterse-secures-second-presidential-term/2862157.html Suriname's Bouterse Secures Second Presidential Term], ''Voice of America News'', 14 July 2015</ref> However, Bouterse was convicted by a Surinamese court on 29 November 2019 and given a 20-year sentence for his role in the 1982 killings.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/world/americas/suriname-president-convicted-in-1982-killings.html|title=Suriname President Convicted in 1982 Killings|last=The Associated Press|date=2019-11-29|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-01|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


After becoming an autonomous part of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] in [[1954]], independence was granted in [[1975]]. A military regime led by [[Desi Bouterse]] ruled the country in the [[1980s]], until [[democracy]] was re-established in [[1988]].
After winning the [[2020 Surinamese general election|2020 elections]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gfcnieuws.com/vhp-grote-winnaar-verkiezingen-25-mei-2020/|title=VHP grote winnaar verkiezingen 25 mei 2020|website=GFC Nieuws|access-date=26 May 2020|language=nl}}</ref> [[Chan Santokhi]] was the sole nomination for [[president of Suriname]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dbsuriname.com/2020/07/08/breaking-ndp-dient-geen-lijst-in/|title=Breaking: NDP dient geen lijst in|website=Dagblad Suriname|access-date=8 July 2020|language=nl}}</ref> On 13 July, Santokhi was elected president by acclamation in an [[uncontested election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dwtonline.com/laatste-nieuws/2020/07/13/live-blog-verkiezing-president-en-vicepresident-suriname/|title=Live blog: Verkiezing president en vicepresident Suriname|website=De Ware Tijd|access-date=13 July 2020|language=nl}}</ref> He was inaugurated on 16 July in ceremony without public due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Suriname|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.waterkant.net/suriname/2020/07/12/inauguratie-nieuwe-president-van-suriname-op-onafhankelijkheidsplein/|title=Inauguratie nieuwe president van Suriname op Onafhankelijkheidsplein|website=Waterkant|access-date=13 July 2020|language=nl}}</ref>


== Politics ==
== Politics ==
''Main article: [[Politics of Suriname]]''
[[File:AssembleeSurinaam.jpg|thumb|National Assembly]]
[[File:Paramaribo, Hof van Justitie (Court of Justice).jpg|thumb|Court of Justice]]
{{main|Politics of Suriname}}


The Republic of Suriname is a [[Representative democracy|representative democratic]] republic, based on the [[Constitution of Suriname|Constitution of 1987]]. The legislative branch of government consists of a 51-member [[unicameral]] [[National Assembly of Suriname|National Assembly]], simultaneously and popularly elected for a five-year term.
Suriname is a [[democracy]] based on the 1987 [[constitution]]. The government's [[legislative branch]] is the National Assembly, consisting of 51 members. These members are elected every five year.


The National Assembly elects the head of the [[executive branch]], the president, by a two-third majority. If no candidate achieves such a majority, the president is elected by the People's Assembly, a 340 member institute consisting of the National Assembly and regional representatives.
In the elections held on Tuesday, 25 May 2010, the ''Megacombinatie'' won 23 of the National Assembly seats followed by ''Nationale Front'' with 20 seats. A much smaller number, important for coalition-building, went to the "A&#8209;combinatie" and to the ''Volksalliantie.'' The parties held negotiations to form coalitions. Elections were held on 25 May 2015, and the National Assembly again elected Desire Bouterse as president.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/ |title=Suriname: Government |work=The World Factbook |year=2018 |access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref>


== Districts ==
The [[president of Suriname]] is elected for a five-year term by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. If at least two-thirds of the National Assembly cannot agree to vote for one presidential candidate, a People's Assembly is formed from all National Assembly delegates and regional and municipal representatives who were elected by popular vote in the most recent national election. The president may be elected by a majority of the People's Assembly called for the special election.
''Main article: [[Districts of Suriname]]''


Suriname is divided into ten districts:
As head of government, the president appoints a sixteen-minister cabinet. A vice president is normally elected for a five-year term at the same time as the president, by a simple majority in the National Assembly or People's Assembly. There is no constitutional provision for removal or replacement of the president, except in the case of resignation.


* [[Brokopondo]]
The judiciary is headed by the [[High Court of Justice of Suriname]] (Supreme Court). This court supervises the magistrate courts. Members are appointed for life by the president in consultation with the National Assembly, the State Advisory Council, and the National Order of Private Attorneys.
* [[Commewijne]]

* [[Coronie]]
===Foreign relations===
* [[Marowijne]]
{{main|Foreign relations of Suriname}}
* [[Nickerie]]
President Dési Bouterse was convicted and sentenced in the Netherlands to 11 years of imprisonment for drug trafficking. He is the main suspect in the court case concerning the December murders, the 1982 assassination of opponents of military rule in [[Fort Zeelandia (Paramaribo)|Fort Zeelandia]], Paramaribo. These two cases still strain relations between the Netherlands and Suriname.<ref name="minbuza"/>
* [[Para, Suriname|Para]]

* [[Paramaribo district|Paramaribo]]
Due to Suriname's Dutch colonial history, Suriname had a long-standing special relationship with the Netherlands. The Dutch government has stated that it will maintain limited contact with the president.<ref name="minbuza">{{cite web |url=http://www.minbuza.nl/en/news/2011/11/the-netherlands-and-suriname-are-closely-linked.html |title=The Netherlands and Suriname are closely linked |publisher=MinBuZa.nl |date=18 November 2011 |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163522/http://www.minbuza.nl/en/news/2011/11/the-netherlands-and-suriname-are-closely-linked.html |archive-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Saramacca]]

* [[Sipaliwini]]
Bouterse was elected as president of Suriname in 2010. The Netherlands in July 2014 dropped Suriname as a member of its development program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110323/business/business81.html |title=Holland to redefine relationship with Suriname |work= Jamaica Gleaner|date=23 March 2011 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>
* [[Wanica]]

Since 1991, the United States has maintained positive relations with Suriname. The two countries work together through the [[Caribbean Basin Security Initiative]] (CBSI) and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Suriname also receives military funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1893.htm |title=Suriname |publisher=US Department of State |date=3 September 2013 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>

[[European Union]] relations and cooperation with Suriname are carried out both on a bilateral and a regional basis. There are ongoing EU-[[Community of Latin American and Caribbean States]] (CELAC) and EU-[[CARIFORUM]] dialogues. Suriname is party to the [[Cotonou Agreement]], the partnership agreement among the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eeas.europa.eu/suriname/index_en.htm |title=European Union – EEAS (European External Action Service) &#124; EU Relations with Suriname |publisher=Europa (web portal) |date=19 June 2014 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>

On 17 February 2005, the leaders of [[Barbados]] and Suriname signed the "Agreement for the deepening of bilateral cooperation between the Government of Barbados and the Government of the Republic of Suriname."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caricom.org/jsp/speeches/bilateralcoop_barbados_suriname_arthur.jsp |title=STATEMENT BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE OWEN S. ARTHUR, PRIME MINISTER, BARBADOS, ON THE OCCASION OF THE SIGNING OF THE AGREEMENT FOR THE DEEPENING OF BILATERAL COOPERATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF BARBADOS AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME, 17 FEBRUARY 2005, PARAMARIBO, SURINAME |date=17 February 2005 |publisher=Caribbean Community (CARICOM) |access-date=6 March 2011 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803040613/http://www.caricom.org/jsp/speeches/bilateralcoop_barbados_suriname_arthur.jsp |archive-date=3 August 2012 }}</ref> On 23–24 April 2009, both nations formed a Joint Commission in [[Paramaribo]], Suriname, to improve relations and to expand into various areas of cooperation.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110706132148/http://foreign.gov.bb/Userfiles/File/suriname%20and%20bados%20jc.pdf Agreement for the Suriname-Barbados Joint Commission]. foreign.gov.bb. 13 March 2009</ref> They held a second meeting toward this goal on 3–4 March 2011, in Dover, Barbados. Their representatives reviewed issues of agriculture, trade, investment, as well as international transport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gisbarbados.gov.bb/index.php?categoryid=13&p2_articleid=5380 |title=BGIS Media – Press Releases – Second Meeting of the Barbados/Suriname Joint Commission |publisher=Gisbarbados.gov.bb |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>

In the late 2000s, Suriname intensified development cooperation with other developing countries. China's South-South cooperation with Suriname has included a number of large-scale infrastructure projects, including port rehabilitation and road construction. Brazil signed agreements to cooperate with Suriname in education, health, agriculture, and energy production.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/integracion_comercio/i_INTAL_IYT_36_2013_Abdenur.pdf|title=South-South Cooperation in Suriname: New Prospects for Infrastructure Integration?|pages=95–104|journal=Integration and Trade|volume=36|year=2013|issue=17|author=Erthal Abdenur, Adriana|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108023826/http://www.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/integracion_comercio/i_INTAL_IYT_36_2013_Abdenur.pdf|archive-date=8 January 2014}}</ref>

=== Military ===
{{main|Military of Suriname}}
The Armed Forces of Suriname have three branches: the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. The president of the Republic, [[Chan Santokhi]], is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (''Opperbevelhebber van de Strijdkrachten''). The president is assisted by the minister of defence. Beneath the president and minister of defence is the commander of the armed forces (''Bevelhebber van de Strijdkrachten''). The military branches and regional military commands report to the commander.

After the creation of the [[Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands]], the [[Royal Netherlands Army]] was entrusted with the defense of Suriname, while the defense of the [[Netherlands Antilles]] was the responsibility of the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]]. The army set up a separate ''Troepenmacht in Suriname'' (Forces in Suriname, TRIS). Upon independence in 1975, this force was turned into the ''Surinaamse Krijgsmacht'' (SKM):, Surinamese Armed Forces. On 25 February 1980, a group of 15 non-commissioned officers and one junior SKM officer, under the leadership of Dési Bouterse, overthrew the government. Subsequently, the SKM was rebranded as ''Nationaal Leger'' (NL), National Army.

In 1965, the Dutch and Americans used Suriname's Coronie site for multiple Nike Apache sounding rocket launches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.discover-suriname.com/about-suriname|title=About Suriname &#124; Discover Suriname|first=DISCOVER|last=SURINAME|website=www.discover-suriname.com}}</ref>

==Administrative divisions==
[[File:Suriname with disputed territories.jpg|thumb|Map of Suriname]]
{{main|Districts of Suriname|Resorts of Suriname}}
The country is divided into ten administrative districts, each headed by a district commissioner appointed by the president, who also has the power of dismissal. Suriname is further subdivided into 62 resorts (ressorten).

[[File:Suriname districts numbered.png|200px|left|Districts of Suriname]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! # |
! District
! Capital
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Area (%)
! Population <br /> (2012 census)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geohive.com/cntry/suriname.aspx |title=Suriname at GeoHive |publisher=Geohive.com |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>
! Population (%)
! Pop. dens. (inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>)
|-
| '''1''' || [[Brokopondo District|Brokopondo]] || [[Brokopondo]] ||align=right| 7,364||align=right|4.5 ||align=right| 15,909||align=right| 2.9||align=right|2.2
|-
| '''2''' || [[Commewijne District|Commewijne]] || [[Nieuw Amsterdam, Suriname|Nieuw-Amsterdam]] ||align=right| 2,353||align=right|1.4 ||align="right"| 31,420||align=right|5.8||align=right|13.4
|-
| '''3''' || [[Coronie District|Coronie]] || [[Totness, Suriname|Totness]] ||align=right| 3,902||align=right|2.4 ||align=right| 3,391||align=right|0.6||align=right|0.9
|-
| '''4''' || [[Marowijne District|Marowijne]] || [[Albina, Suriname|Albina]] ||align=right| 4,627||align=right|2.8 ||align=right| 18,294||align=right|3.4||align=right|4.0
|-
| '''5''' || [[Nickerie District|Nickerie]] || [[Nieuw-Nickerie]] ||align=right| 5,353||align=right|3.3 ||align=right| 34,233||align=right|6.3||align=right|6.4
|-
| '''6''' || [[Para District|Para]] || [[Onverwacht, Suriname|Onverwacht]] ||align=right| 5,393||align=right|3.3 ||align=right| 24,700||align=right|4.6||align=right|4.6
|-
| '''7''' || [[Paramaribo District|Paramaribo]] || [[Paramaribo]] ||align=right| 182||align=right| 0.1||align=right| 240,924||align=right|44.5||align=right|1323.8
|-
| '''8''' || [[Saramacca District|Saramacca]] || [[Groningen, Suriname|Groningen]] ||align=right| 3,636||align=right| 2.2||align=right| 17,480||align=right|3.2||align=right|4.8
|-
| '''9''' || [[Sipaliwini District|Sipaliwini]] || none ||align=right| 130,567||align=right|79.7 ||align=right| 37,065||align=right|6.8||align=right|0.3
|-
| '''10''' || [[Wanica District|Wanica]] || [[Lelydorp]] ||align=right| 443||align=right|0.3 ||align=right| 118,222||align=right|21.8||align=right|266.9
|-
|- class="sortbottom"
| || '''SURINAME''' || '''Paramaribo''' ||align="right"|'''163,820'''||align="right"| '''100.0'''||align="right"|'''541,638'''||align="right"|'''100.0'''||align=right|'''3.3'''
|}


== Geography ==
== Geography ==
{{main|Geography of Suriname}}
''Main article: [[Geography of Suriname]]''
[[File:View of Brokopondo Reservoir (33537723975).jpg|thumb|left|[[Brokopondo Reservoir]] surrounded by tropical rainforest]]
[[File:Morning fog (2719242329).jpg|thumb|The [[Coppename River|Coppename river]], one of many rivers in the interior]]
[[File:Leatherback Turtle near Galibi.jpg|thumb|[[Leatherback sea turtle]] on the beach near the village of Galibi]]
Suriname is the smallest independent country in South America. Situated on the [[Guiana Shield]], it lies mostly between latitudes [[1st parallel north|1°]] and [[6th parallel north|6°N]], and longitudes [[54th meridian west|54°]] and [[58th meridian west|58°W]]. The country can be divided into two main geographic regions. The northern, lowland coastal area (roughly above the line Albina-Paranam-Wageningen) has been cultivated, and most of the population lives here. The southern part consists of tropical [[rainforest]] and sparsely inhabited [[savanna]] along the border with [[Brazil]], covering about 80% of Suriname's land surface.


<div style="float: right">[[Image:ns-map.jpg]]</div>
The two main mountain ranges are the [[Bakhuys Mountains]] and the [[Van Asch Van Wijck Mountains]]. [[Julianatop]] is the highest mountain in the country at {{convert|1286|m|ft}} above sea level. Other mountains include [[Tafelberg, Suriname|Tafelberg]] at {{convert|1026|m|ft}}, Mount [[Kasikasima]] at {{convert|718|m|ft}}, Goliathberg at {{convert|358|m|ft}} and [[Voltzberg]] at {{convert|240|m|ft}}.


Suriname is the smallest country in [[South America]] (not counting French Guiana, as this is part of France). It is situated on the [[Guiana Shield]], the highest point being the [[Julianatop]] (1,286 m above sea level). The land can be artificially divided into two parts. The northern, coastal area has been cultivated, and most of the population lives here. The southern part consists of sparsely inhabited tropical [[rainforest]].
Suriname contains six terrestrial ecoregions: [[Guayanan Highlands moist forests]], [[Guianan moist forests]], [[Paramaribo swamp forests]], [[Tepuis]], [[Guianan savanna]], and [[Guianan mangroves]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref> Its forest cover is 90.2%, the highest of any nation in the world. The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 9.39/10, ranking it 5<sup>th</sup> globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|doi-access=free}}</ref>


Lying near the [[equator]], the climate in Suriname is tropical, and temperatures do not vary a lot throughout the year. The year has two rainy seasons, from December to early February and from late April to mid-August.
===Borders===
{{main|Borders of Suriname}}
[[File:Suriname location map.svg|thumb|Disputed areas shown on the map of Suriname (left and right, gray areas)]]


Located in the north-east of the countries is the W.J. van Blommesteinmeer, a large reservoir lake, created in 1964 by a [[dam]] (Brokopondo project).
Suriname is situated between [[French Guiana]] to the east and [[Guyana]] to the west. The southern border is shared with [[Brazil]] and the northern border is the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast. The southernmost borders with French Guiana and Guyana are disputed by these countries along the [[Maroni River|Marowijne]] and [[Courantyne River|Corantijn]] rivers, respectively, while a part of the disputed [[maritime boundary]] with Guyana was arbitrated by the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] convened under the rules set out in [[:s:United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea/Annex VII|Annex VII]] of the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]] on 20 September 2007.<ref>[[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] – [http://www.pca-cpa.org/showpage.asp?pag_id=1147 Guyana v. Suriname] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208082359/http://www.pca-cpa.org/showpage.asp?pag_id=1147 |date=8 February 2013 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.pca-cpa.org/showfile.asp?fil_id=664 Award of the Tribunal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102053445/http://pca-cpa.org/showfile.asp?fil_id=664 |date=2 January 2011 }}. pca-cpa.org. Retrieved 15 August 2012.</ref>

===Climate===
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map SUR present.svg|thumb|left|Suriname map of Köppen climate classification]]
Lying [[2nd parallel north|2]] to [[5th parallel north|5 degrees north]] of the [[equator]], Suriname has a very hot and wet [[tropical climate]], and temperatures do not vary much throughout the year. Average relative humidity is between 80% and 90%. Its average temperature ranges from 29 to 34 degrees Celsius (84 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit). Due to the high humidity, actual temperatures are distorted and may therefore feel up to 6 degrees Celsius (11 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than the recorded temperature. The year has two [[wet season]]s, from April to August and from November to February. It also has two [[dry season]]s, from August to November and February to April.

{{Excerpt|Climate change in Suriname|hat=yes|file=no|paragraphs=1}}

===Nature reserves===
Located in the upper [[Coppename River]] [[drainage basin|watershed]], the [[Central Suriname Nature Reserve]] has been designated a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] for its unspoiled forests and [[biodiversity]]. There are many national parks in the country including Galibi National Reserve along the coast; [[Brownsberg Nature Park]] and [[Eilerts de Haan Nature Park]] in central Suriname; and the [[Sipaliwani Nature Reserve]] on the Brazilian border. In all, 16% of the country's land area is national parks and lakes, according to the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.<ref>UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre [http://www.wdpa.org/ ''World Databbase on Protected Areas''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804170907/http://www.wdpa.org/ |date=4 August 2009 }}</ref>


== Economy ==
== Economy ==
{{main|Economy of Suriname}}
''Main article: [[Economy of Suriname]]''
[[File:Suriname Export Treemap.png|thumb|Suriname exports, 2012, including artificial [[corundum]]]]


The Surinamese economy is very dependent of other countries, its main trade partners being the [[Netherlands]], the [[United States]] and countries in the [[Caribbean]].
Suriname's democracy gained some strength after the turbulent 1990s, and its economy became more diversified and less dependent on Dutch financial assistance. [[Bauxite]] (aluminium ore) mining used to be a strong revenue source. The discovery and exploitation of oil and gold has added substantially to Suriname's economic independence. Agriculture, especially rice and bananas, remains a strong component of the economy, and [[ecotourism]] is providing new economic opportunities. More than 93% of Suriname's land-mass consists of unspoiled rain forest; with the establishment of the [[Central Suriname Nature Reserve]] in 1998, Suriname signalled its commitment to conservation of this precious resource. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve became a [[World Heritage Site]] in 2000.


Main export products are [[bauxite]] and [[sugar]], and Suriname has some [[oil]] and [[gold]] reserves. About a quarter of the people work in the [[agriculture|agricultural]] sector.
[[File:Financien.JPG|thumb|Ministry of Finance]]
The economy of Suriname was dominated by the bauxite industry, which accounted for more than 15% of GDP and 70% of export earnings up to 2016. Other main export products include rice, bananas, and [[shrimp]]. Suriname has recently started exploiting some of its sizeable [[Petroleum|oil]]<ref>Rigzone (3 January 2006). [http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=28224 ''Staatsolie Launches Tender for 3 Offshore Blocks '']</ref> and gold<ref>Cambior [https://web.archive.org/web/20070808034224/http://www.cambior.com/2/archives/annual_report/2001/development.pdf ''Development of the Gross Rosebel Mine in Suriname'']. cambior.com</ref> reserves. About a quarter of the people work in the agricultural sector. The Surinamese economy is very dependent on commerce, its main trade partners being the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, and [[Caribbean]] countries, mainly [[Trinidad and Tobago]] and the islands of the former [[Netherlands Antilles]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Suriname-FOREIGN-TRADE.html|title=Suriname – Foreign trade|year=2010|publisher=Encyclopedia of the Nations|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref>

After assuming power in the fall of 1996, the [[Jules Wijdenbosch|Wijdenbosch]] government ended the [[structural adjustment]] program of the previous government, claiming it was unfair to the poorer elements of society. Tax revenues fell as old taxes lapsed and the government failed to implement new tax alternatives. By the end of 1997, the allocation of new Dutch development funds was frozen as Surinamese Government relations with the Netherlands deteriorated. Economic growth slowed in 1998, with decline in the mining, construction, and [[utility]] sectors. Rampant government expenditures, poor tax collection, a bloated civil service, and reduced foreign aid in 1999 contributed to the fiscal deficit, estimated at 11% of GDP. The government sought to cover this deficit through monetary expansion, which led to a dramatic increase in inflation. It takes longer on average to register a new business in Suriname than virtually any other country in the world (694 days or about 99 weeks).<ref>The Economist, Pocket World in Figures, 2008 Edition, London: Profile Books</ref>

* GDP (2010 est.): U.S. $4.794 billion.
* Annual growth rate real GDP (2010 est.): 3.5%.
* Per capita GDP (2010 est.): U.S. $9,900.
* Inflation (2007): 6.4%.
* Natural resources: Bauxite, gold, oil, iron ore, other minerals; forests; hydroelectric potential; fish and shrimp.
* Agriculture: Products—rice, bananas, timber, palm kernels, coconuts, peanuts, citrus fruits, and forest products.
* Industry: Types—alumina, oil, gold, fish, shrimp, lumber.
* Trade:
** Exports (2012): $2.563 billion: alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas. Major consumers: US 26.1%, Belgium 17.6%, UAE 12.1%, Canada 10.4%, Guyana 6.5%, France 5.6%, Barbados 4.7%.<ref name=cia/>
** Imports (2012): $1.782 billion: capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, cotton, consumer goods. Major suppliers: US 25.8%, Netherlands 15.8%, China 9.8%, UAE 7.9%, Antigua and Barbuda 7.3%, Netherlands Antilles 5.4%, Japan 4.2%.<ref name=cia/>


== Demographics ==
== Demographics ==
{{main|Demographics of Suriname|Surinamese people}}
''Main article: [[Demographics of Suriname]]''
{{More citations needed|date=May 2011}}
[[File:Suriname demography.png|thumb|The population of Suriname from 1961 to 2003, in units of 1000. The slowdown and decline in population growth ~1969–1985 reflects a mass migration to the Netherlands and French Guiana.]]


The Surinamese population is made up of several minority groups. The largest part is formed by the Hindustani, descendants of [[19th century]] immigrants from [[India]], about 37% of the population. The Creole, mixed white and black form about 31%, while the [[Java island|Javanese]] ("imported" from the former [[Dutch East Indies]]) and Maroons (descendants of escaped [[Africa]]n slaves) make up 15 and 10 percent, respectively. The remainder is formed by [[India|Indian]]s, [[China|Chinese]] and whites.
According to the 2012 census, Suriname had a population of 541,638 inhabitants.<ref name="statistics-suriname1"/> The Surinamese populace is characterized by its high level of diversity, wherein no particular demographic group constitutes a majority. This is a legacy of centuries of Dutch rule, which entailed successive periods of forced, contracted, or voluntary migration by various nationalities and ethnic groups from around the world.


Because of the great number of ethnic groups in the country, there is no main religion. Most of the Hindustani are [[Hindu]], but [[Islam]] and [[Christianity]] are also widespread.
{{bar box
|title=Ethnic groups of Suriname<ref name="CIAPAPUANEWGUINEA">{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/|title=South America :: SURINAME|publisher= CIA The World Factbook}}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Ethnic groups
|right1=percent
|float=left
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Indo-Surinamese|Hindustani]]|Blue|27.4}}
{{bar percent|[[Maroon (people)|Maroon]] |Orange|21.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Creole people|Creole]]|Yellow|15.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Javanese Surinamese|Javanese]] |Green|14}}
{{bar percent|[[Multiracial|Mixed]]|Red|13.4}}
{{bar percent|[[Chinese Surinamese|Chinese]]|Purple|7.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Indigenous peoples in Suriname|Amerindian]] |Green|3.8}}
{{bar percent|[[Dutch Surinamese|White]]|Silver|1}}
{{bar percent|Other|Orange|2.3}}
}}


While [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is still the official language of Suriname, [[Sranang Tongo]], originally a Creole language, is considered the ''lingua franca''. The Surinamese of [[Asia]]n descent often also speak their own languages.
The largest ethnic group are the [[Indo-Surinamese|East Indians]] which form about 27.4% of the population. They are descendants of 19th-century indentured workers from [[India]], hailing mostly from the modern Indian states of [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]], and Eastern [[Uttar Pradesh]] along the Nepali border. The largest group of people are however the [[Afro-Surinamese]]; around 37.4%. They are usually divided into two cultural/ethnic groups: the [[Creole peoples|Creoles]] and the [[Maroon (people)|Maroons]]. Surinamese [[Maroon (people)|Maroons]], whose ancestors are mostly runaway slaves that fled to the interior, comprise 21.7% of the population; they are divided into six tribes: [[Ndyuka people|Ndyuka]] (Aucans), [[Saramaka|Saramaccans]], [[Paramaccan]]s, [[Kwinti]], [[Aluku]] (Boni) and [[Matawai people|Matawai]]. Surinamese [[Creole peoples|Creoles]], mixed people descending from African slaves and mostly Dutch Europeans, form 15.7% of the population. [[Javanese Surinamese|Javanese]] make up 14% of the population, and like the East Indians, descend largely from workers contracted from the island of [[Java]] in the former [[Dutch East Indies]] (modern [[Indonesia]]).<ref name="javanese in suriname">{{in lang|id}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110316132831/http://unik.kompasiana.com/2011/03/14/orang-jawa-di-suriname/ Orang Jawa di Suriname (Javanese in Suriname)], ''kompasiana'' (14 March 2011)</ref> 13.4% of the population identifies as being of mixed ethnic heritage. [[Chinese Surinamese|Chinese]], originating from 19th-century indentured workers and some recent migration, make up 7.3% of the population.
Other groups include [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], primarily [[Maronites]]; [[History of the Jews in Suriname|Jews]] of [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic]] and [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]] origin, whose center of population was the community of [[Jodensavanne]]. Various [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] make up 3.7% of the population, with the main groups being the [[Akurio people|Akurio]], [[Arawak]], [[Kalina people|Kalina]] (Caribs), [[Tiriyó people|Tiriyó]] and [[Wayana people|Wayana]]. They live mainly in the districts of [[Paramaribo]], [[Wanica District|Wanica]], [[Para District|Para]], [[Marowijne District|Marowijne]] and [[Sipaliwini District|Sipaliwini]].{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} A small but influential number of [[White Surinamese|Europeans]] remain in the country, comprising about 1% of the population. They are descended mostly from [[Dutch people|Dutch]] 19th-century immigrant farmers, known as "[[Dutch Surinamese|Boeroes]]" (derived from ''boer'', the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word for "farmer"), and to a lesser degree other European groups, such as [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]. Many Boeroes [[White flight|left after independence in 1975]].

More recently Suriname has seen a new wave of immigrants; many of them have no legal status. These are namely [[Brazilians in Suriname|Brazilians]] (many of them laborers mining for gold), [[Cubans]], [[People of the Dominican Republic|Dominicans]] and [[Haitians]].<ref>"[http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/violence-erupts-surinam Violence erupts in Surinam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102065401/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/violence-erupts-surinam |date=2 January 2010 }}". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 26 December 2009.</ref>

The vast majority of Suriname's inhabitants (about 90%) live in [[Paramaribo]] or on the coast.

===Emigration===
[[File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 60008924 Een groep Brits-Indische immigranten.jpg|thumb|left|Immigrants from [[India]]]]
The choice of becoming Surinamese or Dutch citizens in the years leading up to Suriname's independence in 1975 led to a mass migration to the Netherlands. This migration continued in the period immediately after independence and during military rule in the 1980s and for largely economic reasons extended throughout the 1990s. The [[Surinamese people in the Netherlands|Surinamese community]] in the [[Netherlands]] numbered 350,300 {{As of|2013|lc=y}} (including children and grandchildren of Suriname migrants born in The Netherlands); this is compared to approximately 566,000<ref name=cia /> Surinamese in Suriname itself.

According to the [[International Organization for Migration]], around 272,600 people from Suriname lived in other countries in the late 2010s, in particular in the Netherlands (ca 192,000), the [[French Republic]] (ca 25,000, most of them in [[French Guiana]]),{{refn|group=note|The [[International Organization for Migration]] made a confusion regarding the number of Surinamese migrants living in French Guiana. Their number is already included in the number for France (24,753 at the time of writing), as can be seen here: [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3633212#tableau-Econtinent_radio1 données complémentaires].}} the [[United States]] (ca 15,000), [[Guyana]] (ca 5,000), [[Aruba]] (ca 1,500), and [[Canada]] (ca 1,000).<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.iom.int/world-migration | title=World Migration| author=International Organization for Migration| access-date=2019-02-03| author-link=International Organization for Migration}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{main|Religion in Suriname}}
{{bar box
|title=Religion in Suriname, 2012<ref name="CENSUS2012" />
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1='''Religion'''
|right1='''Percent'''
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Religion in Suriname#Christianity|Christianity]]|blue|48.4}}
{{bar percent|[[Hinduism in South America#Hinduism in Suriname|Hinduism]]|orange|22.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam in Suriname|Islam]]|green|13.9}}
{{bar percent|Other religions|purple|4.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Irreligion|Unaffiliated]]|grey|10.7}}
}}
[[File:MoscheeSynagoge.jpg|thumb|left|Synagogue and mosque adjacent to each other in Paramaribo]]
Suriname's religious makeup is heterogeneous and reflective of the country's multicultural character. According to PEW research from 2012, the country comprises Christians (51.6), Buddhists (<1%), folk (5.3%), Hindu (19.8%), Jew, (<1%), Muslim (15.2%), other (1.8%), unaffiliated (5.4%).<ref>http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/suriname#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2016</ref> According to the 2012 census, 48.4% were Christians;<ref name="CENSUS2012">[http://www.statistics-suriname.org/images/Presentatie.pdf 2012 Suriname Census Definitive Results] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924105905/http://www.statistics-suriname.org/images/Presentatie.pdf |date=24 September 2015 }}. Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek – Suriname.</ref> 26.7% of Surinamese were [[Protestants]] (11.18% [[Pentecostal]], 11.16% [[Moravian Church|Moravian]], and 4.4% of various other Protestant denominations) and 21.6% were [[Catholics]]. [[Hindu]]s formed the second-largest religious group in Suriname, comprising 22.3% of the population,<ref name="CENSUS2012"/> the third largest proportion of any country in the Western Hemisphere after [[Guyana]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]], both of which also have large proportions of [[Indo-Caribbeans|Indians]]. Almost all practitioners of [[Hinduism]] are found among the Indo-Surinamese population. [[Muslim]]s constitute 13.9% of the population, the highest proportion of Muslims in the Americas; they are largely of Javanese or Indian descent.<ref name="CENSUS2012"/> Other religious groups include [[Winti]] (1.8%),<ref name="CENSUS2012"/> an [[Afro-American religion]] practiced mostly by those of Maroon ancestry; [[Javanism]] (0.8%),<ref name="CENSUS2012"/> a syncretic faith found among some Javanese Surinamese; and various indigenous folk traditions that are often incorporated into one of the larger religions (usually Christianity). In the 2012 census, 7.5% of the population declared they had "no religion", while a further 3.2% left the question unanswered.<ref name="CENSUS2012"/>

===Languages===
[[File:Butcher Paramaribo market.jpg|thumb|upright|Butcher market in Paramaribo with signs written in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]]]
Suriname has a total of around 14 local languages, but [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is the sole official language and is the language used in education, government, business, and the media.<ref name=cia/> Over 60% of the population are [[First language|native speakers]] of Dutch<ref name="taalgebied">{{cite web|url=http://taalunieversum.org/taalpeil/2005/het_nederlandse_taalgebied.html |title=Het Nederlandse taalgebied |access-date=4 November 2008|publisher=Nederlandse Taalunie |year=2005|language=nl}}</ref> and around 20%-30% speak it as a second language. In 2004, Suriname became an associate member of the [[Dutch Language Union]].<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://taalunieversum.org/en/about_us/ Nederlandse Taalunie]. taalunieversum.org</ref> It is the only Dutch-speaking country in South America and the only independent nation in the Americas in which Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population and one of the two non-[[Romance languages|Romance]]-speaking countries in South America, the other being English-speaking [[Guyana]].

In Paramaribo, Dutch is the main home language in two thirds of the households.<ref name=Census>{{cite web|title=Geselecteerde Census variabelen per district (Census-profiel)|access-date=24 July 2008|author=Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek|publisher=ABS|url=http://www.statistics-suriname.org/www/images/stories/pdf/2007/census%20profiel%20website%2016jan07.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910012719/http://www.statistics-suriname.org/www/images/stories/pdf/2007/census%20profiel%20website%2016jan07.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2008}}</ref> The recognition of ''"Surinaams-Nederlands"'' ("[[Surinamese Dutch]]") as a national dialect equal to ''"Nederlands-Nederlands"'' ("Dutch Dutch") and ''"Vlaams-Nederlands"'' ("Flemish Dutch") was expressed in 2009 by the publication of the ''Woordenboek Surinaams Nederlands'' (''Surinamese–Dutch Dictionary'').<ref>''Prisma Woordenboek Surinaams Nederlands'', edited by Renata de Bies, in cooperation with Willy Martin and Willy Smedts, {{ISBN|978-90-491-0054-4}}</ref> It is the most commonly spoken language in urban areas; only in the interior of Suriname (namely parts of [[Sipaliwini District|Sipaliwini]] and [[Brokopondo District|Brokopondo]]) is Dutch seldom spoken.

[[Sranan Tongo|Sranantongo]], a local English-based [[creole language]], is the most widely used [[vernacular language]] in daily life and business. Together with Dutch, it is considered to be the one of the two principal languages of Surinamese [[diglossia]]. Both are further influenced by other spoken languages which are spoken primarily within ethnic communities. Sranantongo is often used interchangeably with Dutch depending on the formality of the setting; Dutch is seen as a [[prestige dialect]] and Sranan Tongo the common [[vernacular]].<ref name=NYT2008>{{cite news |title=In Babel of Tongues, Suriname Seeks Itself |date=23 March 2008 |first=Simon |last=Romero |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/world/americas/23suriname.html|author-link=Simon Romero}}</ref>

[[Caribbean Hindustani]] or Sarnami, a dialect of [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]], is the third-most used language. It is primarily spoken by the descendants of East Indian indentured labourers from the former [[British Raj|British India]].

The six [[Maroon (people)|Maroon]] languages of Suriname are also considered English-based creole languages, and include [[Saramaccan language|Saramaccan]], [[Ndyuka (language)|Aukan]], [[Aluku]], [[Paramakans|Paramaccan]], [[Matawai language|Matawai]] and [[Kwinti language|Kwinti]].

Aluku, Paramaccan and Kwinti are so mutually intelligible with Aukan, that they can be consindered dialects of the Aukan language. The same can be said about Matawai, which is mutually intelligible with Saramaka.

[[Javanese language|Javanese]] is used by the descendants of Javanese indentured labourers.

[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindian]] languages, include [[Carib languages|Carib]], [[Arawakan languages|Arawak]], [[Tiriyó language|Tiriyó]] and [[Wayana language|Wayana]].

[[Hakka language|Hakka]] and [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]] are spoken by the descendants of the Chinese indentured labourers. [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin]] is spoken by the recent wave of Chinese immigrants.

Other languages not really local to Suriname, but also used include:
[[English language|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[French language|French]].

===Largest cities===
The national capital, Paramaribo, is by far the dominant urban area, accounting for nearly half of Suriname's population and most of its urban residents; indeed, its population is greater than the next nine largest cities combined. Most municipalities are located within the capital's metropolitan area, or along the densely populated coastline.
{{Largest cities of Suriname}}


== Culture ==
== Culture ==
{{main|Culture of Suriname}}
''Main article: [[Culture of Suriname]]''
{{see also|Roman Catholicism in Suriname|Music of Suriname|Hinduism in South America}}


Due to the mix of population groups, the Surinamese culture is very diverse.
Owing to the country's multicultural heritage, Suriname celebrates a variety of distinct ethnic and religious festivals.


*[[Music of Suriname]]
===National holidays===
* 1 January – New Year's Day
* 6 January – [[Three Kings Day]]
* January – [[World Religion Day]]
* January/February – [[Chinese New Year]]
* 25 February – [[1980 Surinamese coup d'état|Day of the Revolution]]
* March (varies) – [[Holi]]
* March/April – [[Good Friday]]
* March/April – Easter
* 1 May – Labour Day
* May/June – [[Ascension day]]
* 5 June – [[Indian Arrival Day]]
* 1 July – [[Keti Koti]] (Emancipation Day – end of slavery)
* 8 August – [[Javanese Surinamese|Javanese Arrival Day]]
* 9 August – [[Indigenous People's Day]]
* 10 October – Day of the Maroons
* 20 October – [[Chinese Surinamese|Chinese Arrival day]]
* October/November – [[Diwali]]
* 25 November – [[Independence Day]]
* 25 December – Christmas
* 26 December – [[Boxing Day]]
* varies - [[Eid-ul-adha]]


== Miscellaneous topics ==
There are several Hindu and Islamic national holidays like Diwali ([[deepavali]]), [[Phagwa]] and [[Eid ul-Fitr]] and Eid-ul-adha. These holidays do not have fixed dates on the [[Gregorian calendar]], as they are based on the [[Hindu calendar|Hindu]] and [[Islamic calendar]]s, respectively. As of 2020, Eid-ul-adha is a national holiday, and equal to a Sunday.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dwtonline.com/laatste-nieuws/2020/07/25/eid-ul-adha-vrije-dag/ |title=Eid-ul-Adha vrije dag|website=De Ware Tijd|access-date=25 July 2020|language=nl}}</ref>


* [[Communications in Suriname]]
There are several holidays which are unique to Suriname. These include the Indian, Javanese and Chinese arrival days. They celebrate the arrival of the first ships with their respective immigrants.
* [[Transportation in Suriname]]

* [[Military of Suriname]]
====New Year's Eve====
* [[Foreign relations of Suriname]]
[[File:Kerstoudjaar 037.jpg|thumb|Pagara (red firecracker ribbons)]]
New Year's Eve in Suriname is called ''Oud jaar'', ''Owru Yari'', or "old year". It is during this period that the Surinamese population goes to the city's commercial district to watch "demonstrational [[fireworks]]". The bigger stores invest in these [[firecrackers]] and display them out in the streets. Every year the length of them is compared, and high praises are given for the company that has imported the largest ribbon.

These celebrations start at 10 in the morning and finish the next day. The day is usually filled with laughter, dance, music, and drinking. When the night starts, the big street parties are already at full capacity. The most popular fiesta is the one that is held at [[café 't Vat]] in the main tourist district. The parties there stop between 10 and 11 at night, after which people go home to light their pagaras (red-firecracker-ribbons) at midnight.
After 12, the parties continue and the streets fill again until daybreak.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/A-Sabbatical-in-Suriname-334838.html |title=A Sabbatical in Suriname – Fun Facts, Questions, Answers, Information |publisher=Funtrivia.com |date=25 February 1980 |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922204719/http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/A-Sabbatical-in-Suriname-334838.html |archive-date=22 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Sports===
The major sports in Suriname are [[Association football|football]], [[basketball]], and [[volleyball]]. The [[Suriname Olympic Committee]] is the national governing body for sports in Suriname. The major [[mind sport]]s are [[chess]], [[draughts]], [[Bridge (card game)|bridge]] and [[troefcall]].

Many Suriname-born football players and Dutch-born football players of Surinamese descent, like [[Gerald Vanenburg]], [[Ruud Gullit]], [[Frank Rijkaard]], [[Edgar Davids]], [[Clarence Seedorf]], [[Patrick Kluivert]], [[Aron Winter]], [[Georginio Wijnaldum]], [[Virgil van Dijk]] and [[Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink]] have turned out to play for the [[Netherlands national football team|Dutch national team]]. In 1999, [[Humphrey Mijnals]], who played for both [[Suriname national football team|Suriname]] and the Netherlands, was elected Surinamese footballer of the century.<ref>{{cite web|title=Het debuut van Humphrey Mijnals|url=http://www.olympischstadion.nl/nl/2_nieuws/?news_id=913|publisher=Olympisch Stadion|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055955/http://www.olympischstadion.nl/nl/2_nieuws/?news_id=913|archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref> Another famous player is [[André Kamperveen]], who captained Suriname in the 1940s and was the first Surinamese to play professionally in the Netherlands.

The most famous international track & field athlete from Suriname is [[Letitia Vriesde]], who won a silver medal at the [[1995 World Championships in Athletics|1995 World Championships]] behind Ana Quirot in the 800 metres, the first medal won by a South American female athlete in World Championship competition. In addition, she also won a bronze medal at the [[2001 World Championships in Athletics|2001 World Championships]] and won several medals in the 800 and 1500 metres at the [[Pan-American Games]] and [[Central American and Caribbean Games]]. [[Tommy Asinga]] also received acclaim for winning a bronze medal in the 800 metres at the [[1991 Pan American Games]].

Swimmer [[Anthony Nesty]] is the only Olympic medalist for Suriname. He won gold in the 100-meter butterfly at the [[1988 Summer Olympics]] in [[Seoul]] and he won bronze in the same discipline at the 1992 Summer Olympics in [[Barcelona]]. Originally from [[Trinidad and Tobago]], he now lives in [[Gainesville, Florida]], and is the coach of the University of Florida, mainly coaching distance swimmers.

[[Cricket]] is popular in Suriname to some extent, influenced by its popularity [[Cricket in the Netherlands|in the Netherlands]] and in neighbouring Guyana. The [[Surinaamse Cricket Bond]] is an [[List of International Cricket Council members|associate member]] of the [[International Cricket Council]] (ICC). Suriname and Argentina were the only ICC associate members in South America when ICC had a three tiered membership, although Guyana is represented on the [[West Indies Cricket Board]], a full member. [[Suriname national cricket team|The national cricket team]] was ranked 47th in the world and sixth in the [[ICC Americas]] region as of June 2014, and competes in the [[World Cricket League]] (WCL) and [[ICC Americas Championship]]. [[Iris Jharap]], born in Paramaribo, played [[women's One Day International]] matches for [[Netherlands national women's cricket team|the Dutch national side]], the only Surinamese to do so.<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/netherlands/content/player/54678.html Iris Jharap player profile and statistics] – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2014.</ref>

In the sport of badminton the local heroes are [[Virgil Soeroredjo]] & [[Mitchel Wongsodikromo]] and also [[Crystal Leefmans]]. All winning medals for Suriname at the [[Carebaco International|Carebaco Caribbean Championships]], the [[Central American and Caribbean Games]] (CACSO Games)<ref>[http://www.rnw.nl/suriname/article/het-blijft-bij-een-keer-brons-op-cacso Het blijft bij één keer brons op Cacso | Radio Nederland Wereldomroep]. Rnw.nl (27 September 2012). Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref> and also at the [[South American Games]], better known as the [[ODESUR]] Games. Virgil Soeroredjo also participated for Suriname at the [[Badminton at the 2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London Summer Olympics]], only the second badminton player, after [[Oscar Brandon]], for Suriname to achieve this.<ref>[http://www.london2012.com/athlete/soeroredjo-virgil-1102087/ Results And Medalists] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404122609/http://www.london2012.com/athlete/soeroredjo-virgil-1102087/ |date=4 April 2013 }}. London2012.com. Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref> Current [[Surinamese National Badminton Championships|National Champion]] [[Sören Opti]] was the third Surinamese badminton player to participate at the [[2016 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in 2016.

Multiple time [[K-1]] [[kickboxing]] world champions [[Ernesto Hoost]] and [[Remy Bonjasky]] were born in Suriname or are of Surinamese descent. Other kickboxing world champions include [[Rayen Simson]], [[Melvin Manhoef]], [[Tyrone Spong]], [[Jairzinho Rozenstruik]] and [[Regian Eersel]].

Suriname also has a [[Suriname national korfball team|national korfball team]], with [[korfball]] being a Dutch sport. [[Vinkensport]] is also practised.

==Transportation==
{{see also|Transport in Suriname|Desiré Delano Bouterse Highway|East-West Link (Suriname)}}
Suriname, along with neighboring [[Guyana]], is one of only two countries on the mainland South American continent that drive on the left, although many vehicles are left hand drive as well as right hand drive.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/04/world/in-suriname-s-rain-forests-a-fight-over-trees-vs-jobs.html In Suriname's Rain Forests, A Fight Over Trees vs. Jobs], Anthony DePalma, ''[[The New York Times]]'', 4 September 1995</ref> One explanation for this practice is that at the time of its colonization of Suriname, the Netherlands itself used left-hand traffic, also introducing the practice in the [[Dutch East Indies]], now [[Indonesia]].<ref name="New Scientist">[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qfak8nsMNGIC&lpg=PA18&dq=New%20Scientist%20%20Indonesia%20drive%20Napoleon&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q=New%20Scientist%20%20Indonesia%20drive%20Napoleon&f=false ''New Scientist''], 25 December 1986 – 1 January 1987, page 18</ref> Another is that Suriname was first colonized by the British, and for practical reasons, this was not changed when it came under Dutch administration.<ref name="Kincaid Rule">[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QatPAAAAMAAJ&dq=suriname+english+colony+drive+on+left&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Dutch ''The Rule of the Road: An International Guide to History and Practice''], Peter Kincaid, Greenwood Press, 1986, page 138</ref> Although the Netherlands converted to driving to the right at the end of the 18th century,<ref name="New Scientist" /> Suriname did not.

=== Air ===
Airlines with departures from Suriname:
* [[Blue Wing Airlines]]
* [[Gum Air]]
* [[Fly All Ways]]
* [[Surinam Airways]] ''(SLM)''

Airlines with arrivals in Suriname:
* [[Caribbean Airlines]] (Trinidad & Tobago)
* [[Insel Air]] (Curaçao)
* [[KLM]] (Netherlands)
* [[Gol Transportes Aéreos]] (Brazil)
* [[Copa Airlines]] (Panama)
* [[TUI Group#Airlines|Tui]] (Netherlands)
* [[Fly All Ways]] (Curaçao), Cuba ''([[Havana]])'', ''([[Santiago de Cuba]])''
* [[Surinam Airways]] ''(SLM)'' ([[Aruba]]), Brazil ''([[Belém]])'', ([[Curaçao]]), Guyana ''([[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]])'', Netherlands ''([[Amsterdam]])'', Trinidad & Tobago ''([[Port of Spain]])'', & USA ''([[Miami]])''.

Other national companies with an air operator certification:
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Aero Club Suriname]] ''(ACS)'' – General Aviation Aeroclub
* [[Coronie Aero Farmers]] ''(CAF)'' – Agriculture Cropdusting
* [[Eagle Air Services]] ''(EAS)'' – Agriculture Cropdusting
* [[ERK Farms]] ''(ERK)'' – Agriculture Cropdusting
* [[Overeem Air Service]] ''(OAS)'' – General Aviation Charters
* [[Pegasus Air Service]] ''(PAS)'' – Helicopter Charters
* [[Military of Suriname|Suriname Air Force / Surinaamse Luchtmacht]] ''(SAF / LUMA)'' – Military Aviation Surinam Air Force
* [[Surinam Sky Farmers]] ''(SSF)'' – Agriculture Cropdusting
* [[Surinaamse Medische Zendings Vliegdienst]] ''(MAF – Mission Aviation Fellowship)'' – General Aviation Missionary
* [[Vortex Aviation Suriname]] ''(VAS)'' – General Aviation Maintenance & Flightschool
{{Div col end}}

==Health==

{{main|Health in Suriname}}

The [[Global Burden of Disease]] Study provides an on-line data source for analyzing updated estimates of health for 359 diseases and injuries and 84 risk factors from 1990 to 2017 in most of the world's countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=GBD Compare {{!}} IHME Viz Hub |url=https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/ |website=vizhub.healthdata.org |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref> Comparing Suriname with other Caribbean nations show that in 2017 the age-standardized [[death rate]] for all causes was 793 (males 969, females 641) per 100,000, far below the 1219 of [[Haiti]], somewhat below the 944 of [[Guyana]] but considerably above the 424 of [[Bermuda]]. In 1990 the death rate was 960 per 100,000. [[Life expectancy]] in 2017 was 72 years (males 69, females 75). The death rate for children < 5 years was 581 per 100,000 compared to 1308 in Haiti and 102 in Bermuda. In 1990 and 2017, leading causes of age-standardized death rates were cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes/chronic kidney disease.

==Education==
{{main|Education in Suriname}}
Education in Suriname is compulsory until the age of 12,<ref>{{cite web |author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,SUR,4562d94e2,48caa491c,0.html |title=The UN Refugee Agency |publisher=Unhcr.org |access-date=28 March 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510010240/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,SUR,4562d94e2,48caa491c,0.html |archive-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref> and the nation had a net primary enrollment rate of 94% in 2004.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org">{{cite web |url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SUR.html |title=United Nations Development Programme |publisher=Hdrstats.undp.org |access-date=28 March 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818084138/http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SUR.html |archive-date=18 August 2009 }}</ref> [[Literacy]] is very common, particularly among men.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/> The main university in the country is the [[Anton de Kom University of Suriname]].

From elementary school to high school there are 13 grades. The elementary school has six grades, middle school four grades and high school three grades. Students take a test in the end of elementary school to determine whether they will go to the MULO (secondary modern school) or a middle school of lower standards like LBO. Students from the elementary school wear a green shirt with jeans, while middle school students wear a blue shirt with jeans.

Students going from the second grade of middle school to the third grade have to choose between the business or science courses. This will determine what their major subjects will be. In order to go on to study math and physics, the student must have a total of 12 points. If the student has fewer points, he/she will go into the business courses or fail the grade.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

== Biodiversity ==
[[File:Dendrobates azureus (Dendrobates tinctorius) Edit.jpg|thumb|The [[blue poison dart frog]] is endemic to Suriname.]]
{{main|Biodiversity in Suriname}}
Due to the variety of habitats and temperatures, biodiversity in Suriname is considered high.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inaturalist.org/places/suriname|title=Suriname|publisher=inaturalist.org}}</ref> In October 2013, 16 international scientists researching the ecosystems during a three-week expedition in Suriname's Upper Palumeu River Watershed catalogued 1,378 species and found 60—including six frogs, one snake, and 11 fish—that may be previously unknown species.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/03/new-species-suriname-frog Cocoa frog and lilliputian beetle among 60 new species found in Suriname]. The Guardian (3 October 2013). Retrieved 7 October 2013.</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/10351238/New-species-discovered-in-Surinames-mountain-rainforests.html New species discovered in Surname's mountain rainforests]. The Telegraph (2 October 2013). Retrieved 7 October 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/science/scientists-discover-scores-species-surinames-tropical-eden-8C11339818 Scientists discover scores of species in Suriname's 'Tropical Eden']. NBC News (7 October 2013). Retrieved 7 October 2013.</ref><ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/pictures/120125-suriname-new-species-armored-catfish-cowboy-frog-science/ New-Species Pictures: Cowboy Frog, Armored Catfish, More]. National Geographic (1 January 2012). Retrieved 7 October 2013.</ref> According to the environmental non-profit [[Conservation International]], which funded the expedition, Suriname's ample supply of fresh water is vital to the biodiversity and healthy ecosystems of the region.<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/new-species-suriname_n_4038741.html Discover 60 New Species In Suriname]. The Huffington Post (3 October 2013). Retrieved 7 October 2013.</ref>

Snakewood (''[[Brosimum guianense]]''), a tree, is native to this tropical region of the Americas. Customs in Suriname report that snakewood is often illegally exported to French Guiana, thought to be for the crafts industry.<ref>''[http://www.profor.info/sites/profor.info/files/publication/LAC_2007_Law%20Compliance_Prevention%20and%20Control%20of%20Illegal%20Activities%20in%20the%20Forest%20Sector%20of%20Suriname.pdf Law Compliance, and prevention, and control of illegal activities in the forest sector of Suriname]'', Maureen Playfair</ref>

=== Environmental preservation ===
On 21 March 2013, Suriname's REDD+ Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP 2013) was approved by the member countries of the Participants Committee of the [[Forest Carbon Partnership Facility]] (FCPF).<ref>[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/extra/article.php?id=2255 Suriname gets the nod for environment programme – News – Global Jamaica]. Jamaica-gleaner.com (25 March 2013). Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref>

As in other parts of Central and South America, indigenous communities have increased their activism to protect their lands and preserve habitat. In March 2015, the "[[Trio people|Trio]] and [[Wayana people|Wayana]] communities presented a declaration of cooperation to the [[National Assembly of Suriname]] that announces an indigenous conservation corridor spanning 72,000 square kilometers (27,799 square miles) of southern Suriname. The declaration, led by these indigenous communities and with the support of [[Conservation International]] (CI) and [[World Wildlife Fund]] [[WWF Guianas|(WWF) Guianas]], comprises almost half of the total area of Suriname."<ref name="guardians">[http://www.conservation.org/NewsRoom/pressreleases/Pages/Guardians-of-the-Forest-Indigenous-Peoples-Take-Action-to-Conserve-Nearly-Half-of-Suriname.aspx "Guardians of the Forest: Indigenous Peoples Take Action to Conserve Nearly Half of Suriname"], 5 March 2015, Press Release, Conservation International. Retrieved 6 October 2016</ref> This area includes large forests and is considered "essential for the country's [[climate resilience]], freshwater security, and green development strategy."<ref name="guardians"/>

== Media ==
Traditionally, ''[[De Ware Tijd]]'' was the major newspaper of the country, but since the '90s ''[[Times of Suriname]], [[De West]]'' and ''[[Dagblad Suriname]]'' have also been well-read newspapers; all publish primarily in Dutch.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.ellendevries.nl/upload/epiloog.pdf|title=K'ranti! De Surinaamse pers 1774–2008|last1=De Koninck|first1=Marc|last2=de Vries|first2=Ellen|year=2008|pages=235–243}}</ref>

Suriname has twenty-four radio stations, most of them also broadcast through the Internet. There are twelve television sources:
[[Ampie's Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] (Ch. 4–1, 2), RBN (Ch. 5–1, 2), Rasonic TV (Ch. 7), STVS (Ch. 8–1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), Apintie (Ch. 10–1), ATV (Ch. 12–1, 2, 3, 4), Radika (Ch. 14), SCCN (Ch. 17–1, 2, 3), Pipel TV (Ch. 18–1, 2), Trishul (Ch. 20–1, 2, 3, 4), Garuda (Ch. 23–1, 2, 3), Sangeetmala (Ch. 26), Ch. 30, Ch. 31, Ch.32, Ch.38, SCTV (Ch. 45). Also listened to is [[Mart (broadcaster)|mArt]], a broadcaster from Amsterdam founded by people from Suriname. [[Kondreman]] is one of the popular cartoons in Suriname.

There are also three major news sites: Starnieuws, Suriname Herald and GFC Nieuws.

In 2012, Suriname was ranked joint 22nd with Japan in the worldwide Press Freedom Index by the organization [[Reporters Without Borders]].<ref>[http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2011-2012,1043.html Press Freedom Index 2011–2012 – Reporters Without Borders] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230901/http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2011-2012%2C1043.html |date=3 March 2016 }}. Reports Without Borders. Retrieved 15 August 2012.</ref> This was ahead of the US (47th), the UK (28th), and France (38th).

== Tourism ==
[[File:Amazon jungle from above.jpg|thumb|[[Central Suriname Nature Reserve]] seen from the Voltzberg]]
Most tourists visit Suriname for the [[biodiversity]] of the [[Amazon Basin|Amazonian]] rain forests in the south of the country, which are noted for their flora and fauna. The [[Central Suriname Nature Reserve]] is the biggest and one of the most popular reserves, along with the [[Brownsberg Nature Park]] which overlooks the [[Brokopondo Reservoir]], one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. In 2008, the [[Berg en Dal (Suriname)|Berg en Dal Eco & Cultural Resort]] opened in Brokopondo.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rd.nl/kerk-religie/surinaamse-broedergemeente-stapt-in-ecotoerisme-1.604989|title=Surinaamse Broedergemeente stapt in ecotoerisme|website=[[Reformatorisch Dagblad]]|access-date=15 May 2020|language=nl}}</ref> Tonka Island in the reservoir is home to a rustic [[eco-tourism]] project run by the Saramaccaner Maroons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tonka-eiland.com/kennis.php|title=Tonka-eiland Saramaccaans kennis-centrum en Eco-toeristisch paradijs|year=2009|publisher=Tonka-Eiland|access-date=2 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208082657/http://www.tonka-eiland.com/kennis.php|archive-date=8 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Pangi (Maroon)|Pangi]] wraps and bowls made of calabashes are the two main products manufactured for tourists. The Maroons have learned that colorful and ornate pangis are popular with tourists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geography2.ruhosting.nl/masterthesis/scripties/BrounsRachelle.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117135408/http://geography2.ruhosting.nl/masterthesis/scripties/BrounsRachelle.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-01-17 |title=People in the beating heart of the Amazon |first=Rachelle |last=Brouns |publisher=Radboud university Nijmegen |date=February 2011 |access-date=17 December 2011}}</ref> Other popular decorative souvenirs are hand-carved purple-hardwood made into bowls, plates, canes, wooden boxes, and wall decors.

There are also many waterfalls throughout the country. Raleighvallen, or Raleigh Falls, is a {{convert|56000|ha|acre|adj=on}} nature reserve on the [[Coppename River]], rich in bird life. Also are the Blanche Marie Falls on the [[Nickerie River]] and the Wonotobo Falls. Tafelberg Mountain in the centre of the country is surrounded by its own reserve – the Tafelberg Nature Reserve – around the source of the [[Saramacca River]], as is the Voltzberg Nature Reserve further north on the Coppename River at Raleighvallen. In the interior are many [[Maroon (people)|Maroon]] and [[Amerindian]] villages, many of which have their own reserves that are generally open to visitors.

Suriname is one of the few countries in the world where at least one of each [[biome]] that the state possesses has been declared a wildlife reserve. Around 30% of the total land area of Suriname is protected by law as reserves.

Other attractions include plantations such as [[Laarwijk]], which is situated along the Suriname River. This plantation can be reached only by boat via Domburg, in the north central [[Wanica District]] of Suriname.

Crime rates continue to rise in Paramaribo and armed robberies are not uncommon. According to the current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of the 2018 report's publication, Suriname has been assessed as Level 1: exercise normal precautions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=23564|title=OSAC|year=2018|website=osac.gov}}</ref>

===Landmarks===
[[File:Cathedral Paramaribo.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, Paramaribo|Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul]] in Paramaribo]]
The [[Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge]] is a bridge over the river Suriname between Paramaribo and Meerzorg in the Commewijne district. The bridge was built during the tenure of President [[Jules Albert Wijdenbosch]] (1996–2000) and was completed in 2000. The bridge is {{convert|52|m|ft}} high, and {{convert|1504|m|ft}} long. It connects Paramaribo with Commewijne, a connection which previously could only be made by ferry. The purpose of the bridge was to facilitate and promote the development of the eastern part of Suriname. The bridge consists of two lanes (one lane each way) and is not accessible to pedestrians.

The construction of the [[Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, Paramaribo|Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral]] started on 13 January 1883. Before it became a cathedral it was a theatre. The theatre was built in 1809 and burned down in 1820.

Suriname is one of the few countries in the world where [[Neveh Shalom Synagogue|a synagogue]] is located next to [[Mosque Keizerstraat|a mosque]].<ref>[https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/187112/way-south-of-the-border Down Suriname Way, a Tiny Community of Jews Endures], ''[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]]'', 8 December 2014</ref>
The two buildings are located next to each other in the centre of Paramaribo and have been known to share a parking facility during their respective religious rites, should they happen to coincide with one another.

A relatively new landmark is the Hindu [[Arya Dewaker]] temple in the Johan Adolf Pengelstraat in [[Wanica]], Paramaribo, which was inaugurated in 2001. A special characteristic of the temple is that it does not have images of the Hindu divinities, as they are forbidden in the [[Arya Samaj]], the Hindu movement to which the people who built the temple belong. Instead, the building is covered by many texts derived from the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures. The beautiful architecture makes the temple a tourist attraction.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Suriname|Caribbean}}
* [[Index of Suriname-related articles]]
* [[Outline of Suriname]]
<!--* [[International rankings of Suriname]] -->
<!--* [[List of places in Suriname]] -->
<!--* [[List of Surinamese]] -->
<!--* [[South America Life Quality Rankings]] page deleted -->{{-}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* Box, Ben, ''Footprint Focus Guide: Guyana, Guyane & Suriname'', (Footprint Travel Guides, 2011)
* Counter, S. Allen and David L. Evans, ''I Sought My Brother: An Afro-American Reunion'', Cambridge: MIT Press, 1981
* Dew, Edward M., ''The Trouble in Suriname, 1975–93'', (Greenwood Press, 1994)
* Gimlette, John, ''Wild Coast: Travels on South America's Untamed Edge'' (Profile Books, 2011)
* McCarthy Sr., Terrence J., ''A Journey into Another World: Sojourn in Suriname'', (Wheatmark Inc., 2010)
* Westoll, Adam, ''Surinam'', (Old Street Publishing, 2009)
{{refend}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{Sister project links|voy=Suriname}}
{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/ Suriname]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080607085808/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/suriname.htm Suriname] at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''.
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1211306.stm Suriname] from the [[BBC News]].
* [http://www.sil.org/americas/suriname/index.html Dictionaries of Suriname languages]
* {{curlie|Regional/South_America/Suriname}}
* {{wikiatlas|Suriname}}
* {{osmrelation-inline|287082}}
* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/suriname.html Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection]
* [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=SR Key Development Forecasts for Suriname] from [[International Futures]].
* [http://www.dloc.com/results/?t=suriname Materials on Suriname] in the [http://www.dloc.com Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC)]
{{Div col end}}

; Websites of the government, President and National Assembly
*{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.president.gov.sr/ Website of the President of the Republic of Suriname]
*{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.gov.sr/ Website of the Government of the Republic of Suriname]
*{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.dna.sr/ Website of the National Assembly of the Republic of Suriname]


* [http://www.suriname.nu ANDA Suriname] - Surinamese portal (in Dutch)
{{Suriname topics}}
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[[Category:Suriname| ]]
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Revision as of 19:50, 2 March 2021


The Republic of Suriname (also spelled Surinam) is a country in northern South America, in between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. The southern border is shared with Brazil and the northern border is the Atlantic coast.

Republiek Suriname
File:Suriname flag medium.png File:Suriname coa.png
(In Detail)
National motto: Justitia - Pietas - Fides
(Latin: Justice - Piety - Loyalty)
Official language Dutch
Capital Paramaribo
President Ronald Venetiaan
Area
 - Total
 - % water		Ranked 90th
163,270 km²
1.10%
Population


 - Total (2001)


 - Density		Ranked 163rd


433,998


2.66/km²
Independence
 - Date 		From the Netherlands
November 25, 1975
Currency Suriname Guilder
Time zone UTC -4
National anthem God zij met ons Suriname
Internet TLD.SR
Calling Code597

History

Main article: History of Suriname

Though Dutch traders had established several colonies in the Guiana region before, the Dutch did not get hold of what is now Suriname until the Treaty of Breda, settling the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

After becoming an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1954, independence was granted in 1975. A military regime led by Desi Bouterse ruled the country in the 1980s, until democracy was re-established in 1988.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Suriname

Suriname is a democracy based on the 1987 constitution. The government's legislative branch is the National Assembly, consisting of 51 members. These members are elected every five year.

The National Assembly elects the head of the executive branch, the president, by a two-third majority. If no candidate achieves such a majority, the president is elected by the People's Assembly, a 340 member institute consisting of the National Assembly and regional representatives.

Districts

Main article: Districts of Suriname

Suriname is divided into ten districts:

Geography

Main article: Geography of Suriname

Suriname is the smallest country in South America (not counting French Guiana, as this is part of France). It is situated on the Guiana Shield, the highest point being the Julianatop (1,286 m above sea level). The land can be artificially divided into two parts. The northern, coastal area has been cultivated, and most of the population lives here. The southern part consists of sparsely inhabited tropical rainforest.

Lying near the equator, the climate in Suriname is tropical, and temperatures do not vary a lot throughout the year. The year has two rainy seasons, from December to early February and from late April to mid-August.

Located in the north-east of the countries is the W.J. van Blommesteinmeer, a large reservoir lake, created in 1964 by a dam (Brokopondo project).

Economy

Main article: Economy of Suriname

The Surinamese economy is very dependent of other countries, its main trade partners being the Netherlands, the United States and countries in the Caribbean.

Main export products are bauxite and sugar, and Suriname has some oil and gold reserves. About a quarter of the people work in the agricultural sector.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Suriname

The Surinamese population is made up of several minority groups. The largest part is formed by the Hindustani, descendants of 19th century immigrants from India, about 37% of the population. The Creole, mixed white and black form about 31%, while the Javanese ("imported" from the former Dutch East Indies) and Maroons (descendants of escaped African slaves) make up 15 and 10 percent, respectively. The remainder is formed by Indians, Chinese and whites.

Because of the great number of ethnic groups in the country, there is no main religion. Most of the Hindustani are Hindu, but Islam and Christianity are also widespread.

While Dutch is still the official language of Suriname, Sranang Tongo, originally a Creole language, is considered the lingua franca. The Surinamese of Asian descent often also speak their own languages.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Suriname

Due to the mix of population groups, the Surinamese culture is very diverse.

Miscellaneous topics

Countries of the world  |  South America
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