Where is Suriname?
About Suriname
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
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Suriname is an above average size country in the north of South America.
Suriname has a border on the Atlantic Ocean.
The land is mostly rolling plains with a narrow swampy, coastal plain.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Suriname, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 4 00N
Longitude - 56 00W
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Check the weather in Zanderij, 50kms south of the capital, now.
This is the time in Paramaribo now
The Surinamese flag is 5 horizontal bands of
green, at the top, white, red, white and green. The centre red stripe is twice the width of the green stripe while the green stripes are twice the width of the white stripes.
A yellow star is in the centre of the red stripe.
The capital of Suriname is Paramaribo.
Suriname is a presidential republic with a president as head of state and head of government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Suriname is the Suriname dollar.
Dutch is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
Suriname is a presidential republic with a president as head of state and head of government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Suriname is the Suriname dollar.
Dutch is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Suriname to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Suriname is 156,000 sq kms which is the 12th and smallest in South America.
Suriname has lakes, rivers and canals which total 7,820 sq kms.
Suriname has boundaries with 3 countries
- Guyana 836 kms
- The French dependency of Guiana 556 kms
- Brazil 515 kms
Suriname has a coastline of 386 kms which is the 10th longest in South America.
The highest point in Suriname is Juliana Top at 1,230 metres.
The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.
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The total population of Suriname is 585,824 people, making it the 12th and smallest country in South America by population.
Of this number 290,861 are females and 294,963 are males.
A person from Suriname is called a Surinamese.
To be a citizen of Suriname, one of your parents must be a citizen of Suriname. It is not sufficient to be born in Suriname. You have to live in Suriname for
5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Suriname, by population are:-
- Parimaribo 223,757 people
- Lelydorp 18,223
- Brokopondo 14,662
- Niuew Nickerie 13,143
- Moengo 7,074
For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
66.0% of the people live in cities or towns.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
66.0% of the people live in cities or towns.
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The birth rate in Suriname is 16.0 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Suriname is 6.1 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 20.9 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 29.5 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 29.9 and for males is 29.1. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 10.1. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 9.9. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
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Suriname spends 5.7% of its total income on health care.
We have no figures for the number of doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 3.1 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
26.4% of the population are estimated as obese.
98.1% of the urban population and 88.4% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
88.4% of the urban population and 61.4% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Suriname releases 2.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 11th highest in South America.
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We have no figures for the amount Suriname spends on education.
Children usually start school at age 5 in Suriname. Primary education is for seven years until age 12. That is the end of compulsory education. Secondary
education can continue till 17 or even 19. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
We are awaiting information about the school year in Suriname.
95% of females and 96.1% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
13.4% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 21.9% are unemployed while with males 9.0% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Suriname is 165,600.
They work in the following sectors.
- Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
- Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
- Services is everything else
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There are 6 paved airports in Suriname, which is the 12th and lowest number in South America.
There are no figures for railways in Suriname.
There are 1,130 kilometres of roads in Suriname, which means Suriname is in 11th place for the most kilometres of roads in South America.
We have no figures for the number of major national newspapers in Suriname.
There are 991,000 mobile phone users.
15% of the people have a fixed landline.
248,000 people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).
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