+597 is the dialing code for Suriname.
The former colony of Dutch Guiana on the north coast of South America became the independent Surinam in 1975. Military coups and insurgency characterized much of the first period after independence. The population is of very mixed origin. Most are descendants of contract workers from India or Java, or of African slaves. The majority live in the coastal region while the rest of the country consists mostly of untouched rainforest. The economy is based on gold, oil and to a lesser extent agriculture.
- Abbreviationfinder: Brief profiles of Suriname, including geography, history, politics, economics as well as common acronyms about this country.
Geography and climate
Suriname is located in northern South America with a coast to the Atlantic. On the surface it is South America’s smallest country, corresponding to just over a third of Sweden’s. Most of the country is covered by rainforest and the climate is tropical.
Suriname, formerly Dutch Guiana, borders the former British Guiana and French Guiana, which still constitute French territory. The country also has a shorter border with Brazil in the south.
Almost the entire population lives on the narrow coastal plain with mangrove swamps and swamp forests. Inside the plain takes a slightly hilly landscape. In southern Suriname several mountain ranges descend towards the Tumuk Humak Mountains (Tumac-Humac) at the border with Brazil. Seven major rivers flow north toward the Atlantic, including the Surinam River, which on its way to the capital Paramaribo passes the dammed van Blommestein Lake. Many of the Surinam rivers are contested and can only be navigated by canoe.
Country Facts
Geography
| Cultivated land | 0.5 % |
| Land area | 163820 km 2 |
Population and health
| Population development | 1.08 ‰ |
| Urban population (Urbanization) | 66 % |
| Death rate | 6.13 per 1000 residents |
| Life expectancy: Women | 74.48 years |
| Life expectancy: Men | 69.57 years |
| Birth rate | 16.34 births per 1000 residents |
| HDI index | 0.714 |
| Population | 579633 |
| Infant mortality | 26.17 deaths / 1000 births |
Population Graph Source: Countryaah.com
Energy
| Electricity, production | 1750 million kWh |
| Energy consumption per resident | 1425.3 kg. oil per resident |
| Natural gas, production | million cubic meters |
| Crude oil, production | million tons |
Infrastructure
| Internet users | 37.1 per 100 residents |
| Mobile subscriptions | 162 per 100 residents |
| Passenger cars | 291 per 1000 residents |
Business and economics
| Unemployment | 8.9% of the workforce |
| GDP | 16300 per resident |
| Primary occupations | 8 % |
| Secondary profession | 14 % |
| Tertiary professions | 78 % |
About 90 percent of the land area is covered by rainforest, which has largely remained untouched. Wildlife is abundant with monkeys, jaguars and other cats, slugs, parrots and hummingbirds, frogs and insects. In the rivers there are pirayas as well as the world’s largest snake, the anaconda.
The climate is hot and humid with high rainfall in almost all year round, with a peak in May and June when it falls over 300 mm and rain can be expected almost every day. Only during the period September to November it rains slightly less. The temperature is basically the same all year round.
FACTS – GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Surface
163 265 km2 (2018)
Time
Swedish –4 hours
Adjacent country (s)
Guyana, Brazil, French Guiana
Capital with number of residents
Paramaribo 224,000
Other major cities
Lelydorp 18 200, Niuew Nickerie 13 100 (estimate 2019)
Highest mountain
Julianatop (1,230 m asl)
Important rivers
suriname
Largest lake
from Lake Blommestein
Average Precipitation / month
Paramaribo 310 mm (May), 76 mm (Oct)
Average / day
27 °C (year-round)