Suriname
Suriname or Surinam is a country in South America. The official name of the country is Republiek Suriname (this is Dutch and translates to Republic of Suriname). It used to be known as Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana. It is between Guyana and French Guiana. Paramaribo is the capital city, in which resides almost half of the country's population. About half a million people live in the country. Suriname became independent from the Netherlands in 1975. Before that, it was a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Republic of Suriname Republiek Suriname (Dutch) | |
---|---|
Motto: | |
Anthem: | |
Capital and largest city | Paramaribo |
Official languages | Dutch |
Demonym(s) | Surinamese |
Government | Constitutional democracy |
Chan Santokhi | |
Ronnie Brunswijk | |
Independence | |
• from Netherlands | 25 November 1975 |
Area | |
• Total | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (91st) |
• Water (%) | 1.1 |
Population | |
• 2016 estimate | 558,368 (166th) |
• 2004 census | 492,829[1] |
• Density | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (231st) |
GDP (PPP) | 2009 estimate |
• Total | $4.510 billion[2] |
• Per capita | $8,642[2] |
GDP (nominal) | 2009 estimate |
• Total | $2.962 billion[2] |
• Per capita | $5,675[2] |
HDI (2012) | 0.716[3] high · 76th |
Currency | Surinamese dollar (SRD) |
Time zone | UTC-3 (ART) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (not observed) |
Driving side | left |
Calling code | 597 |
ISO 3166 code | SR |
Internet TLD | .sr |
There are border disputes with French Guiana and Guyana all to the south of the country.
The industry of the country is centered on the mining and processing of bauxite. This makes up 15 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and more than 70% of the exports. Other exports are sugar, oil and gold. About 25% of the working people are employed in agriculture. The main trade partners are the Netherlands, the United States and countries in the Caribbean.
Dutch, French, Spanish and English explorers discovered the area in the early 16th century. A century later, sugar plantation colonies were established by the Dutch and English along the many rivers in the fertile Guyana plains. After the second Anglo-Dutch War England traded any claims to the territory for New Amsterdam which became New York.
Suriname Media
Surinamese national anthem, performed by the U.S
Maroon village, along Suriname River, 1955
Waterfront houses in Paramaribo, 1955
Javanese immigrants brought as contract workers from the Dutch East Indies. Picture was taken between 1880 and 1900.
Henck Arron, Beatrix and Johan Ferrier on 25 November 1975
Related pages
References
- ↑ Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname - Census profile at district level Archived 2012-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Suriname". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2010" (PDF). United Nations. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.