| Population | 614,749 (July 2021 est.) |
| Nationality | noun: Surinamer(s) adjective: Surinamese |
| Ethnic groups | Hindustani (also known locally as "East Indians"; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter part of the 19th century) 27.4%, Maroon (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 21.7%, Creole (mixed White and Black) 15.7%, Javanese 13.7%, mixed 13.4%, other 7.6%, unspecified 0.6% (2012 est.) |
| Languages | Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is the native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese major-language sample(s): Het Wereld Feitenboek, een omnisbare bron van informatie. (Dutch) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English) |
| Religions | Protestant 23.6% (includes Evangelical 11.2%, Moravian 11.2%, Reformed .7%, Lutheran .5%), Hindu 22.3%, Roman Catholic 21.6%, Muslim 13.8%, other Christian 3.2%, Winti 1.8%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, other 1.7%, none 7.5%, unspecified 3.2% (2012 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.38% (male 72,642/female 69,899) 15-24 years: 17.2% (male 53,427/female 51,438) 25-54 years: 44.09% (male 136,889/female 131,868) 55-64 years: 8.78% (male 26,435/female 27,066) 65 years and over: 6.55% (male 17,437/female 22,468) (2020 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 51.1 youth dependency ratio: 40.3 elderly dependency ratio: 10.8 potential support ratio: 9.3 (2020 est.) |
| Median age | total: 31 years male: 30.6 years female: 31.4 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.91% (2021 est.) |
| Birth rate | 14.7 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Population distribution | population concentrated along the nothern coastal strip; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated |
| Urbanization | urban population: 66.2% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 0.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 239,000 PARAMARIBO (capital) (2018) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 120 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 26.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 31.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.57 years male: 71.09 years female: 76.16 years (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.85 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 39.1% (2018) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 98.2% of population rural: 92% of population total: 96.6% of population unimproved: urban: 1.8% of population rural: 8% of population total: 3.4% of population (2017 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 8% (2018) |
| Physicians density | 1.21 physicians/1,000 population (2018) |
| Hospital bed density | 3 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 98.5% of population rural: 88.2% of population total: 95% of population unimproved: urban: 1.5% of population rural: 11.8% of population total: 5% of population (2017 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 1.1% (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 5,200 (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | <200 (2020 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: very high (2020) food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 26.4% (2016) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 6.7% (2018) |
| Education expenditures | NA |
| Demographic profile | Suriname is a pluralistic society consisting primarily of Creoles (persons of mixed African and European heritage), the descendants of escaped African slaves known as Maroons, and the descendants of Indian and Javanese (Indonesian) contract workers. The country overall is in full, post-industrial demographic transition, with a low fertility rate, a moderate mortality rate, and a rising life expectancy. However, the Maroon population of the rural interior lags behind because of lower educational attainment and contraceptive use, higher malnutrition, and significantly less access to electricity, potable water, sanitation, infrastructure, and health care. Some 350,000 people of Surinamese descent live in the Netherlands, Suriname's former colonial ruler. In the 19th century, better-educated, largely Dutch-speaking Surinamese began emigrating to the Netherlands. World War II interrupted the outflow, but it resumed after the war when Dutch labor demands grew - emigrants included all segments of the Creole population. Suriname still is strongly influenced by the Netherlands because most Surinamese have relatives living there and it is the largest supplier of development aid. Other emigration destinations include French Guiana and the United States. Suriname's immigration rules are flexible, and the country is easy to enter illegally because rainforests obscure its borders. Since the mid-1980s, Brazilians have settled in Suriname's capital, Paramaribo, or eastern Suriname, where they mine gold. This immigration is likely to slowly re-orient Suriname toward its Latin American roots. |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 94.4% male: 96.1% female: 92.7% (2018) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
