About Suriname

The Land

Geography of Suriname

Suriname sits just north of the equator, between 2° and 6° north. Three natural bands run from the coast inland. The young coastal plain is a strip of clay, mangrove and swamp where rice, bananas and almost all the towns are found. Behind it lie the old coastal plain and the savanna belt of white sand around Zanderij, the international airport. The rest, about four fifths of the country, is the interior uplands: an almost unbroken rainforest on the ancient Guiana Shield, with granite inselbergs such as the Voltzberg and mountain ranges that peak at Julianatop.

Rivers are the country’s roads. The Corantijn (Courantyne) forms the border with Guyana and the Marowijne (Maroni) the border with French Guiana; in between flow the Nickerie, Coppename, Saramacca, Suriname and Commewijne. The Afobaka dam on the Suriname River created the Brokopondo Reservoir in 1964, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world at roughly 1,500 km².

Two border areas are disputed: the Tigri area (New River Triangle) with Guyana, and a zone in the south-east with French Guiana. Test your map knowledge with our daily Pe A De? Map Game.

Weather

Climate and Seasons

Suriname has a hot, humid tropical climate with little change in temperature through the year: daytime highs are usually 29 to 32 °C and nights rarely fall below 22 °C. The coast gets around 2,000 to 2,500 mm of rain a year, and the country lies south of the Atlantic hurricane belt. Instead of summer and winter there are four seasons of rain and sun:

Even in the rainy season, showers tend to be short and heavy rather than all day. Live forecasts for every district, rain radar and river tides are on our Weather & Tides page.

Population

The People of Suriname

No group forms a majority in Suriname. Its people descend from the Indigenous nations who were here first, the Africans brought in slavery, the Maroons who escaped it and built free societies in the forest, and the contract workers who came after abolition from India (from 1873), Java (from 1890) and China (from 1853), plus Lebanese, Portuguese-Jewish, Dutch and, more recently, Brazilian and Haitian communities. Mixed families are common and growing fast.

About half of all Surinamese live in Paramaribo, and most of the rest in the coastal districts of Wanica, Nickerie, Commewijne and Para. The interior is home mainly to Maroon and Indigenous villages along the rivers. The Maroon population has grown fastest in recent decades.

There is also a large diaspora: roughly 350,000 people of Surinamese origin live in the Netherlands, most of whom left in the years around independence. Their story, and the rest of the country’s, is told in our interactive history timeline.

Languages

What Languages Are Spoken in Suriname?

Dutch is the official language of government, education, law and most media, and Suriname is an associate member of the Dutch Language Union (Taalunie). It is the only Dutch-speaking country in South America. On the street, though, the shared language is Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole that grew on the plantations and is understood by nearly everyone.

More than 20 languages are spoken in all:

Want to learn a few words, such as fa waka? (how are you?) or switi (sweet, nice)? Look them up in our Sranan Tongo dictionary and phrasebook.

Faith

Religion in Suriname

Suriname is known for religious tolerance. In the heart of Paramaribo the Neveh Shalom synagogue and the Keizerstraat mosque stand side by side, and churches, Hindu mandirs, mosques and Chinese temples share the same streets. Many families celebrate each other’s holidays, and the major feasts of several faiths are national public holidays.

The Story

A Short History of Suriname

Scroll through more than 50 moments, in English and Dutch, in our History of Suriname timeline.

Politics

Government and Politics

Suriname is a constitutional democracy with a presidential system. Voters elect the 51 members of the National Assembly (De Nationale Assemblee) every five years; the Assembly then elects the President, who is head of state and head of government, and the Vice President, who leads the Council of Ministers day to day. Local government runs through ten districts and 62 resorts, each with elected councils.

Money

Economy of Suriname

Suriname’s economy rests on natural resources. Gold is the largest export, from large mines such as Merian and Rosebel and from thousands of small-scale miners in the interior. Oil is produced onshore by the state company Staatsolie. Offshore, the GranMorgu project in Block 58, led by TotalEnergies, is scheduled to start production in 2028 at around 220,000 barrels a day, which could transform public finances. Bauxite, the backbone of the economy for nearly 100 years, ended with the closure of the Suralco refinery in 2015.

Agriculture and fisheries matter too: rice from Nickerie, bananas, shrimp and fish, vegetables and timber. The government is the largest employer, and trade and services dominate the private sector. After a debt crisis and high inflation in 2020-2022, the economy stabilised under an IMF-supported reform programme. Nominal GDP is roughly US$4.5 billion.

Follow the SRD exchange rate on our Market Rates page, the oil sector on the Oil & Gas hub and the offshore project on the GranMorgu page.

Wildlife

Nature and Wildlife

Suriname is one of the greenest countries on earth and one of very few that absorb more carbon than they emit. In 2025 the government pledged to protect 90% of its forest permanently. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve, 1.6 million hectares of untouched rainforest around Raleighvallen, the Voltzberg and Tafelberg, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000.

Wildlife highlights include the jaguar, giant otter, giant anteater, tapir, eight species of monkey (from red howlers to golden-handed tamarins), the harpy eagle, the Guianan cock-of-the-rock and flocks of scarlet ibis at Bigi Pan. Four species of sea turtle nest on the beaches, and Galibi is one of the most important leatherback nesting sites in the world (roughly March to August). West Indian manatees and Guiana dolphins live in the estuaries.

Find reserves, river trips and guided tours on our Things to Do page.

Regions

The 10 Districts of Suriname

Suriname is divided into ten districts (distrikten), which are subdivided into 62 resorts. Nine lie in the north; Sipaliwini alone covers about four fifths of the country.

Culture

Culture, Food and Sport

Surinamese culture is a mix you can taste. Pom (an oven dish of pomtajer root and chicken) is the party classic; roti with curried chicken, potato and long beans came with the Hindustani; the Javanese brought bami, nasi and saoto soup; Creole kitchens serve moksi alesi, peanut soup and bakbana; and Chinese restaurants are everywhere. Wash it down with a Parbo beer or Borgoe rum. Browse local favourites on our Where to Eat page.

Music ranges from kaseko and kawina to baithak gana and Javanese pop, and the year is full of festivals: Phagwa, Divali, Keti Koti, Chinese and Javanese New Year and the famous Owru Yari New Year’s Eve street party in Paramaribo. See what’s on in our Events & Festivals calendar.

Football is the national passion. Suriname-born or Surinamese-heritage players such as Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids starred for the Netherlands, and the national team, Natio, now fields many diaspora players. Swimmer Anthony Nesty won Suriname’s first Olympic gold, in the 100 m butterfly at Seoul 1988. Follow Natio on our Sports Schedule.

National Symbols

Flag, Anthem and Public Holidays

Public holidays

This year’s exact dates are in the Events & Festivals calendar.

For Visitors

Practical Facts

Plan: The Basics · Is Suriname Safe? · Trip Itineraries · Time & Converter

Did You Know?

10 Fun Facts About Suriname

1. In 1667 the Dutch kept Suriname and let the English keep New Amsterdam, today’s New York.
2. Suriname is the smallest independent country in South America, and the only one where Dutch is the official language.
3. With about 93% forest cover, it is among the most forested countries on earth and absorbs more carbon than it emits.
4. A mosque and a synagogue stand next to each other on the Keizerstraat in Paramaribo.
5. The Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Paramaribo is one of the largest wooden buildings in the Americas.
6. Jodensavanne, where Sephardic Jewish planters built a synagogue in 1685, was one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Americas and became a UNESCO site in 2023.
7. The Ndyuka and Saamaka Maroons won their freedom by treaty in 1760 and 1762, a century before slavery was abolished.
8. Suriname has one of the largest Javanese communities outside Indonesia.
9. Leatherback turtles, the largest turtles alive, come ashore to nest at Galibi.
10. Owru Yari in Paramaribo is famous for its pagara: kilometres-long strings of firecrackers.

Think you know Suriname now? Try the daily Sabi Suriname quiz.

Where is Suriname?

Suriname is on the north-east coast of South America, on the Atlantic Ocean. It borders Guyana to the west, French Guiana to the east and Brazil to the south. It is the smallest independent country in South America by both area and population.

What language is spoken in Suriname?

Dutch is the official language, used in government, schools and the media. In daily life almost everyone also speaks Sranan Tongo, the national lingua franca. Sarnami, Surinamese Javanese, Maroon and Indigenous languages, Chinese and Portuguese are widely spoken too, and English is broadly understood in Paramaribo.

Is Suriname part of the Netherlands?

No. Suriname was a Dutch colony and later an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but it has been a fully independent republic since 25 November 1975.

Is Suriname in the Caribbean or South America?

Geographically Suriname is in South America. Culturally and politically it is closely tied to the Caribbean: it has been a member of CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, since 1995.

What is the capital of Suriname?

Paramaribo, on the Suriname River about 15 km from the sea. Roughly half the population lives in and around the city, and its wooden colonial centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

How many people live in Suriname?

About 620,000 (current estimates). The last census with published results, in 2012, counted 541,638 people. Results of the 2024-2025 census are expected from the General Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

What currency does Suriname use?

The Surinamese dollar (SRD), introduced on 1 January 2004 to replace the Surinamese guilder. US dollars and euros are accepted in some hotels and larger shops, but everyday spending is in SRD.

What is the best time to visit Suriname?

The long dry season, from mid-August to early December, is the most popular. February to April is a shorter, drier spell. It is warm all year, around 27 to 32 °C by day, and Suriname lies south of the hurricane belt.

What is Suriname known for?

Rainforest covering over 90% of the country, one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the world, a wooden UNESCO-listed capital where a mosque and a synagogue stand side by side, and a cuisine that blends Creole, Hindustani, Javanese, Chinese and Maroon cooking.