Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. Situated slightly north of the equator, over 90% of its territory is covered by rainforests, the highest proportion of forest cover in the world. Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. It is the smallest country in South America by both population and territory, with around 612,985 inhabitants in an area of approximately 163,820 square kilometers. The capital and largest city is Paramaribo, which is home to roughly half the population.
This is a demography of the population of Suriname, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.
Sranan Tongo is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a lingua franca by approximately 519,600 people in Suriname.
Saramaccan is a creole language spoken by about 58,000 people of West African descent near the Saramacca and the upper Suriname River, as well as in Paramaribo, capital of Suriname. The language also has 25,000 speakers in French Guiana and 8,000 in the Netherlands. It has three main dialects. The speakers are mostly descendants of fugitive slaves who were native to West and Central Africa; they form a group called Saamacca, also spelled Saramaka.
The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, is a region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guyanas: Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch and French Guyana. Broadly it refers to the South American coast from the mouth of the Oronoco to the mouth of the Amazon.
The Paramaccan or Paramaka are a Maroon tribe living in the forested interior of Suriname, mainly in the Paramacca resort, and the western border area of French Guiana. The Paramaccan signed a peace treaty in 1872 granting the tribe autonomy.
The Kwinti are a Maroon people, descendants of runaway African slaves, living in the forested interior of Suriname on the bank of the Coppename River, and the eponymous term for their language, which has fewer than 300 speakers. Their language is an English-based creole with Dutch, Portuguese and other influences. It is similar to the languages spoken by the Aluku and Paramaccan Maroons, and split from Sranan Tongo in the middle 18th century. The Kwinti had a population of about 300 in 2014 and adhere to the Moravian Church.
Ndyuka, also called Aukan, Okanisi, Ndyuka tongo, Aukaans, Businenge Tongo, Eastern Maroon Creole, or Nenge is a creole language of Suriname and French Guiana, spoken by the Ndyuka people. The speakers are one of six Maroon peoples in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. Most of the 25 to 30 thousand speakers live in the interior of the country, which is a part of the country covered with tropical rainforests. Ethnologue lists two related languages under the name Ndyuka, the other being a dialect of Lutos.
Caribbean Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbeans and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is a koiné language mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most spoken dialects by the Indians who came as immigrants to the Caribbean from India as indentured laborers. It is closely related to Fiji Hindi and the Bhojpuri-Hindustani spoken in Mauritius and South Africa.
Surinamese Dutch also known as Surinaams is the form of Dutch spoken in Suriname and is the official language in Suriname, a former Dutch colony. Dutch is spoken as a native language by about 80% of the population, most of them being bilingual with Sranan Tongo, Hindustani, Javanese, and other languages. Nevertheless, Dutch is the sole official language of the country. Surinamese Dutch is easily intelligible with other forms of Dutch. Furthermore, as opposed to other languages that have different forms in the Americas the regulation and thus standardised spelling of the Dutch language is done through a joint Dutch–Belgian–Surinamese organization, the Dutch Language Union, and thus has no regional differences regarding spelling. Suriname has been an associate member of this Nederlandse Taalunie since 2004. Therefore, many typical Surinamese words were added to the official Wordlist of Standard Dutch, known as "the Green Booklet".
According to the official data, the Muslim population of Suriname represents about 13.9 percent of the country's total population as of 2012, which is the highest percentage of Muslims in the Americas. Though the majority belong to the Sunni sect of Islam, there are some Shi'a, and a small population of Ahmadiyyas.
The languages of South America can be divided into three broad groups:
Chinese Surinamese people are Surinamese residents of ethnic Han Chinese origin. The earliest migrants came in the 19th century as indentured laborers; there was another wave of migration in the 1950s and 1960s. There were 7,885 Chinese in Suriname at the 2012 census, constituting 1.5% of the total population. They constitute the largest component of the 'other' ethnic category, which makes up 2.3% of the population as per the CIA World Factbook. The majority of the Chinese Surinamese consider Hakka of Guangdong as their ancestral homes. There is a small minority of Heshan, Jiangmen origin Cantonese and Hakkas as well.
Javanese Surinamese are an ethnic group of Javanese descent in Suriname. They have been present since the late 19th century, when their first members were selected as indentured laborers by the Dutch colonizers from the former Dutch East Indies.
Surinamese culture has strong Asian, African and European influences. The population is mainly composed of the contribution of people from India, Africa, China, Europe, and Indonesia, as well as indigenous peoples who lived in the area, before the arrival of European settlers.
Kwinti is an English-based creole of Suriname closely related to Ndyuka. The language has less than 300 speakers, and split from Plantation Creole which is nowadays known as Sranan Tongo in the middle 18th century. Code-switching with Sranan Tongo and Dutch was common among the younger generation in 1973, and about 70% of the tribe have moved to the urban areas. UNESCO considers the language endangered.
Surinamese Maroons are the descendants of enslaved Africans that escaped from the plantations and settled in the inland of Suriname. The Surinamese Maroon culture is one of the best-preserved pieces of cultural heritage outside of Africa. Colonial warfare, land grabs, natural disasters and migration have marked Maroon history. In Suriname six Maroon groups — or tribes — can be distinguished from each other.
The Matawai are a tribe of Surinamese Maroons. The Matawai were originally part of the Saramaka, and signed a peace agreement with the Dutch colonists in 1762. The tribe split from the Saramaka, and in 1769, they were recognized as a separate tribe.
Hinduism in Suriname is the second-largest religion. According to ARDA, there are 129,440 Hindus in Suriname as of 2015, constituting 23.15% of the population. Suriname has the second largest percentage of Hindus in the Western Hemisphere, after Guyana (24.8%).
Christiaan Hendrik "Hein" Eersel was a Surinamese linguist and cultural researcher.
