Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. At just under 165,000 square kilometers, it is the smallest sovereign state in South America.
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.
The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony utilizing slavery for sugar cultivation. With abolition in the late 19th century, planters sought labor from China, Madeira, India, and Indonesia, which was also colonized by the Dutch. Dutch is Suriname's official language. Owing to its diverse population, it has also developed a creole language, Sranan Tongo.
The Flag of Suriname was legally adopted on 25 November 1975, upon the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands.
Nickerie is a district of Suriname, on the north-west coast. Nickerie's capital city is Nieuw-Nickerie. Another town is Wageningen. The district borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the Surinamese district of Coronie to the east, the Surinamese district of Sipaliwini to the south and the region of East Berbice-Corentyne in Guyana to the west.
As of 2017, South America has an estimated population of 418.76 million people.
Cynthia Henri McLeod is a Surinamese novelist known for her historic novels and whose debut novel instantly made her one of the most prominent authors of Suriname.
Religion in Suriname is characterized by a range of religious beliefs and practices due to its ethnic diversity. The government is vocally supportive of religious diversity and tolerance, and these attitudes are present in general society as well. According to the most recent census (2012), 48.4 percent of the population is Christian 22.3 percent is Hindu, 13.9 percent is Muslim, 1.8 percent follows Winti, and 0.8 percent is Kejawen. In addition 2.1 percent of the population follows other faiths, 7.5 percent are atheist or agnostic, and 3.2 percent did not answer the question about their religion.
Jagernath Lachmon, also Jaggernath Lachmon, was a Surinamese politician. He was one of the founders of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP), an Indo-Surinamese party founded in 1947 of which he served as President until his death.
The Surinamese Interior War was a civil war waged in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname between 1986 and 1992. It was fought by the Tucayana Amazonas led by Thomas Sabajo and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswijk, whose members originated from the Maroon ethnic group, against the National Army led by then-army chief and de facto head of state Dési Bouterse.
Surinamese people are people who identify with the country of Suriname. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Surinamese, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Surinamese.
Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of Sub-Saharan African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent settlements together, becoming known as Maroons and Bushinengue. They maintained vestiges of African culture and language. They are split into two ethnic subgroups.
Kathleen Gertrud Ferrier is a former Dutch politician of Surinamese descent and development aid worker. She served as a member of parliament of Netherlands representing the party Christian Democratic Appeal from 2002 to 2012.
The history of the Jews in Suriname starts in 1639, as the English government allowed Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy to settle the region, coming to the old capital Torarica.
Elisabeth Samson (1715—1771) was an Afro-Surinamese coffee plantation owner. She was born in 1715 in Paramaribo to a freed slave, known as Mariana. All of her other siblings had been born as slaves and were emancipated by her half-brother Charlo Jansz. Raised in the home of her half-sister Maria Jansz, Samson was taught to read and write by her brothers-in law who also trained her in business. She began acquiring property at the age of 19, but was banished from the colony in 1736 after being convicted of slander. Her appeal, heard by the Dutch Parliament, was successful and she returned to Suriname in 1739.
NAKS is a social and cultural organization which promotes Afro-Surinamese culture and expression in Suriname and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1948 with Eugène Drenthe as its first president, when it emerged as the successor of association football club T.O.P. which was founded a year prior.
Joan Mary Ferrier was a Dutch ortho pedagogue of Surinamese descent. From 1998 until 2012 she was director of E-Quality.
Jeane Sophie Everdine Redmond was a Surinamese physician and activist.
The Elisabeth Samson House is a residential building which used to be owned by Elisabeth Samson, the first Afro-Surinamese millionaire. It is located on Wagenwegstraat in the centre of Paramaribo, Suriname, and is a monument. After Samson's death, it was bought by the State, and in the early 21st century, it was in a neglected state. Cynthia McLeod wanted the building restored. On 19 January 2021, the building was bought by the Elisabeth Samson Foundation, and will be turned into a museum.
Dance in Suriname is practiced from the amateur to the professional level for cultural, social and spiritual reasons, among others. Suriname has a variety of traditional and contemporary dance styles which have developed from the cultures of its ethnic groups. In addition, several foreign popular styles have been adopted from the West, the greater Caribbean, Java and Bollywood.
