Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Languages
Spanish (official), English
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
External Debt
$10,050,000,000 $
$504,300,000 US
Exchange Rate
Costa Rican colones (CRC) per US dollar - 529.62 (2008 est.), 519.53 (2007), 511.3 (2006), 477.79 (2005), 437.91 (2004)
Surinamese dollars (SRD) per US dollar - 2.745 (2007), 2.745 (2006), 2.7317 (2005), 2.7336 (2004), 2.6013 (2003) note: in January 2004, the government replaced the guilder with the Surinamese dollar, tied to a US dollar-dominated currency basket
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.600%
0.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Area
51,100 km sq
163,820 km sq
Coastline
1,290 km
386 km
Climate
tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands
