14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands)
Religions
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Languages
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
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
Exports
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
External Debt
$102,300,000,000 $
$504,300,000 US
Exchange Rate
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.56 (2008 est.), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (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
7.300%
0.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
0
Location
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Area
20,770 km sq
163,820 km sq
Coastline
273 km
386 km
Climate
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
