Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002)
Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Languages
Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
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 transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003)
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
External Debt
$320,000,000,000 $
$504,300,000 US
Exchange Rate
zlotych (PLN) per US dollar - 2.3 (2008 est.), 2.81 (2007), 3.1032 (2006), 3.2355 (2005), 3.6576 (2004) note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty
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
1.900%
0.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
10
0
Location
Central Europe, east of Germany
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Area
312,685 km sq
163,820 km sq
Coastline
440 km
386 km
Climate
temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers
