Roman Catholic 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%, other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002 census)
Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Languages
Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (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
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
External Debt
$1,453,000,000 $
$504,300,000 US
Exchange Rate
Seychelles rupees (SCR) per US dollar - 8 (2008 est.), 6.5 (2007), 5.5 (2006), 5.5 (2005), 5.5 (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
0.800%
1.200%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Area
455 km sq
163,820 km sq
Coastline
491 km
386 km
Climate
tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May)
