Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Muslim (official) 67%, Buddhist 13%, Christian 10%, other (includes indigenous beliefs) 10%
Languages
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
Malay (official), English, Chinese
Exports
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
crude oil, natural gas, garments
External Debt
$504,300,000 $
$0 US
Exchange Rate
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
Bruneian dollars (BND) per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.5886 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.600%
4.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia
