Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II Prime minister: Portia Simpson-Miller
Population
560,157
2,889,187
Life Expectancy
71.120 years
73.430 years
Capital City
Paramaribo
Kingston
Largest city
Paramaribo (population: 223,757)
Kingston (population: 937,700)
Human Development Index
0.77
0.771
GDP per capita
$9,600 US
$9,100 US
Literacy Rate
89.6%
87.9%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
3.1
Percentage of Women in Parliament
25.5%
13.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
9.000%
12.700%
Death Penalty
Abolished in practice
Legal
Political System
constitutional democracy
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands)
6 August 1962 (from UK)
Religions
Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census)
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
English, English patois
Exports
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
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
Jamaican dollars (JMD) per US dollar - 72.236 (2008 est.), 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.600%
0.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
11
Location
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
