Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000)
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
Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Exports
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
foodstuffs, textiles, machinery
External Debt
$504,300,000 $
$5,776,000,000 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
Moldovan lei (MDL) per US dollar - 10.326 (2008 est.), 12.177 (2007), 13.131 (2006), 12.6 (2005), 12.33 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.200%
0.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
