Suriname (country)

I

Introduction

Suriname (country), country in northeastern South America that borders the Atlantic Ocean. Before 1975 Suriname was a dependency of the Netherlands and was called Dutch Guiana or Netherlands Guiana. Suriname has an area of 163,265 sq km (63,037 sq mi), making it the smallest independent country in South America. The capital and only major urban area is Paramaribo.

Suriname has an ethnically mixed population as a consequence of the colonial plantation system of past centuries. Plantations that grew sugarcane and other crops first relied on slave labor from Africa. After the abolition of slavery, laborers were brought in from India, Indonesia, and elsewhere in Asia. Today, more than half of Suriname’s people are of Asian ancestry. Creoles, of mixed African and European ancestry, also make up a large part of the population.

The economy of Suriname is based on the mining of bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is made. Much of the ore is processed in Suriname before shipment elsewhere, especially to the United States.

English, French, and Dutch traders first arrived in Suriname in the late 16th century. It became a Dutch colony later in the century. Shortly after independence in 1975, a military coup overthrew Suriname’s democratically elected government. Although democracy was restored in 1987, the military continued to wield power in the 1990s. An upturn in the economy in the early 2000s raised expectations that the democratic government would remain in power.

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II

Land and Resources

Suriname is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by French Guiana, on the south by Brazil, and on the west by Guyana. The southern sections of the boundaries with French Guiana and Guyana are disputed. Suriname has an Atlantic coastline 386 km (240 mi) long, and it extends inland for about 400 km (about 250 mi). The country has three land regions: a coastal plain, a plateau savanna, and a forested highland.

The coastal plain varies in width from 80 km (50 mi) in the west to 16 km (10 mi) in the east. It consists of swampy land crossed by sandy ridges. The ridges and drained swampland are used for farming. South of the coastal plain, a narrow savanna zone covers the central plateau. Scattered subsistence farming is carried on here, but the soil is not fertile enough for large-scale agriculture. The rest of the interior consists mostly of a highland zone covered by dense tropical rain forest. The highlands culminate in mountains in the west central part of the country. South of the mountains is another savanna.

Four major rivers flow northward across Suriname. From west to east, they are the Corantijn, which forms much of the boundary with Guyana (and which the Guyanese call the Courantyne); the Coppername; the Suriname; and the Marowijne, which forms much of the boundary with French Guiana (and which the French Guianans call the Maroni). Several other rivers are important for transportation and agriculture.

A

Climate

Suriname has a rainy tropical climate. Annual temperatures normally range between 23° and 32°C (73° and 90°F). More than 2,000 mm (80 in) of rain falls each year in coastal areas. Rainfall diminishes to 1,500 mm (60 in) in inland areas. Each year has two rainy seasons, a short one from mid-November through January and a longer one from March through mid-July. There is a short dry season from February through mid-March and a longer one from August through mid-November.

B

Resources

Suriname’s chief resources are bauxite, iron ore, copper, nickel, and extensive forests. Except for bauxite, most of its resources remain largely untapped.

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