Suriname Encyclopedia & Facts for Kids

4to40.com April 25, 2023 World Atlas 502 Views

Country Name: Republiek Suriname
System of government: Republic
Capital: Paramaribo
Location: In north-eastern South America on the Atlantic, bordered by French Guiana, Brazil and Guyana
Area: 163,265 sq km
Population: 405,000
National composition: Includes Indians, Javanese, Chinese, Bush negroes (Boni), creoles, Amerindians
Religions: Hindu, Islamic, Christian
Official language: Dutch
Currency: Surinam florin = 100 cents
Administrative divisions: 8 districts and the capital district
Highest elevation: Julianatop (1,280 m) in the Guiana Highlands
Largest lake: Brokopondostuwmeer (Brokopondo Reservoir)
Chief rivers: Courantyne (Corantijn), Maroni (Marowijne)
Climate: Equatorial, wet

Suriname: Location Map

Suriname Encyclopedia & Facts

Surinam is one of the world’s leading exporters of bauxite. There are also large deposits of iron, Manganese, copper and nickel ores as well as gold, platinum and diamonds. Only the coastal strip and the river valleys are farmed.

Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America that is rich in bauxite, although gold and oil reserves are now being explored and developed. Formerly known as Dutch Guiana, Suriname is situated between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. The southern border is shared with Brazil and the northern border is the Atlantic coast. It claims two disputed territories totaling some 6,800 square miles (17,612 sq km) in the southwest and southeast, bordering on Guyana and French Guiana, respectively. The country is the smallest state in terms of area and population in South America.

As a plantation colony, Suriname was heavily dependent on manual labor, originally slaves and later contract laborers from the Dutch East Indies and India, as well as China and the Middle East. Although Suriname’s population remains relatively small, because of its history it is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries in the world.