arable land: 0.4%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pasture: 0.1%

Suriname is a pluralistic society consisting primarily of Creoles (persons of mixed African and European heritage) the descendants of escaped African slaves known as Maroons and the descendants of Indian and Javanese contract workers. The country overall is in full post-industrial demographic transition with a low fertility rate a moderate mortality rate and a rising life expectancy. However the Maroon population of the rural interior lags behind because of lower educational attainment and contraceptive use higher malnutrition and significantly less access to electricity potable water sanitation infrastructure and health care.
Some 350,000 people of Surinamese descent live in the Netherlands Suriname's former colonial ruler. In the 19th century better-educated largely Dutch-speaking Surinamese began emigrating to the Netherlands. World War II interrupted the outflow but it resumed after the war when Dutch labor demands grew - emigrants included all segments of the Creole population. Suriname still is strongly influenced by the Netherlands because most Surinamese have relatives living there and it is the largest supplier of development aid. Other emigration destinations include French Guiana and the United States. Suriname's immigration rules are flexible and the country is easy to enter illegally because rainforests obscure its borders. Since the mid-1980s Brazilians have settled in Suriname's capital Paramaribo or eastern Suriname where they mine gold. This immigration is likely to slowly re-orient Suriname toward its Latin American roots.

urban: 98.1% of population
rural: 88.4% of population
total: 94.8% of population
urban: 1.9% of population
rural: 11.6% of population
total: 5.2% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 88.4% of population
rural: 61.4% of population
total: 79.2% of population
urban: 11.6% of population
rural: 38.6% of population
total: 20.8% of population (2015 est.)

People's Alliance Pertjaja Luhur or PL [Paul SOMOHARDJO]
Progressive Worker and Farmer's Union or PALU [Jim HOK]
Surinamese Labor Party or SPA [Guno CASTELEN]
Progressive Reform Party or VHP [Chandrikapersad SANTOKHI]
Victory 7 or V7 [Chandrikapresad SANTOKHI] (formerly the New Front for Democracy and Development or NF; an electoral coalition of NPS VHP DA91 PL SPA formed only for the May 2015 election)

Suriname’s economy is dominated by the mining industry with exports of oil and gold accounting for approximately 85% of exports and 27% of government revenues. This makes the economy highly vulnerable to mineral price volatility. The worldwide drop in international commodity prices and the cessation of alumina mining in Suriname significantly reduced government revenue and national income during the past few years. After 99 years of operations a major US aluminum company recently discontinued its activities in Suriname. Public sector revenues fell together with exports international reserves employment and private sector investment.
Economic growth declined annually from just under 5% in 2012 to -10.4% in 2016. In January 2011 the government devalued the currency by 20% and raised taxes to reduce the budget deficit. Suriname began instituting macro adjustments between September 2015 and 2016; these included another 20% currency devaluation in November 2015 and foreign currency interventions by the Central Bank until March 2016 after which time the Bank allowed the Surinamese dollar (SRD) to float. By December 2016 the SRD had lost 46% of its value against the dollar. High import price pass-through from depreciation and electricity tariff increases caused inflation to increase 55.5% year-over-year in December 2016.
Suriname's economic prospects for the medium-term will depend on continued commitment to responsible monetary and fiscal policies and on the introduction of structural reforms to liberalize markets and promote competition. The government's over-reliance on revenue from the extractive sector colors Suriname's economic outlook. One credit bureau forecasted that the economy would contract 2% in 2017. Rising international oil prices and higher production by Suriname’s oil company Staatsolie’s will lift oil exports. Two new offshore oil exploration wells will draw 100 million dollars in foreign direct investment inflows. Higher gold prices and increased production from the Merian gold mine also will lift exports. However investment overall is slowing and unemployment is rising reflecting government spending cuts weak business confidence and the completion of large mining infrastructure projects. Fiscal problems such as a failure to secure sufficient external financing could result in additional pressure on the exchange rate and inflation.

$7.885 billion (2016 est.)
$8.699 billion (2015 est.)
$8.845 billion (2014 est.)

-10.5% (2016 est.)
-2.7% (2015 est.)
0.4% (2014 est.)

$14,000 (2016 est.)
$15,800 (2015 est.)
$16,400 (2014 est.)

57.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
51.6% of GDP (2015 est.)
65.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

11% (2016 est.)
8.5% (2013 est.)

64.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
45.7% of GDP (2015 est.)

55.5% (2016 est.)
6.9% (2015 est.)

10% (2013)
9% (2012)

13.5% (31 December 2016 est.)
12.62% (31 December 2015 est.)

$921.8 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$1.231 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$2.182 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$2.66 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.402 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$2.224 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$-102 million (2016 est.)
$-798.1 million (2015 est.)

$1.449 billion (2016 est.)
$1.666 billion (2015 est.)

$1.197 billion (2016 est.)
$1.973 billion (2015 est.)

$381.1 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$330.2 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.625 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$1.15 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Surinamese dollars (SRD) per US dollar -
6.229 (2016 est.)
6.229 (2015 est.)
3.4167 (2014 est.)
3.3 (2013 est.)
3.3 (2012 est.)