WELCOME TO SURINAME
Official name	Republic of Suriname
Government type	Constitutional democracy
Capital	Paramaribo
Independence	25 November 1975 from the Netherlands
Location	Northern shore South America
Area	163,270 Square Kilometers
Climate	Tropical rain climate, with relatively stable average temperature of 27.3 degree Celsius throughout the year.
Population	492,829(July 2007 estimate)
Pop. Density	10 per sq. km.
Languages	Dutch (official), Sranang Tongo, English, Hindustani, Javanese, Chinese.
Religion	Hindu 27%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholics 23%, Muslims 19.7%, Others 5%.
Life Expectancy	68.3 years males 73.6 years females
Education	Free, compulsory: ages 6-16
Literacy	95%
GDP	US$ 3,600 per capita ( 2006). The composition by sector is as follows services 65%, industry 22% and agriculture 13%.
Currency	Real growth rate 6% (2006 estimate)
Currency exchange rate	Surinamese dollar as of January 2004. 1 U.S $ = 2.79 SD

Last updated :October 2007