Suriname Country Information

Demographic

The Republic of Suriname, formerly known as Dutch Guiana, has an estimated population of 480,000 as at July 2006. The population consists of many ethnic groups: Hindustani (also known locally as "East Indians"; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter part of the 19th century) which accounts for 37%, Creole (mixed white and black) 31%, Javanese 15%, "Maroons" (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 10%, Amerindian 2%, Chinese 2%, white 1%, other 2%.

Dutch is the official language of Suriname but English, Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi) and Javanese are also spoken.

Economic Overview

The economy is dominated by the mining industry, which accounts for more than a third of GDP and subjects government revenues to mineral price volatility. The short-term economic outlook depends on the government's ability to control inflation and on the development of projects in the bauxite and gold mining sectors. Suriname's economic prospects for the medium term will depend on continued commitment to responsible monetary and fiscal policies and to the introduction of structural reforms to liberalize markets and promote competition.

Prospects for local onshore oil production are good, as a drilling program is underway. Offshore oil drilling was given a boost in 2004 when the State Oil Company (Staatsolie) signed exploration agreements with Repsol, Mearsk, and Occidental.

Economy

The main industries in Suriname are bauxite and gold mining, alumina production, oil, lumbering, food processing and fishing. Their agricultural products consist of paddy rice and bananas. Their main export products are alumina, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice and bananas of which 23.5% is exported to Norway.