Population:
585,824 (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Surinamer(s)
adjective: Surinamese

Ethnic groups:
Hindustani (also known locally as "East Indians"; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter part of the 19th century) 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%

Languages:
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese

Religions:
Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%

Demographic profile:
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.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 25.15% (male 75,088/female 72,261)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 17.46% (male 52,129/female 50,141)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 44.36% (male 132,334/female 127,562)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 7.16% (male 20,564/female 21,394)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 5.86% (male 14,848/female 19,503) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 50.8%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 40.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 10.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 9.6% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 29.5 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 29.1 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 29.9 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 120

Population growth rate:
1.05% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
16 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Population distribution:
population concentrated along the nothern coastal strip; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated

Urbanization:
urban population: 66% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 0.78% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
PARAMARIBO (capital) 234,000 (2014)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:
155 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.3 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 29.5 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 20.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 69

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.2 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 69.8 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 74.8 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 147

Total fertility rate:
1.95 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
47.6% (2010)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
5.7% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 115
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
3.1 beds/1,000 population (2010)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 98.1% of population rural: 88.4% of population total: 94.8% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 1.9% of population rural: 11.6% of population total: 5.2% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 88.4% of population rural: 61.4% of population total: 79.2% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 11.6% of population rural: 38.6% of population total: 20.8% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.08% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 47
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
3,800 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 110
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria
note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
26.1% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 60
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
5.8% (2010)
country comparison to the world: 83
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
NA
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.6%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 96.1%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 95% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 6,094
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 6% (2006 est.)
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - percentage country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 15.3%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 11.6%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 21.7% (2013 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 51