Suriname People - 2022
SOURCE: 2022 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
632,638 (2022 est.)
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) 27.4%, Maroon (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 21.7%, Creole (mixed White and Black) 15.7%, Javanese 13.7%, mixed 13.4%, other 7.6%, unspecified 0.6% (2012 est.)
Languages
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is the native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
major-language sample(s):
Het Wereld Feitenboek, een omnisbare bron van informatie. (Dutch)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)
Religions
Protestant 23.6% (includes Evangelical 11.2%, Moravian 11.2%, Reformed .7%, Lutheran .5%), Hindu 22.3%, Roman Catholic 21.6%, Muslim 13.8%, other Christian 3.2%, Winti 1.8%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, other 1.7%, none 7.5%, unspecified 3.2% (2012 est.)
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 (Indonesian) 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: 23.38% (male 72,642/female 69,899)
15-24 years: 17.2% (male 53,427/female 51,438)
25-54 years: 44.09% (male 136,889/female 131,868)
55-64 years: 8.78% (male 26,435/female 27,066)
65 years and over: 6.55% (male 17,437/female 22,468) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 50.9
youth dependency ratio: 40
elderly dependency ratio: 11
potential support ratio: 9.1 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 31 years
male: 30.6 years
female: 31.4 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
1.13% (2022 est.)
Birth rate
15.38 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate
6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Population distribution
population concentrated along the nothern coastal strip; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated
Urbanization
urban population: 66.3% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 0.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
239,000 PARAMARIBO (capital) (2018)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.55 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
120 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 30.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 38.27 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.42 years
male: 68.81 years
female: 76.27 years (2022 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.92 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
39.1% (2018)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 99.5% of population
rural: 98.2% of population
total: 99.1% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.5% of population
rural: 1.8% of population
total: 0.9% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
9.7% of GDP (2019)
Physicians density
0.82 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density
3 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 98.5% of population
rural: 91.2% of population
total: 96% of population
unimproved: urban: 1.5% of population
rural: 8.8% of population
total: 4% of population (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
1.3% (2021 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
26.4% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 6.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.14 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 2.87 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
6.7% (2018)
Child marriage
women married by age 15: 8.8%
women married by age 18: 36%
men married by age 18: 19.6% (2018 est.)
Education expenditures
5% of GDP (2020 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.4%
male: 96.1%
female: 92.7% (2018)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 26.5%
male: 18.7%
female: 39.9% (2016 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Suriname on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Suriname 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Suriname 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 01 Dec 23, Copyright © 23 ITA all rights reserved.