Suriname Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana

Geographic coordinates

4 00 N, 56 00 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 163,820 sq km

land: 156,000 sq km

water: 7,820 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than Georgia

Land boundaries

total: 1,907 km

border countries (3): Brazil 515 km; French Guiana 556 km; Guyana 836 km

Coastline

386 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

tropical; moderated by trade winds

Terrain

mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps

Elevation

highest point: Juliana Top 1,230 m

lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m

mean elevation: 246 m

Natural resources

timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore

Land use

agricultural land: 0.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 94.6% (2018 est.)

other: 4.9% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

600 sq km (2020)

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km)

Population distribution

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

Natural hazards

flooding

Geography - note

smallest independent country on South American continent; mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population, mostly along the coast

NOTE: The information regarding Suriname on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Suriname 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Suriname 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.