Polity · 1976 CE – present
Republic of Suriname
Republiek Suriname · Ripoliku Sranan · Suriname
Also recorded as Suriname
- Peak recorded area
- 146,979 km²
- 1976 CE
- Rulers on record
- 19
- from 1975 CE
- Data series
- 351
- 1976 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. Situated slightly north of the equator, over 90% of its territory is covered by rainforest, the highest proportion of forest cover in the world. Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 59 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 73.9years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population143 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 639.9Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -967persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 0.854% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 77.12years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 70.73years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 136 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 19.8Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd112 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 4.5Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agriculture % GDP65 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 6.77% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP65 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 35.05% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Services % GDP65 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 50.85% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Asses Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 5head2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 24 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score42 obs · 1975 CE–2016 CE | 0CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption42 obs · 1975 CE–2016 CE | 1.5Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production42 obs · 1975 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel42 obs · 1975 CE–2016 CE | 2,000persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Armed Forces Personnel33 obs · 1985 CE–2020 CE | 2,000persons2020 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Military Expenditure32 obs · 1975 CE–2011 CE | 55Mcurrent USD2011 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 52 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.33% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Oil Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 11.54TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 94.45% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.445%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0842hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 71.4Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.768index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.637index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.497index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.816index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Legislature Total Seats49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 51seats2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 51 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.881index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km77 obs · 1890 CE–1993 CE | 0km1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars54 obs · 1928 CE–2000 CE | 18.3Kcount2000 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 157.25per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Electricity Production48 obs · 1950 CE–1997 CE | 1.6BGWh1997 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %46 obs · 1971 CE–2023 CE | 64.18%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
19 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Johan FerrierPresident of Suriname1975 CE – 1980 CE
- Henk Chin A SenPresident of Suriname1980 CE – 1982 CE
- Fred Ramdat MisierPresident of Suriname1982 CE – 1988 CE
- Henck ArronVice President of Suriname1988 CE – 1990 CE
- Ramsewak ShankarPresident of Suriname1988 CE – 1990 CE
- Johan KraagPresident of Suriname1990 CE – 1991 CE
- Jules AjodhiaVice President of Suriname1991 CE – 1996 CE
- Jules WijdenboschVice President of Suriname1991 CE
- Ronald VenetiaanPresident of Suriname1991 CE – 1996 CE
- Jules WijdenboschPresident of Suriname1996 CE – 2000 CE
- Pretaap RadhakishunVice President of Suriname1996 CE – 2000 CE
- Ram SardjoeVice President of Suriname2005 CE – 2010 CE
- Desi BoutersePresident of Suriname2010 CE – 2020 CE
- Robert AmeeraliVice President of Suriname2010 CE – 2015 CE
- Ashwin AdhinVice President of Suriname2015 CE – 2020 CE
- Chan SantokhiPresident of Suriname2020 CE – 2025 CE
- Ronnie BrunswijkVice President of Suriname2020 CE –
- Jennifer Geerlings-SimonsHead of Government2025 CE –
- Jennifer Geerlings-SimonsHead of State2025 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Jennifer GEERLINGS-SIMONS (since 16 July 2025); head of government: President Jennifer GEERLINGS-SIMONS (since 16 July 2025); cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president; election/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected by the National Assembly;
- 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…
- Natural resources
- timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore
- Economy
- upper middle-income South American economy; new floating currency regime; key aluminum goods, gold, and hydrocarbon exporter; new IMF plan for economic recovery and fiscal sustainability; controversial hardwood industry
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Dutch
- Currency
- Surinamese dollars (SRD)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1975 CE –
- 35-member Defense Pact (1947)Military alliance · member1977 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Suriname is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.