Aaron O'Neill
Research expert covering historical data
Suriname - Statistics & Facts
Located on the north short of South America, Suriname is a quite small country, with less than a million inhabitants, that culturally resembles the Caribbean. A former Dutch colony, it imports more from the Netherlands, United States, and Trinidad and Tobago than it does from its three geographical neighbors of Guyana, French Guiana, and Brazil. Since the 2015 global slump in commodities prices, gross domestic product (GDP) growth has slowed significantly, falling to negative numbers in both 2016 and 2020.
The country’s reliance on industry, particularly mining, has an environmental effect. In particular, air pollution, such as particulate matter is a problem. Exposure to air pollution is regularly blamed for over 200 deaths per year. This threatens to affect tourism revenue from the roughly quarter million tourists that come to Suriname every year.
Suriname's economy
Despite the low, or even negative, growth rate, Suriname's unemployment rate decreased slightly in recent years, and employment remains higher than many other economies. Despite the importance of subsistence farming and the fact that agricultural products make for most of the country's exports, the relative weight of agriculture in Suriname's GDP has decreased significantly since 2017 in favor of the service sector. Moreover, lower economic output has led to increased government borrowing, which is approaching unsustainable levels.Some positive indicators: health and gender equality
Roughly two out of three Surinamese live in cities, including the capital of Paramaribo. In spite of poor economic growth, health indicators such as life expectancy remain on a positive trend, suggesting that the recession has not had a strong impact on development. Gender equality is very strong in health and education indicators but continues to lag in other areas, particularly political empowerment.The country’s reliance on industry, particularly mining, has an environmental effect. In particular, air pollution, such as particulate matter is a problem. Exposure to air pollution is regularly blamed for over 200 deaths per year. This threatens to affect tourism revenue from the roughly quarter million tourists that come to Suriname every year.
