Part 783

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds

Terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps

Elevation extremes: lowest point : unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m highest point: Wilhelmina Gebergte 1,286 m

Natural resources: timber, hydropower potential, fish, shrimp, bauxite, iron ore, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, gold

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 96% other : 4% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 600 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: deforestation as timber is cut for export

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna which for the most part is not threatened because of the lack of development; relatively small population most of which lives along the coast

@Suriname:People

Population: 424,569 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (male 73,017; female 69,538) 15-64 years: 61% (male 132,188; female 128,260) 65 years and over: 5% (male 10,033; female 11,533) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.83% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 23.2 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 5.83 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -9.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years : 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 28.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.32 years male: 67.78 years female: 72.99 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.64 children born/woman (1997 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) 37%, Creole (mixed white and black) 31%, Javanese 15.3%, "Maroons" (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves) 10.3%, Amerindian 2.6%, Chinese 1.7%, white 1%, other 1.1%

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

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), Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 95% female: 91% (1995 est.)

@Suriname:Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Suriname conventional short form: Suriname local long form : Republiek Suriname local short form: Suriname former: Netherlands Guiana, Dutch Guiana