Capital: Paramaribo
Currency: Surinamese Guilder (SRG)
Borders: Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km
Suriname is the smallest independent nation in South America and
measures 161,470 sq km in land area. The north of the country
stretches 386km along the Atlantic coast. To the west Suriname
borders Guyana, to the south Brazil and to the east French Guiana.
The terrain comprises of a narrow coastal plain, verdant rolling
hills and large areas of swampland. The highest elevation is the
Juliana Top which stands at a height of 1,230m. Natural features
include the rivers of Marowijne and Corantijn which straddle the
eastern and western borders respectively. The Coeroeni River in the
south of the country bleeds into Brazil. Van Bloomstein Lake is the
country's largest expanse of water, fed by the Gran River that runs
from the Atlantic coast to the central Midwest of Suriname.
Many of Suriname's Dutch-sounding names come from the
fact that Suriname was once a huge Dutch colony until independence
was declared in 1975. The people of Suriname are a culturally
diverse mix, including a large African contingent from the days of
the slave trade, when Africans were introduced to the South American
continent. The capital of Suriname is Parimaribo. The official
language is still Dutch although English is widely spoken. The
national unit of currency is the Surinamese Guilder.
Suriname is the recipient of much foreign aid, largely from its
cousin nation Holland. The industries of Suriname include the mining
of the country's most valuable assets, bauxite and gold. Hydro power
is big business in Suriname, perhaps due to the help of those great
water managers the Dutch.
The climate of Suriname is hot, sticky and very tropical. The
country receives two rainy seasons. The first lasts from April to
July, the second from December to the end of January. The hottest it
has ever been in Paramaribo is 35°C. |
