Country · Americas
Suriname
Republic of Suriname
Suriname is a country in South America. About 576 000 people live there, in an area of 163 820 square kilometres. Its capital city is Paramaribo.
Picture credit: Forrestjunky (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Mark Ahsmann (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Rafaeljantz (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Ymnes (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Suriname?
Suriname lies in South America, on the continent of Americas.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 445 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 386 km long.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Brazil, French Guiana and Guyana.
How big is Suriname?
Suriname covers 163 820 square kilometres.
That is about 4 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 90th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 3.5 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Suriname?
About 576 000 people live in Suriname.
That is the 164th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Dutch.
They pay with the Surinamese dollar ($).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 71 years.
The land of Suriname
The land of Suriname sits on average 246 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 386 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 19 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Suriname different?
Websites from here often end in .sr.
Suriname and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Suriname.
It takes up about 0.12 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Americas the country ranks 15th of 35 by size, and 26th by population.
Suriname and its neighbours
Brazil, its largest neighbour, is about 52 times bigger.
Brazil has more people: 209.5 million against 576 000.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 3 live wild in Suriname: Goliath birdeater, Electric eel and Green anaconda. The highest mountain in the country is Julianatop, at 1 280 metres. The longest river in the country is the Courantyne River. The country has no large natural lake; its largest body of water, Brokopondo Reservoir, is a reservoir.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Suriname compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 57 times as big as Suriname: 9 372 610 km² against 163 820 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 1.5 times as big as Suriname: 242 900 km² against 163 820 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Suriname?
The capital of Suriname is Paramaribo. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Suriname?
About 576 000 people live in Suriname, which makes it the 164th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Suriname?
Suriname borders Brazil, French Guiana and Guyana — 3 neighbours in total.
How big is Suriname?
Suriname covers 163 820 square kilometres, making it the 90th largest country in the world. That is about 4 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Suriname?
The highest mountain in Suriname is Julianatop, 1 280 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Suriname?
The longest river in Suriname is the Courantyne River, about 724 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Suriname?
The largest body of water in Suriname is Brokopondo Reservoir, a reservoir of about 1 560 km²; there is no large natural lake in the country.
Which continent is Suriname in?
Suriname is in Americas, in the part called South America.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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