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Geography of Suriname

Location:Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Geographic coordinates:4 00 N, 56 00 W
Map references:South America
Area:total: 163,270 sq km
land: 161,470 sq km
water: 1,800 sq km
Area - comparative:slightly larger than Georgia
Land boundaries:total: 1,703 km
border countries: Brazil 593 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km
Coastline:386 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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: Juliana Top 1,230 m
Natural resources:timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore
Land use:arable land: 0.36%
permanent crops: 0.06%
other: 99.58% (2005)
Irrigated land:510 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:NA
Environment - current issues:deforestation as timber is cut for export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:smallest independent country on South American continent; mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population, mostly along the coast

Suriname Quickstats

  • Population: 470,784 (July 2007 est.)
  • Area: 163,270 sq km
  • Density: 2.7 /km² (223rd)
  • GDP (total): $2.898 billion (160st)
  • GDP (per capita): $5,683 (96th)
  • Literacy: 89.6%

Languages of Suriname

Useful to know

  • Currency: Surinamese dollar (SRD)
  • Dial code: +597

International Trade

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