Portal:Suriname

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Suriname portal

Flag of Suriname	Coat of Arms for Suriname

Suriname (/ˈsʊərɪnæm, -nɑːm/ ^ⓘ SOOR-in-A(H)M, Dutch: [syːriˈnaːmə] ^ⓘ, Sranan Tongo: Sranan [sraˈnãŋ]), officially the Republic of Suriname (Dutch: Republiek Suriname [reːpyˈblik syːriˈnaːmə]), is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a medium level of human development; its economy is heavily dependent on its abundant natural resources, namely bauxite, gold, petroleum, and agricultural products. Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Organization of American States.

Situated slightly north of the equator, over 90% of its territory is covered by rainforests, the highest proportion of forest cover in the world. Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. It is the smallest country in South America by both population and territory, with around 612,985 inhabitants in an area of approximately 163,820 square kilometers (63,251 square miles).0 The capital and largest city is Paramaribo, which is home to roughly half the population.

Suriname was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BC by various indigenous peoples, including the Arawaks, Caribs, and Wayana. Europeans arrived and contested the area in the 16th century, with the Dutch controlling much of the country's current territory by the late 17th century. Under Dutch rule, Suriname was a lucrative plantation colony focused mostly on sugar; its economy was driven by African slave labour until the abolition of slavery in 1863, after which indentured servants were recruited mostly from British India and the Dutch East Indies. In 1954, Suriname became a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, it became independent following negotiations with the Dutch government. Suriname continues to maintain close diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties with the Netherlands.

Suriname's culture and society strongly reflect the legacy of Dutch colonial rule. It is the only sovereign nation outside Europe where Dutch is the official and prevailing language of government, business, media, and education; an estimated 60% of the population speaks Dutch as a native language. Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole language, is a widely used lingua franca. Most Surinamese are descendants of slaves and indentured labourers brought from Africa and Asia by the Dutch. Suriname is highly diverse, with no ethnic group forming a majority; proportionally, its Muslim and Hindu populations are some of the largest in the Americas. Most people live along the northern coast, centered around Paramaribo, making Suriname one of the least densely populated countries on Earth. (Full article...)

View new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Major Henk Fernandes Airport (Dutch: Majoor Henk Fernandes Vliegveld) (IATA: ICK, ICAO: SMNI), also known as Nieuw Nickerie Airport, is near Nieuw Nickerie, the capital city of the Nickerie district in Suriname. This is one of the oldest airports in Suriname, in use since 1953, when the Piper Cub (PZ-NAC) of Kappel-van Eyck named "Colibri" landed there from Zorg en Hoop Airport.

The airport is named after army Major Henk Fernandes, who perished in a helicopter crash in 1982. It was in fact the first aircraft of the Air Force of the young independent nation of Suriname, the Hughes 500 - Model 369D helicopter, used for patrolling missions, in March of that year, killing all five crewmembers aboard at the time (Major Henk Fernandes, second lieutenant Norman de Miranda, soldier Tjon a Kon and soldier Kowid and American pilot Foster Ford). Battalion commander Major Henk Fernandes, had previous been appointed to replace Sergeant Laurens Neede as Minister of Army and Police in 1982. However the crash occurred before the inauguration of the then new twelve ministers cabinet of Suriname under Prime Minister Henry Neijhorst. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images

The following are images from various Suriname-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The remains of the synagogue on the Jodensavanne (from Suriname)
Image 2Central Bank of Suriname building in Paramaribo (from Suriname)
Image 3Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge over the Suriname River (from Suriname)
Image 4A Dutch plantation owner and female slave from William Blake's illustrations of the work of John Gabriel Stedman, published in 1792–1794. (from History of Suriname)
Image 5Rosebel gold mine (from Suriname)
Image 6Moengo Festival Theatre and Dance in 2017 (from Suriname)
Image 7Maroon village, along Suriname River, 1955 (from Suriname)
Image 8Ethnic groups of Suriname (right) and Paramaribo (left)
  Creoles

  Hindus

  Maroons

  Javanese

  Indigenous
(from Suriname)
Image 9Ketikoti celebrations in Paramaribo (from Suriname)
Image 10Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021). Suriname has the highest percentage of forest cover in the world. (from Suriname)
Image 11Waterfront houses in Paramaribo, 1955 (from Suriname)
Image 12Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (from Suriname)
Image 13Maroon village, Suriname River, 1955 (from History of Suriname)
Image 14Purcy R. Olivieira Sports Center (from Suriname)
Image 15Henck Arron, Beatrix and Johan Ferrier on 25 November 1975 (from Suriname)
Image 16André Kamperveen Stadium (from Suriname)
Image 17Presidential Palace of Suriname (from Suriname)
Image 18Districts of Suriname (from Suriname)
Image 19A Sranan Tongo-language poetry sign located in Rotterdam, Netherlands (from Suriname)
Image 20Lion dance at Chinese New Year celebrations in Suriname (from Suriname)
Image 21Suriname in 1914 (from Suriname)
Image 22Plantations in Suriname around 1800. (from History of Suriname)
Image 23Pom (from Culture of Suriname)
Image 24A Surinamese "broodje bakkeljauw" in the Netherlands (bun with shredded and spiced stockfish), with a chili paste made from Madame Jeanette peppers on the side (from Culture of Suriname)
Image 25School children in Bigi Poika, 2006 (from Suriname)
Image 26Brokopondo Reservoir surrounded by tropical rainforest (from Suriname)
Image 27Geology of Suriname (from Suriname)
Image 28A rice field in Nickerie District (from Suriname)
Image 29Suriname (circa 1914) in the Encyclopedia of the Dutch West Indies, by Surinamese cartographer Herman Benjamins and Dutch ethnographer Johannes Snelleman. (from History of Suriname)
Image 30Academic Hospital Paramaribo is the largest hospital in Suriname with 465 beds (from Suriname)
Image 31Presidential Palace of Suriname (from Suriname)
Image 32Church of Sacred Heart in Paramaribo (from Suriname)
Image 33Leatherback sea turtle on the beach near the village of Galibi (from Suriname)
Image 34Map of Suriname with disputed territories in light green. (from Suriname)
Image 35Seasons in Suriname (from Suriname)
Image 36Coastline of the Guianas (from History of Suriname)
Image 37Tjauw min moksi meti (from Culture of Suriname)
Image 38Funeral at slave plantation, Suriname. Colored lithograph printed circa 1840–1850, digitally restored. (from History of Suriname)
Image 39National Assembly of Suriname reconstructed building (from Suriname)
Image 40Diplomatic relations of Suriname (from Suriname)
Image 41Court of Justice (from Suriname)
Image 42Protesters stormed the National Assembly building in February 2023 (from Suriname)
Image 43Anton de Kom University of Suriname (from Suriname)
Image 44Butcher in the Central Market in Paramaribo with signs written in Dutch (from Suriname)
Image 45Ministry of Finance (from Suriname)
Image 46Henck Arron, Beatrix and Johan Ferrier on November 25, 1975 (from History of Suriname)
Image 47Franklin Essed Stadium (from Suriname)
Image 48Immigrants from India (from Suriname)
Image 49The Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Paramaribo (from Suriname)
Image 50Pagara (red firecracker ribbons) (from Suriname)
Image 51The Coppename river, one of many rivers in the interior (from Suriname)
Image 52Javanese immigrants brought as contract workers from the Dutch East Indies. Picture was taken between 1880 and 1900. (from Suriname)
Image 53Suralco bauxite factory in Paranam (from Suriname)
Image 54The population of Suriname from 1961 to 2003, in units of 1000. The slowdown and decline in population growth ~1969–1985 reflects a mass migration to the Netherlands and French Guiana. (from Suriname)
Image 55Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo (from Suriname)
Image 56The blue poison dart frog is endemic to Suriname. (from Suriname)
Image 57A plantation in Suriname by Dirk Valkenburg (1707?) (from History of Suriname)
Image 58Arya Diwaker temple (from Suriname)
Image 59Central Suriname Nature Reserve seen from the Voltzberg (from Suriname)
Image 60Synagogue and mosque adjacent to each other in Paramaribo (from Suriname)
Image 61President Chan Santokhi (right) with Dutch politician Wopke Hoekstra, visiting to celebrate Ketikoti 2023 in Paramaribo (from Suriname)

Selected biography - show another

Rudi André Kamperveen (27 September 1924 – 8 December 1982) was a Surinamese football player, sports administrator, politician and businessman.

During his playing career, the centre forward represented and captained the Suriname national football team in the 1940s. He played professionally in Brazil (Paysandu Sport Club) and Netherlands during his playing career, becoming the first Surinamese player to play professionally in the Netherlands in the process while plying his trade for HFC Haarlem. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Johan Ferrier Anton de Kom Dési Bouterse Anthony Nesty Cynthia McLeod Henck Arron Pim de la Parra Elisabeth Samson Lou Lichtveld Boni (guerrilla leader) Grace Schneiders-Howard Ronnie Brunswijk Sophie Redmond Chan Santokhi Karin Amatmoekrim Clarence Seedorf Edgar Davids Tyrone Spong

edit

Selected picture

Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam
by John Greenwood

More pictures...

Map

edit

Topics

Largest cities or towns in Suriname ^[2]
	Rank	Name	District	Pop.
Paramaribo Lelydorp	1	Paramaribo	Paramaribo	223 757	Nieuw Nickerie Moengo
	2	Lelydorp	Wanica	18 223
	3	Nieuw Nickerie	Nickerie	13 143
	4	Moengo	Marowijne	7 074
	5	Nieuw Amsterdam	Commewijne	4 935
	6	Mariënburg	Commewijne	4 427
	7	Wageningen	Nickerie	4 145
	8	Albina	Marowijne	3 985
	9	Groningen	Saramacca	3 216
	10	Brownsweg	Brokopondo	2 696