Suriname is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west and Brazil to the south. At just under 165,000 square kilometers (64,000 square miles), it is the smallest sovereign state in South America. Suriname has a population of approximately 575,990, most of whom live on the country's north coast, in and around the capital and largest city, Paramaribo.
Situated slightly north of the Equator, Suriname is a tropical country dominated by rain forests. Its extensive tree cover is vital to the country's efforts to mitigate climate change and maintain carbon negativity. A developing country with a high level of human development, Suriname's economy is heavily dependent on its abundant natural resources, namely bauxite, gold, petroleum and agricultural products.
Suriname was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BC by various indigenous peoples, including the Arawaks, Caribs, and Wayana. Europeans arrived in the 16th century, with the Dutch establishing control over much of the country's current territory by the late 17th century. During the Dutch colonial period, Suriname was a lucrative source of sugar, its plantation economy driven by African slave labor and, after abolition of slavery in 1863, indentured servants from Asia. In 1954, Suriname became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, Suriname left the Kingdom to become an independent state, nonetheless maintaining close economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to its former colonizer.
Suriname is considered to be a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Suriname is the only sovereign nation outside Europe where Dutch is the official and prevailing language of government, business, media, and education. Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole language, is a widely used lingua franca. As a legacy of centuries of colonialism, the people of Suriname are among the most diverse in the world, spanning a multitude of ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups.
