Suriname: landmarks, animals & facts for kids

Suriname is a small country on the north-eastern coast of South America, facing the Atlantic Ocean. It borders Guyana, French Guiana and Brazil. It is the smallest independent country in South America, and its capital, Paramaribo, is a riverside city with old wooden buildings from colonial times.

Suriname is known for rainforest that covers most of the country, a mix of cultures from around the world, and Dutch as its official language. On the globe you can find the Cathedral Basilica of St Peter and Paul in Paramaribo, a large wooden church, and the bright blue poison dart frog of Suriname's southern forests.

Geography and nature

Over 90 per cent of Suriname is covered in tropical rainforest, one of the highest shares of forest in the world. The narrow coastal plain has swamps, mangroves and farmland, while the interior has hills, savannas and granite domes. Many rivers flow north to the Atlantic, and the Brokopondo Reservoir is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with jaguars, giant otters, monkeys and colourful birds. Leatherback turtles nest on its beaches.

People, languages and culture

Suriname is one of the most diverse countries on Earth. People have roots in India, Africa, Indonesia's Java, China, Europe and the Americas, and Indigenous and Maroon communities live in the interior. Dutch is the official language, and Sranan Tongo is spoken by almost everyone as a common language. Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are all widely practised; in Paramaribo a mosque and a synagogue stand side by side. Favourite foods include roti, pom, an oven dish, and Javanese-style fried noodles.

History in a nutshell

Indigenous peoples lived here long before Europeans came. The English set up a colony in 1650, but in 1667 the Dutch took it over and, in a peace treaty, England kept New Amsterdam, now New York, instead. Plantations of sugar and coffee were worked by enslaved Africans, some of whom escaped into the forest and formed free Maroon communities. Slavery was abolished in 1863, and workers then came from India, Java and China. Suriname became independent on 25 November 1975.