Discover Suriname : Population

Distribution

Of Suriname's 613,000 inhabitants, around 240,000 live in Paramaribo, the capital. Suriname's population is very unevenly distributed. More than 75% of the population is concentrated in the estuary of the Suriname River, primarily around Paramaribo, while the remainder is concentrated around the bauxite mining and industrial centers of Paranam, Onverwacht and surrounding areas, 20 km south of the capital. Some of this same estuary population is also to be found in the large polder settlements on either side of the estuary and upstream along the river: Meerzorg, Nieuw Amsterdam and Mariënburg in the Lower Commewijne polder; Uitkijk and Groningen in the Lower Saramaca polders, west of Paramaribo. apart from this large nucleus, which constitutes the historic heart of Suriname, there are a few discontinuous population centers along the coast. To the west, Nieuw Nickerie is the largest on the coastal plain - apart from the Suriname estuary core - and to the east, the only two settlements are Moengo, which owes its existence to bauxite mining, and Albina, an administrative and service center on the Maroni River (passing through French Guiana). The interior of Suriname is almost devoid of people. A few indigenous tribes, Black-Brown communities and small groups of gold and diamond miners live along the rivers.

Communities

Hindustani (also known as Indo-Surinamese) are the descendants of immigrants from India, particularly West Bengal, and make up the largest Surinamese community: 27.4% of the population. Two-thirds of them belong to the Hindu religion, as well as Muslim and Christian. Following the abolition of slavery in Suriname, the Dutch government decided to open its borders to foreign labor to work on the plantations. The contract was as follows: by signing, the Indian immigrants agreed to stay at least 5 years on Surinamese territory, in exchange for a salary and medical assistance. The exodus was considerable: on June 5, 1873, the first Indian immigrant ship, the Lalla Rookh, arrived from Calcutta and disembarked 399 immigrants in Paramaribo. Countless other ships from eastern India followed, bringing over 34,000 immigrants. Since 1994, a monument to the Hindustani community has stood near the Surinamese presidential offices: Baba en Mai (father and mother). In June 2023, Surinam celebrated 150 years of Indian immigration.

The Creoles are the descendants of the first Europeans (mainly Dutch) mixed with the first Africans forcibly brought to Suriname by the colonists. Today, this community represents just over 15.7% of the population, while the Métis make up 13.4%. When the populations of these two communities of similar ancestry are added together, the so-called Afro-Surinamese represent a group almost as numerous as the Hindustani.

The Noirs-Marrons, descendants of escaped African slaves, represent 21.7% of the population, divided into 5 communities: N'djuka, Kwinti, Matawai, Saramaca and Paramaca. In Suriname, October 10 is the day dedicated to the Noir Marron community: it's the anniversary of the Treaty of Auca, signed in 1760 between the planter-settler organization and the N'djuka. They were the first people on the American continent to free themselves from the European colonists, 16 years before the American Declaration of Independence!

The Javanese account for 13.7% of the Surinamese population. Like the Indians, they came to swell the ranks of plantation workers, arriving in 1890 from the island of Java, but also from the former Dutch East Indies. Today, they can be found in the districts of Nickerie, Saramaca, Wanica, Paramaribo and Commewijne.

Thefirst inhabitants of Suriname, the indigenous people today represent just under 4% of the population. The main indigenous ethnic groups are the Akuriyos, Arawaks, Kalinagos (Caribs), Tiriyós and Wayanas, represented in the districts of Paramaribo, Wanica, Maroni and Sipaliwini. Like the Black-Browns, the indigenous population has its own day: August 9, Indigenous Peoples' Day, is also Suriname's national holiday.

Chinesearrived from Hakka province in1854 as laborers, making up around 2% of the population. In 1990 and at the beginning of the current century, this immigration began again.

The rest of the Surinamese population is made up of descendants of ^19th-century Dutch immigrant farmers known as Boeroes (from the Dutch word boer, meaning farmer, and who share the same origins as the Boers of South Africa). There are also Portuguese from Madeira, who mistakenly landed in Paramaribo, as well as descendants of a number of Sephardic Jewish families who fled the Portuguese and Spanish inquisition and settled in Jodensavanne, established in 1652. Finally, there are many Lebanese and, more recently, immigrant workers of Brazilian origin, most of whom work in the gold mining industry.

Languages

Although the official language in Suriname is Dutch, no less than 15 languages are spoken, such as Sranan Tongo, which is commonly spoken by the Surinamese; the language of the Hindustanis, Sarnami Hindustani; Javanese, called Surinamese Javanese; Guyanese Creole; Ndjuka (or aucan); Saramaka Creole; Hakka Chinese; etc.
If you don't speak any of these languages, don't worry: English, which is increasingly used in government and the media, is spoken just about everywhere. Creole languages such as Sranan Tongo and Saramaka are also very similar. While French is not widely used, Portuguese and Spanish are two very common languages.