Welcome to Suriname, my 151st Visit and 146th Run UN Country out of a UN total of 193. After my blog photos below are the key statistics, brief history and interesting facts about this destination.
Suriname has no dominant ethnic group. There are people from a variety of ethnic groups: Hindustani, Maroon, Creole, Javanese and a mix of these. Amazing. A salad of ethnic groups. We flew to Suriname immediately after visiting the Kaieteur Waterfall in Guyana. Our Guyana guide, Malcom scooped us up from the smaller Correia Airport and drove us to the larger Cheddi Airport via the Ramada Hotel for a 60min comfort stop. The Suriname Airways 737-800 flight to the capital Paramaribo came from Miami and was on time leaving at 630pm and arriving 850pm local time. The airport is 51km from downtown because it was originally built as a US Airforce Base in WWII to keep it invisible from the Atlantic Coast. I liked Suriname from the very start. The airport has a separate immigration queue for diplomats and people 60+ years old – it is only on this occasion that I was glad to be 60 – the normal queue was full of people. Our driver brought us to the Ramada Hotel at 10pm and left. No reservations for the three of us there !!! Turns out that he had been given the wrong hotels. We called our head guide who had his mobile turned off and by the time we reached him and he corrected the situation it was 1030pm when we checked in. Not great. I celebrated the waterfall with a small shot of rum and dived into sleep to run the next day.
I ran Paramaribo along its river road at 630am in cool, breezy conditions with sunrise at 7am. So glad I did this. I saw many large well-kept homes along my run because the river was opposite. Paramaribo seemed mor progressed than Georgetown. At 9am we were picked up by our local guide Biko to tour the UNESCO protected city centre. We drove to the centre followed by a long walk around lasting 3hrs. We visited the following attractions: Fort Zeelandia & surrounding Historic Old Town English Colonias Buildings, Presidential Palace, Parliament, Independence Square, Amphitheatre, Palm Garden, Waterfront, Central Markets, Maroon Markets, Basilica, Mosque next to Synagogue, Cathedral of Peter & Paul. The centre has excellent English colonial architecture but about half of them are derelict. There is more to see than Georgetown and it is definitely more attractive overall. Paramaribo has a more European feel and not a trace of Latin America in it. It is also not run-down or dirty enough to be reminded of Africa. The highlight was the central amphitheatre where we saw some traditional dancing and opposite is the Presidential Palace, also called The White House since it is all white and looks like the one at 1 Pennsylvania Avenue !!!
We were glad to be back in our car given the brilliant air conditioning to remove three hours of heat and sweat. We headed over the new Suriname River Bridge to a place called Peperpot Nature Park. This was an old 1700s and 1800s Coffee and Cocoa Plantation and now a nature reserve, filled with rainforest and home to many birds and mammals. We saw Capuchin Monkeys and five different birds as we slowly walked the 2km path. Our next visit was at a small pier called Nieuw Amsterdam where the Suriname River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. We climbed aboard a narrow wooden hull fishing vessel with wooden canopy and outboard motor and sailed at 15km/h towards the point where the Suriname and Commewijne rivers converge. This area is permanent home to Pink Belly Dolphins. They are pink for the same reason that Pin Flamingos are pink – they both feast mostly on shrimp !!! Sadly, we were unable to spot any, probably because we were there long before their feeding time which is usually around sunset. Instead, we visited local fishermen in their boats catching small sardine like Dyogu fish and putting nets down for the larger Red Snapper. Yum. We sailed past Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam) and got back to the wharf of the same name where we started around 5pm. Last stop was a brilliant supermarket selling tons of wine, cheese and olives plus spicy Creole BBQ Chicken Breasts to die for. All this made for a great feast and a great night of rest to celebrate a great day in Paramaribo, which now awaits you…
SURINAME IN A NUTSHELL:
Surinam the smallest independent country in South America, is characterized by its high ethnic diversity and vast rainforest coverage.
• Population (2025): 657,000.
• Ethnic Groups: Hindustani (27.4%), Maroon (21.7%), Creole (15.7%), Javanese (13.7%), and Mixed (13.4%).
• Religion: Christianity (48.4%), Hinduism (22.3%), and Islam (13.9%).
• Urbanization: 66%.
• Life Expectancy (2023): 73.6.
• GDP (2025): $USD4.51 billion.
• GDP Growth (2025): 3.2%.
• Inflation (2025): 9.0%.
• Unemployment (2024): 7.3%.
• Exports: Gold and Oil (85%).
• Area: 163,820 sq km.
• Energy Generation: 60% Hydroelectricity, 40% Diesel Generators.
BRIEF HISTORY OF SURINAME:
Suriname’s history is shaped by indigenous cultures, European rivalry, and a multi-layered colonial legacy.
• 3000BC: First inhabited by the Arawak, Caribs, Akurio and Wayana.
• 1498: Christopher Columbus first sighted the coast but did not land or claim.
• Early 17th-century: attempts at settlement by the Spanish, French, and British largely failed due to indigenous resistance and financial struggles.
• 1667: Originally a British colony known as Willoughbyland, it was seized by the Dutch in 1667.
• The Dutch transformed the colony into a lucrative sugar, coffee, and cocoa producer, driven by a brutal system of enslaved African labour.
• Many enslaved people escaped into the interior, forming autonomous Maroon communities (such as the Saramaccans and Ndyuka) that waged guerrilla wars against colonial forces and maintained distinct West African cultures.
• 1863: Slavery was abolished followed by a 10-year mandatory "apprenticeship." To replace lost labour, the Dutch imported nearly 100,000 indentured servants from India, Java (Indonesia), and China, creating the country's modern multi-ethnic fabric.
• Early 1900s: bauxite mining became the dominant industry. During WWII, Suriname supplied 90% of the aluminium used for U.S. warplanes.
• 1954: Suriname became a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, gaining full internal self-government while the Dutch retained control over defence and foreign policy.
• 25 November 25, 1975, Suriname became fully independent. Approximately one-third of the population emigrated to the Netherlands just before and after independence due to political uncertainty.
• 1980: A military coup led by Desi Bouterse overthrew the civilian government.
• 1987: After international pressure, democratic elections resumed, though the military remained influential for decades.
• In 2020, Chan Santokhi was elected president.
• July 2025: Jennifer Geerlings-Simons was elected as Suriname's first female president.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SURINAME:
1. The World’s "Greenest" Country: 94% of Suriname is covered by pristine tropical rainforest.
2. Suriname is one of the few places on Earth where a Jewish synagogue and an Islamic mosque stand peacefully side-by-side.
3. Only Dutch-Speaking Nation in South America (60% of Population speak Dutch)
4. No single ethnic group forms a majority in Suriname. The population is a rich mix of East Indians (Hindustani), Maroons (descendants of escaped enslaved Africans), Creoles, Javanese, Chinese, Indigenous peoples, and Europeans.
5. Unique "Walkable" Architecture: The historic inner city of Paramaribo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its unique 17th and 18th-century Dutch colonial wooden architecture.
6. The native female Surinam toad carries her eggs in the skin of her back, where they develop and eventually "burst" out as fully formed tiny toads.
7. Suriname is one of only two countries in South America where vehicles drive on the left side of the road.
8. The "Telephone Coup": In 1990, military leader Dési Bouterse dismissed the entire government via a single phone call.
9. Home to the biggest Maroon population: These are descendants of Africans who escaped slavery and established autonomous, sovereign-like tribes in the rainforest interior, preserving West African cultural traits for centuries.
10. In 2025: In a historic milestone for the country, Jennifer Geerlings-Simons was elected as Suriname's first woman president.
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