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World > South America > Suriname
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Suriname |
Introduction:
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First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of slavery in 1863, workers were brought in from India and Java. Independence from the Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In 1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a democratically elected government - a four-party New Front coalition - returned to power in 1991 and has ruled since, expanding to eight parties in 2005.
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| Official name: |
Republic of Suriname |
| Capital: |
name: Paramaribo
geographic coordinates: 5 50 N, 55 10 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Government type: |
constitutional democracy |
| Population: |
470,784 (July 2007 est.) |
| Languages: |
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese |
| Official Currency: |
Suriname Guilder (SRG) |
| Currency code: |
SRG |
| Area: |
total: 163,270 sq km
land: 161,470 sq km
water: 1,800 sq km |
| Climate: |
tropical; moderated by trade winds |
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Map of Suriname
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