Demographics of Suriname explained

Place:	Suriname
Size Of Population:	632,638 (2022 est.)
Nation:	Surinamese
Age 0–14 Years:	23.38%
Age 65 Years:	6.55%
Growth:	1.13% (2022 est.)
Birth:	15.38 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death:	6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Net Migration:	2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Infant Mortality:	30.25 deaths/1,000 live births
Fertility:	1.92 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Life:	72.42 years

This is a demography of the population of Suriname, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.

Most Surinamese people live in the narrow, northern coastal plain. The population is one of the most ethnically varied in the world. Each ethnic group preserves its own culture, and many institutions, including political parties, tend to follow ethnic lines. Informal relationships vary: the upper classes of all ethnic backgrounds mix freely; outside of the elite, social relations tend to remain within ethnic groupings. All groups may be found in the schools and workplace.

Population

According to the total population was in, compared to only 215,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 28.6%, 65% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 6.5% was 65 years or older.^[1] According to 2012 census, there were 270,629 males and 271,009 females in Suriname.^[2]

Year	Total population (1000)	Proportion (%) aged
		0–14	15–64	65+
1950	215
1955	250
1960	290
1965	332
1970	372
1975	364
1980	366
1985	376
1990	407
1995	436
2000	467
2005	500
2010	525

Total and Percent Distribution of Population by Age (Censuses 2004 & 2012)

^[3]

Age group	2004		2012
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
0-14	146.389	29,81	148.767	27.47
15-59	299.547	60.78	334.949	61.84
60+	42.189	8.56	54.527	10.07
Total	492.829	100	541.638	100

Structure of the population

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	248 046	244 783	492 829	100
0-4	26 252	25 585	51 837	10.52
5-9	25 200	24 209	49 409	10.03
10-14	22 889	22 254	45 143	9.16
15-19	23 465	23 043	46 508	9.44
20-24	22 437	21 406	43 843	8.90
25-29	19 006	18 895	37 901	7.69
30-34	19 828	19 166	38 994	7.91
35-39	19 179	18 100	37 279	7.56
40-44	17 657	16 328	33 985	6.90
45-49	12 643	12 992	25 635	5.20
50-54	9 933	10 487	20 420	4.14
55-59	6 955	8 027	14 982	3.04
60-64	6 200	7 059	13 259	2.69
65-69	5 148	5 454	10 602	2.15
70-74	4 103	4 556	8 659	1.76
75-79	2 419	2 733	5 152	1.05
80-84	1 235	1 618	2 853	0.58
85-89	392	677	1 075	0.22
90-94	196	294	490	0.10
95+	34	95	129	0.03
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	74 341	72 048	146 389	29.70
15-64	157 293	155 489	312 782	63.47
65+	13 527	15 427	28 954	5.88
unknown	2 885	1 819	4 704	0.95

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	272 690	267 220	539 910	100
0-4	24 910	24 150	49 060	9.09
5-9	26 400	25 160	51 560	9.55
10-14	25 950	24 850	50 800	9.41
15-19	24 510	23 670	48 180	8.92
20-24	23 270	22 500	45 770	8.48
25-29	22 310	21 360	43 670	8.09
30-34	21 180	20 150	41 330	7.65
35-39	20 130	19 110	39 240	7.27
40-44	18 570	17 720	36 290	6.72
45-49	16 370	15 830	32 200	5.96
50-54	13 940	13 730	27 670	5.12
55-59	10 970	11 200	22 170	4.11
60-64	8 340	8 890	17 230	3.19
65-69	6 200	6 870	13 070	2.42
70-74	4 360	5 060	9 420	1.74
75-79	2 860	3 500	6 360	1.18
80+	2 420	3 470	5 890	1.09
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	77 260	72 048	149 308	27.65
15-64	179 590	176 272	355 862	65.91
65+	15 840	18 900	34 740	6.43

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	270 629	271 009	541 638	100
0–4	25 968	24 580	50 548	9.33
5–9	24 549	23 186	47 735	8.81
10–14	26 166	24 318	50 484	9.32
15–19	22 772	22 336	45 108	8.33
20–24	21 656	22 106	43 762	8.08
25–29	21 761	22 185	43 946	8.11
30–34	19 355	19 696	39 051	7.21
35–39	18 316	18 113	36 429	6.73
40–44	18 763	18 620	37 383	6.90
45–49	18 083	17 948	36 031	6.65
50–54	15 313	15 338	30 651	5.66
55–59	10 929	11 659	22 588	4.17
60–64	7 734	8 763	16 497	3.05
65-69	5 951	7 057	13 008	2.40
70-74	4 619	5 514	10 133	1.87
75-79	3 393	4 163	7 556	1.40
80-84	1 934	2 499	4 433	0.82
85-89	743	1 235	1 978	0.37
90-94	274	438	712	0.13
95+	64	146	210	0.04
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	76 683	72 084	148 767	27.47
15–64	176 968	177 873	354 841	65.51
65+	16 978	21 052	38 030	7.02
unknown	2 286	1 109	3 395	0.63

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	300 500	302 000	602 500	100
0–4	27 500	26 700	54 200	9.00
5–9	26 500	25 300	51 800	8.60
10–14	25 500	23 900	49 400	8.20
15–19	25 000	23 500	48 500	8.05
20–24	24 100	23 300	47 400	7.87
25–29	23 300	22 800	46 100	7.65
30–34	22 200	22 200	44 400	7.37
35–39	21 100	21 200	42 300	7.02
40–44	19 900	20 000	39 900	6.62
45–49	18 800	18 900	37 700	6.26
50–54	17 400	17 600	35 000	5.81
55–59	14 800	15 500	30 300	5.03
60–64	12 100	13 200	25 300	4.20
65-69	8 800	10 300	19 100	3.17
70-74	6 000	7 500	13 500	2.24
75-79	3 900	5 100	9 000	1.49
80+	3 600	5 000	8 600	1.43
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	79 500	75 900	155 400	25.79
15–64	198 700	198 200	396 900	65.88
65+	22 300	27 900	50 200	8.33

Vital statistics

The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates for Suriname.^[1]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	Life expectancy
									total	males	females
1950-1955	10 000	3 000	7 000	48.0	14.9	33.1	6.56	89	56.0	54.4	57.7
1955-1960	12 000	3 000	9 000	46.0	12.4	33.6	6.56	76	58.7	57.0	60.5
1960-1965	14 000	3 000	11 000	44.8	10.6	34.2	6.56	64	60.5	58.7	62.5
1965-1970	14 000	3 000	11 000	39.7	9.0	30.6	5.95	55	62.4	60.5	64.5
1970-1975	13 000	3 000	10 000	34.9	8.3	26.6	5.29	49	64.0	61.7	66.5
1975-1980	11 000	3 000	8 000	30.2	7.4	22.8	4.20	44	65.1	62.8	67.7
1980-1985	11 000	3 000	8 000	30.0	7.3	22.7	3.70	42	66.5	63.6	69.8
1985-1990	10 000	3 000	7 000	25.4	7.2	18.2	3.00	39	67.1	64.0	70.7
1990-1995	9 000	3 000	6 000	22.5	7.1	15.4	2.60	34	67.6	64.4	71.1
1995-2000	11 000	3 000	8 000	23.6	7.4	16.2	2.80	29	67.8	64.6	71.4
2000-2005	10 000	4 000	6 000	21.0	7.6	13.4	2.60	24	68.1	64.8	71.7
2005-2010	10 000	4 000	6 000	19.1	7.3	11.9	2.42	22	69.6	66.4	73.1
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Births and deaths

Births and deaths^{[4] [5]}

Year	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	TFR
1948		6,476	2,217	4,259
1949		6,473	2,243	4,230
1950		6,863	1,974	4,889
1951		7,710	1,965	5,745
1952		8,453	1,917	6,536
1953		8,878	2,159	6,719
1954		9,154	1,919	7,235
1955		9,458	1,989	7,469
1956		10,177	2,131	8,040
1957		10,001	2,274	7,727
1958		11,151	1,942	9,209
1959		11,757	2,055	9,702
1960		11,702	2,144	9,558
1961		12,835	2,310	10,525
1962		13,141	2,412	10,729
1963			2,406
1964			2,292
1965		13,253	2,378	10,875
1966		12,925	2,280	10,645
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971			2,540
1972		12,557
1973		11,881
1974		11,809
1975		10,031
1976		11,176
1977		11,099
1978		10,673
1979		10,586
1980	355,240	9,848
1981	360,021	10,094
1982	364,854	11,205	2,377	8,828
1983	369,752	11,823
1984	374,716	11,501
1985	379,746	11,704	2,275	9,429
1986	384,844	10,176
1987	390,011	9,660
1988	395,246	9,094
1989	400,552	10,217	2,717	7,500
1990	405,930	9,545	2,792	6,753
1991	411,397	9,104	2,573	6,531
1992	416,902	9,835	2,717	7,118
1993	422,498	9,398	2,998	6,400
1994	428,170	8,418	2,842	5,576
1995	433,918	8,717	2,696	6,021
1996	439,743	9,393	2,894	6,499	22.7	7.0	15.7
1997	445,647	10,794	2,878	7,916	25.8	6.9	18.9
1998	451,629	10,221	2,814	7,407	24.1	6.6	17.5
1999	457,692	10,144	2,992	7,152	23.6	7.0	16.6
2000	463,837	9,804	3,090	6,714	22.5	7.1	15.4
2001	470,064	9,717	3,099	6,618	20.7	6.6	14.1
2002	476,374	10,188	3,125	7,063	21.4	6.6	14.8
2003	481,146	9,634	3,154	6,480	20.0	6.6	13.4
2004	492,829	9,062	3,319	5,743	18.6	6.8	11.8
2005	498,543	8,657	3,392	5,265	17.4	6.8	10.6	2.14
2006	504,257	9,311	3,197	6,114	18.5	6.4	12.1	2.28
2007	509,970	9,769	3,374	6,395	19.2	6.6	12.6	2.38
2008	517,052	10,097	3,357	6,740	19.5	6.5	13.0	2.44
2009	524,143	9,792	3,293	6,499	18.7	6.3	12.4	2.34
2010	531,170	9,712	3,484	6,228	18.3	6.6	11.7	2.30
2011	539,910	9,703	3,441	6,262	18.0	6.4	11.6	2.445
2012	541,638	10,217	3,687	6,530	18.9	6.8	12.1	2.406
2013	550,222	10,012	3,557	6,455	18.2	6.5	11.7	2.323
2014	558,773	10,407	3,738	6,669	18.6	6.7	11.9	2.370
2015	567,300	10,148	3,663	6,485	17.9	6.5	11.4	2.30
2016	575,700	9,910	3,591	6,319	17.2	6.2	11.0	2.23
2017	583,200	9,758	3,508	6,250	16.8	6.0	10.8	2.12
2018	590,100	9,809	3,763	6,046	16.6	6.4	10.2	2.17
2019	598,000	10,127	3,955	6,172	16.9	6.6	10.3	2.23
2020	608,900	10,053	3,971	6,082	16.7	6.6	10.1	2.21
2021	616,500	10,252	5,535	4,717	16.6	9.0	7.6	2.18
2022		9,254	4,641	4,613	14.8	7.4	7.4

Ethnic groups

Population of Suriname according to ethnic group

Ethnic group	Census 1921		Census 1950^[6]		Census 1964		Census 1972		Census 1980^[7]		Census 2004^[8]		Census 2012^[9]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
East Indian			62,280	31.3	112,633	34.7	142,917	37.6			135,117	27.4	148,443	27.4
Maroons			19,180	9.7	27,698	8.5	35,838	9.4			72,553	14.7	117,567	21.7
Creole			71,657	36.1	114,961	35.5	119,009	31.4			87,202	17.7	84,933	15.7
Javanese			35,270	17.8	48,463	14.9	57,688	15.2			71,879	14.6	73,975	13.7
Mixed			0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0			61,524	12.5	72,340	13.4
Amerindian^[10]			-	-	7,287^[11]	2.2	-	-			18,037	3.7	20,344	3.8
Chinese			-	-	5,339	1.6	-	-			8,775	1.8	7,885	1.5
White			-	-	4,322	1.3	-	-			2,899	0.6	1,667	0.3
Other			10,095	5.1	2,986	0.9	24,155	6.4			2,264	0.5	7,166	1.3
Unknown			186	0.1	522	0.2	0	0.0			1,261	0.3	1,805	0.3
No answer											31,318	6.4	1,590	0.3
Total	107,723		198,668		324,211		379,607		355,240		492,829		541,638

• The census used self-identification for ethnic classification.^[12]
• Amerindians are the original inhabitants of Suriname.
• East Indians, also known locally as Hindustanis, are those whose ancestors emigrated from northern British India in the latter part of the 19th century.
• Creoles are descendants from slaves from Africa. Prior to the 2004 census, mixed-race people were counted as Creoles. Their ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• The Maroons are descendants from slaves from Africa that escaped to the interior of Suriname. Their proportion has increased considerably during the past decades, from 9% in 1964 to 22% in 2012.
• The Javanese are Asians from formerly Dutch-ruled Indonesia.
• Many Whites are descended from Dutch colonists.

The current population of Suriname will be different to these census figures, as the census records residents, and notes legal visitors, but does not record illegal immigrants. According to estimates there may be as many as:

• 60,000 Brazilians (estimates varies between 20,000 and 80,000) from Brazil. There are also other smaller numbers of South American nationalities.
• 40,000 Chinese,^[13] with small communities of Koreans, Japanese and Filipinos.
• 2,000 Arab/Middle Eastern (mostly Christian Lebanese but also Christians from Syria and Palestine).
• 200 Jews who are identified in ethnoreligious terms.
• Suriname has large American expatriate (mostly retiree) communities (about 50,000 Americans live in Suriname).
• Also living in Suriname are Dutch citizens, some of which with a Surinamese background.

Fertility rate by ethnic group

The total fertility rate for Suriname as a whole was 2.53 children per woman aged 15 to 49 in 2012. Maroons had the highest fertility rate, with 4.47 children per woman. On the other hand, Indo-Surinamese had the lowest fertility with 1.78 children per woman.

Total fertility rate by ethnic group in 2012^[14]

Ethnic group	Total fertility rate	Children ever born
Maroons	4.47	5.79
	2.26	3.06
	1.78	3.15
	2.15	3.17
Mixed people	2.12	2.77
Smaller minorities	2.93	3.46
Unknown (mostly Maroons as well)	3.69	4.91
Suriname (as whole)	2.53	3.48

Languages

Dutch is the official language of Suriname and the mother tongue of around 60% of the population. Sranan Tongo is the lingua franca and second most spoken language of Suriname.

English is mostly used in the business sector mainly to communicate with foreign businesses. It is also used in the hospitality industry to communicate with tourists.

Sarnami Hindustani is spoken by the Surinamese Indian community. Depending on the person this language can be either the mother tongue, second language or third language (after Dutch or Sranan Tongo).

Saramaccan is spoken by the Saramaka tribe of the Maroon community. Aukan is mainly spoken by the Aukan tribe of the Maroon community

Javanese is spoken by the Surinamese Javanese community. Just like Sarnami Hindustani, Javanese can be either the mother tongue, second language or third language (after Dutch or Sranan Tongo) for some.

Hakka and Cantonese is spoken by Surinamese Chinese, mainly as a second language after Dutch. Cantonese was introduced in Suriname by the second wave of Chinese immigrants in 1970. Beginning in the 1990s new migrants from China moved to Suriname, and Putonghua, during circa 2004–2014, became the main Chinese lingua franca in the country.

French is spoken by some Maroons due to the cultural influence from French Guiana, Portuguese mainly by immigrants from Brazil and Portugal, and Spanish due to immigrants from, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries.

Amerindian languages are spoken by the Surinamese Amerindian community. Languages include Carib, Arawak, Tiriyó and Wayana.

Religion

Denomination	2012 census^[15]
		%
Catholic Church	117,261
Pentecostalism (Full Gospel)	60,530
Moravian Church	60,420
Jehovah's Witnesses	6,622
Calvinism	4,018
Lutheranism	2,811
Other forms of Christianity	17,280
Sanatani Hindus	97,311
Arya Samaj Hindus	16,661
Other forms of Hinduism	6,651
Sunni Islam	21,159
Ahmadi Islam	14,161
Other forms of Islam	39,733
Javanism	4,460
Judaism	181
Winti	9,949
Other faith	4,630
No faith	40,718
No answer	17,082
Total population	541,638

Notes and References

1. Web site: World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations. https://web.archive.org/web/20110506065230/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm. dead. 6 May 2011. esa.un.org.
2. Web site: Censusstatistieken 2012 . Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname (General Statistics Bureau of Suriname) . Presentatie Definitieve Resultaten Census 8 Vol. 1, page 26 . 12 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141113143359/http://www.statistics-suriname.org/index.php/statistieken/downloads/category/30-censusstatistieken-2012 . 13 November 2014 . dead .
3. Web site: Downloads - Censusstatistieken 2012 - Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname . 13 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141113143359/http://www.statistics-suriname.org/index.php/statistieken/downloads/category/30-censusstatistieken-2012 . 13 November 2014 . dead.
4. Web site: Archived copy . 18 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160328020419/http://caricomstats.org/Files/Databases/Demography/SR.pdf . 28 March 2016 . dead.
5. Web site: Demographic and Social Statistics . UN Statistics Division . 29 July 2020.
6. Web site: National Census Report: Suriname . . 2009 . 32 . 2 December 2014 . https://archive.today/20170627135503/http://www.caricomstats.org/Files/Publications/NCR%20Reports/Suriname.pdf . 27 June 2017 . dead .
7. Web site: National Census Report: Suriname . . 2009 . 31 . Except for the 1980 census, all censuses since the first in 1921 included ethnicity as a variable of interest. For unknown reasons, the government did not allow the Census Bureau to include this variable. . 2 December 2014 . https://archive.today/20170627135503/http://www.caricomstats.org/Files/Publications/NCR%20Reports/Suriname.pdf . 27 June 2017 . dead .
8. Web site: National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 Suriname* . UN Human Rights Council . 16 February 2011 . 7.
9. Web site: Censusstatistieken 2012 . Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname (General Statistics Bureau of Suriname) . 76 . 20 October 2022 . 5 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305071544/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Suriname/SUR-Census2012-vol1.pdf . dead .
10. Where no separate figures are given, these people are included in Other.
11. This is included in Other in the source
12. Web site: REPORT ON CENSUS 2004 COVERAGE EVALUATION . CENSUS OFFICE GENERAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS . 2006 . 30.
13. Web site: With Aid and Migrants, China Expands Its Presence in a South American Nation . . 10 April 2011.
14. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/wphc/Suriname/SUR-Census2012-vol1.pdf Resultaten achtste (8e) Volks- en woningtelling in Suriname (volume 1) : Demografische en sociale karakteristieken en migratie
15. http://www.statistics-suriname.org/images/Presentatie.pdf 2012 Suriname Census Definitive Results