Country explorer: Suriname
EXPERIMENTAL
2024
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Overview
Suriname is a tropical, upper-middle-income country in South America with a very small population. Its economy has been volatile in recent decades, and is based on mining, agriculture, forestry and fishing.
Suriname boasts a diverse population with people of African, Indian, Javanese, and Indigenous descent.
Economy
Suriname has undergone notable economic transformations, characterized by substantial inflation fluctuations and a generally improving but volatile GDP per capita, alongside a variable but recently decreasing unemployment rate, illustrating a mixed but progressively stabilizing economic environment, albeit with challenges similar to those faced by upper-middle-income countries.
Demographics
Suriname has experienced demographic transitions marked by slight population growth, fluctuations in net migration with a recent minor positive trend, a gradual decrease in fertility rates aligning with global trends towards smaller families, and significant improvements in life expectancy that reflect broader health and societal advancements, mirroring patterns seen in other upper-middle-income countries.
Basic needs
Suriname has seen consistent improvements in access to clean cooking fuels, electricity, and safely managed drinking water, demonstrating its progress in enhancing basic needs infrastructure, although its advances in safely managed sanitation services have been more gradual, a trajectory that aligns with general trends among upper-middle-income countries.
Human development
Suriname has demonstrated significant progress in human development, as evidenced by improvements in its Human Development Index, reductions in child mortality rate, and increases in literacy rates, closely mirroring trends seen in other upper-middle-income countries.
Environment & energy
Suriname has maintained a relatively stable coverage of forest area, reflecting a cautious approach to environmental preservation in contrast to the global trend of deforestation, while its renewable freshwater resources per capita have gradually decreased, aligning with global concerns over freshwater availability amidst increasing pressures on natural resources.
Technology & innovation
Suriname has shown notable progress in digital connectivity with a substantial increase in internet usage and mobile phone subscriptions, aligning with trends observed in upper-middle-income countries, although lacking comprehensive data on research & development spending and scientific publications that might provide a fuller picture of its innovation landscape.
Culture & society
Suriname has seen a nuanced blend of cultural and societal transformations, including an incremental increase in the percentage of the population born abroad, stable yet slightly fluctuating self-reported life satisfaction levels, a gradual improvement in reducing gender inequalities, and a moderated age dependency ratio, reflecting common challenges and achievements shared with its regional peers and upper-middle-income countries.
Governance
Suriname has experienced fluctuations in governance quality, marked by moderate improvements in the rule of law, variations in corruption perception, and a relatively stable but recently declining landscape of political civil liberties and press freedom, positioning it as a nation grappling with governance challenges and efforts at reform akin to its regional peers and upper-middle-income countries.