Suriname Government

Suriname is a republic with politics taking place in the context of parliamentary representative democracy. The president is both the head of state and government. The executive power is vested in the government and is dependent on the parliament. The legislative power is exercised by the government and the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the other two arms of government. Suriname also has a system of pluriform multiparty.

Elections in Suriname take place every five years. On a national level, the citizens elect the president and the members of the National Assembly. The president is elected by the Electoral College through parliament. The National Assembly is made up of 52 members elected per district by proportional representation. The elections are supervised by the electoral commission. Citizens who have attained the age of 18 and have registered as voters are allowed to take part in the voting exercise.

The parliament building is on Het Park located on the Independence Square in Paramaribo. The original building which was constructed in 1718 was destroyed by fire on August 1, 1996. The current parliament building was a project done by engineer PJ Nagel. The official residence of the president of Suriname is referred to as the Presidential Palace. It is located across the Independence Square in the capital Paramaribo. The Presidential Palace was constructed in 1730 and is an example of a Dutch colonial architecture. The palace is part of the Paramaribo inner-city’s world heritage site.

Political parties in Suriname include the New Front for Democracy and Development and the National Democratic Party.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Paramaribo
Languages	Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is the native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
Ethnic Groups	Hindustani (also known locally as "East Indians"; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter part of the 19th century) 27.4%, "Maroon" (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 21.7%, Creole (mixed white and black) 15.7%, Javanese 13.7%, mixed 13.4%, other 7.6%, unspecified 0.6% (2012 est.)
Religion	Protestant 23.6% (includes Evangelical 11.2%, Moravian 11.2%, Reformed .7%, Lutheran .5%), Hindu 22.3%, Roman Catholic 21.6%, Muslim 13.8%, other Christian 3.2%, Winti 1.8%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, other 1.7%, none 7.5%, unspecified 3.2% (2012 est.)
Government	Presidential republic
Independance	25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands)
Area	163,820.00 km²
Water Area	7,820.00 km²
Land Area	156,000.00 km²
Population	585,824.00 Population concentrated along the nothern coastal strip; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated
Location	Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
No. Bordering Countries	3
Bordering Countries	Brazil 515 km, French Guiana 556 km, Guyana 836 km
GDP(PPP)	$8,547,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$15,200.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and India.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are alumina, gold, crude oil, and lumber.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are the United States, the Netherlands, and China.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include capital equipment, petroleum, and foodstuffs.
Climate	Arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year
Terrain	Mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
Learn More	Suriname

Suriname Government

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