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Capital Facts for Paramaribo, Suriname

August 30, 2020 by Danny Metrics

Suriname flag
Suriname flag
Paramaribo serves as the capital city for the Republic of Suriname, South America’s smallest independent country both in terms of population and geographic size.

Nicknames for Paramaribo include Par’bo and the Paris of Suriname. A popular moniker for Suriname is the Little United Nations, reflecting the diverse nationalities resulting from immigration to Suriname over its history.

Paramaribo is one of the few capital cities where there is a Muslim mosque is near a Jewish synagogue, a tribute to Paramaribo’s cultural diversity and religion tolerance.

Suriname is a hilly nation. Its capital city has its highest hill named Julianatop with an elevation of 4,199 feet (1,230 meters).

Another of Paramaribo’s attributes its tropical rainforest climate, distinguished by a monthly average rainfall of 2.4 inches (60 millimeters) throughout the year.

Research website numbeo ranks Paramaribo in the bottom 18% compared to the 250 cities evaluated on its overall quality of life index at June 2020. Paramaribo scored poorly on index factors such as health care (poorest 1%), purchasing power (weakest 2%), safety (worst 30%) and pollution (severest 47%). On the positive side, Paramaribo rates among the 40% least expensive for cost of living and in the 44% lowest for property price to income ratio.

Paramaribo is increasingly benefiting from tourism, with most visitors arriving from the Netherlands. The official language for Suriname is Dutch.

From an international trade perspective, Suriname exported an estimated US$1.5 billion worth of products around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable products include gold (51.3% of Suriname’s global total), rough wood (4.3%), refined petroleum oils (2.5%), cigarettes (1.9%), rice (1.8%), liquor (0.8%), apricots (also 0.8%), and fish fillets (0.7%) according to the International Trade Centre.

Capital Facts for Paramaribo, Suriname: Quick Reference

Geography


Capital landmarks: Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, Fort Zeelandia, Independence Square, Neveh Shalom Jewish Synagogue and Suriname City Mosque

Famous People

Below, you will find a sampling of the most famous people born in Paramaribo, Suriname.

  • Humberto Tan, TV host & soccer reporter (born Oct. 26, 1965)
  • Kenneth Bron, reggae singer (born Nov. 1, 1961)
  • Kenneth Herdigein, actor (born Jun. 12, 1959)
  • Regilio Tuur (aka Tuurrific), professional boxer (born Aug. 12, 1967)
  • Rachel Ritfeld, actress (born Jan. 16, 1984)
  • Sammy Monsels, Olympic sprinter (born Aug. 2, 1953)
  • Jerry Nijman, Olympic heavyweight boxer (born Aug. 10, 1966)
  • Pim de la Parra, writer & director (born Jan. 4, 1940)
  • Sylvana Simons, TV personality & columnist (born Jan. 31, 1971)

Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.

Population

Demonym for a resident of Suriname: Surinamese

Population: 223,757 (Paramaribo) at August 30, 2020

Density: 3,197 people per square mile (1,229 per square kilometer)

Population: 587,521 (Suriname) at August 30, 2020

Density: 10 people per square mile (4 per square kilometer)

Median age for all Suriname: 29 years old
Suriname’s official language is Dutch.

Financial

GDP: US$9.289 billion in 2019 (Suriname)

GDP per person: $15,532

Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Paramaribo were unavailable.

Official currency used in Paramaribo: Surinamese dollar

Research

Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook South America: Suriname.

Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition.

Guinness World Records, Largest sea turtle ever.

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases.

International Trade Centre, Trade Map.

Numbeo, Quality of Life Index by City.

Official Government Website, Republic of Suriname–Government.

Wikimedia Commons, City Flags.
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.

Wikipedia, Paramaribo.

Wikipedia, Paramaribo District.

Wikipedia, Suriname.

WorldOMeter, Suriname Population.

 
Suriname won its independence from the Netherlands on November 25, 1975. Fittingly named Suriname’s Independence Day, each November 25 is celebrated as a national holiday.

Paramaribo’s land area measures 70 square miles (182 square kilometers) with an estimated population of 223,757 residents at August 30, 2020.

At the country level, Suriname’s population count was 587,521 as of August 2020 living over a total land territory equal to 60,232 square miles (156,000 square kilometers).

Population density is more concentrated within Suriname’s capital city Paramaribo averaging 3,197 people per square mile (1,229 per square kilometer). Almost half of the total national population lives in Paramaribo.

Zooming out to Suriname’s overall land boundaries, population density drops to an average 10 people per square mile (4 per square kilometer)–placing Suriname among the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign countries.

Filed Under: Americas, South America

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