Editing Suriname (section)

== Demographics ==
{{main|Demographics of Suriname|Surinamese people}}
[[File:Suriname demography.png|thumb|The population of Suriname from 1961 to 2003, in units of 1000. The slowdown and decline in population growth ~1969–1985 reflects a mass migration to the Netherlands and French Guiana.]]

In 2022, Suriname had a population of roughly 624,900 according to estimates by the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNdata {{!}} record view {{!}} Population by sex and urban/rural residence |url=https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode:1 |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=data.un.org}}</ref> This compares to 541,638 inhabitants from the 2012 census.<ref name="statistics-suriname1"/> The Surinamese populace is characterized by high levels of diversity, wherein no particular demographic group constitutes a majority. This is a legacy of centuries of Dutch rule, which entailed successive periods of forced, contracted, or voluntary migration by various nationalities and ethnic groups from around the world.
[[File:Population majorities per resort in Suriname.svg|alt=Ethnic groups of Surinme|thumb|Ethnic groups of Suriname (right) and Paramaribo (left)  {{legend|#660000|Creoles}} {{legend|#0f4d18|Hindus}} {{legend|#fffc00|Maroons}} {{legend|#ff0000|Javanese}} {{legend|#0000ff|Indigenous}}]]

=== Ethnicity ===
{{bar box
|title=Ethnic groups of Suriname<ref name="CIAPAPUANEWGUINEA">{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/|title=South America :: SURINAME|date=17 May 2022|publisher= CIA The World Factbook}}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Ethnic groups
|right1=percent
|float=left
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Indo-Surinamese|Indian]]|Blue|27.4}}
{{bar percent|[[Maroon (people)|Maroon]]|Orange|21.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Creole people|Creole]]|Yellow|15.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Javanese Surinamese|Javanese]]|Green|13.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Multiracial|Mixed]]|Red|13.4}}
{{bar percent|[[Indigenous peoples in Suriname|Amerindian]]|Green|3.8}}
{{bar percent|[[Chinese Surinamese|Chinese]]|Purple|1.5}}
{{bar percent|[[White Surinamese|White]]|Silver|0.3}}
{{bar percent|Other|Orange|2.5}}
}}

The largest ethnic group are [[Asian Surinamese]] (about 43%), with the largest subgroup being [[Indo-Surinamese]], who form over a quarter of the population (27.4%).<ref name="rutgers"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Censusstatistieken 2012|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Suriname/SUR-Census2012-vol1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629112522/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Suriname/SUR-Census2012-vol1.pdf|archive-date=2014-06-29|work=Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname (General Statistics Bureau of Suriname)|page=76}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=29 September 2021|title=The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/|website=cia.gov}}</ref><ref name="statistics-suriname12">{{cite web|title=Census statistieken 2012|url=http://www.statistics-suriname.org/index.php/statistieken/downloads/category/30-censusstatistieken-2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113143359/http://www.statistics-suriname.org/index.php/statistieken/downloads/category/30-censusstatistieken-2012|archive-date=13 November 2014|access-date=13 July 2014|publisher=Statistics-suriname.org|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Definitieve Resultaten (Vol I) Etniciteit|journal=Presentatie Evaluatie Rapport CENSUS 8|page=42}}</ref> The vast majority are descendants of 19th-century [[Indian indenture system|indentured workers]] from [[North India|Northern India]] and Southern [[Nepal]], hailing mostly from areas in the [[Hindi Belt]] of modern [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]] and [[Eastern Uttar Pradesh]], and also the [[Bengal]] region than consists of modern [[West Bengal]] and [[Bangladesh]]. If counted as one ethnic group, the [[Afro-Surinamese]] are the second largest community, at around 37.4%; however, they are usually divided into two cultural/ethnic groups: the [[Creole peoples|Creoles]] and the Maroons. Surinamese Maroons, whose ancestors are mostly runaway slaves that fled to the interior, comprise 21.7% of the population. They are divided into six tribes: [[Ndyuka people|Ndyuka]] (Aucans), [[Saramaka|Saramaccans]], [[Paramaccan]]s, [[Kwinti]], [[Aluku]] (Boni) and [[Matawai people|Matawai]]. Surinamese [[Creole peoples|Creoles]], mixed people descending from African slaves and Europeans (mostly Dutch), form 15.7% of the population. [[Javanese Surinamese|Javanese]] make up 14% of the population, and like the East Indians, descend largely from workers contracted from the island of [[Java]] in the former [[Dutch East Indies]] (modern [[Indonesia]]).<ref name="javanese in suriname">{{in lang|id}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110316132831/http://unik.kompasiana.com/2011/03/14/orang-jawa-di-suriname/ Orang Jawa di Suriname (Javanese in Suriname)], ''kompasiana'' (14 March 2011)</ref> 13.4% of the population identifies as being of mixed ethnic heritage. [[Chinese Surinamese|Chinese]], originating from 19th-century indentured workers and some recent migration, make up 7.3% of the population.

Other groups include [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], primarily [[Maronites]], and [[History of the Jews in Suriname|Jews]] of [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic]] and [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]] origin, whose center of population was [[Jodensavanne]]. Various [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] make up 3.7% of the population, with the main groups being the [[Akurio people|Akurio]], [[Arawak]], [[Kalina people|Kalina]] (Caribs), [[Tiriyó people|Tiriyó]] and [[Wayana people|Wayana]]. They live mainly in the districts of [[Paramaribo]], [[Wanica District|Wanica]], [[Para District|Para]], [[Marowijne District|Marowijne]] and [[Sipaliwini District|Sipaliwini]].{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} A small but influential number of [[White Surinamese|Europeans]] remain in the country, comprising about 1% of the population. They are descended mostly from [[Dutch people|Dutch]] 19th-century immigrant farmers, known as "[[Dutch Surinamese|Boeroes]]" (derived from ''boer'', the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word for "farmer"), and to a lesser degree other European groups, such as [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]. Many Boeroes [[White flight|left after independence in 1975]].

More recently Suriname has seen a new wave of immigrants, namely [[Brazilians in Suriname|Brazilians]], [[Haitians]] and [[Chinese Surinamese|Chinese]] (many of them laborers mining for gold). Most do not have legal status.<ref>"[http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/violence-erupts-surinam Violence erupts in Surinam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102065401/http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/violence-erupts-surinam|date=2 January 2010 }}". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 26 December 2009.</ref>

===Emigration===
[[File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 60008924 Een groep Brits-Indische immigranten.jpg|thumb|left|Immigrants from India]]

The option to choose between Surinamese or Dutch citizenship in the years leading up to Suriname's independence in 1975 led to a mass migration to the Netherlands. This migration continued in the period immediately after independence and during military rule in the 1980s and for largely economic reasons extended throughout the 1990s. The [[Surinamese people in the Netherlands|Surinamese community]] in the Netherlands numbered 350,300 {{As of|2013|lc=y}} (including children and grandchildren of Suriname migrants born in the Netherlands), compared to approximately 566,000 Surinamese in Suriname itself.<ref name=cia />

According to the [[International Organization for Migration]], around 272,600 people from Suriname lived in other countries in the late 2010s, in particular in the Netherlands ({{circa|192,000}}), France (c. 25,000, most of them in [[French Guiana]]),{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The [[International Organization for Migration]] made a confusion regarding the number of Surinamese migrants living in French Guiana. Their number is already included in the number for France (24,753 at the time of writing), as can be seen here: [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3633212#tableau-Econtinent_radio1 données complémentaires].}} the United States (c. 15,000), [[Guyana]] (c. 5,000), [[Aruba]] (c. 1,500), and Canada (c. 1,000).<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.iom.int/world-migration| title=World Migration| author=International Organization for Migration| access-date=2019-02-03| author-link=International Organization for Migration| archive-date=1 May 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501120652/https://www.iom.int/world-migration| url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{main|Religion in Suriname}}
{{Pie chart
| thumb  = right
| caption = Religion in Suriname (2012 census)<ref name="CENSUS2012"/>
| label1 = [[Protestantism]] 
| value1 = 25.6
| color1 = Blue
| label2 = [[Catholic]]
| value2 = 21.6
| color2 = Purple
| label3 = Other [[Christian]]
| value3 = 1.2
| color3 = Skyblue
| label4 = [[Hinduism]]
| value4 = 22.3
| color4 = DarkOrange
| label5 = [[Islam]]
| value5 = 13.9
| color5 = Green
| label6 = [[Winti]]
| value6 = 1.8
| color6 = DarkRed
| label7 = [[Kejawen]]
| value7 = 0.8
| color7 = Red
| label8 = Other religion
| value8 = 2.1
| color8 = Chartreuse
| label9 = None
| value9 = 7.5
| color9 =  Beige
| label10 = Not stated
| value10 = 3.2
| color10 = Black
}}
[[File:Neveh Shalom Synagogue and Mosque Keizerstraat.jpg|left|thumb|Synagogue and mosque adjacent to each other in Paramaribo]]
Suriname's religious makeup is heterogeneous and reflective of the country's multicultural character.<ref name="statistics-suriname12"/> According to [[Pew Research Center|Pew research]] from 2012, Christians are the largest religious community, at slightly over half the population (51.6%), followed by [[Hinduism|Hindus]] (19.8%) and [[Muslims]] (15.2%); other religious minorities include adherents of various folk traditions (5.3%), Buddhists (<1%), [[Jews]] (<1%), practitioners of other faiths (1.8%), and [[Irreligion|unaffiliated]] (5.4%).<ref name="grf">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/suriname#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2020&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2016|title=Suriname|work=Global Religious Futures Project|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=17 September 2021|archive-date=23 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123085725/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/suriname#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2020&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2016|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/religion/religious-demographics/pew-templeton-global-religious-futures-project/|title=Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project – Research and data from Pew Research Center|date=19 August 2024 }}</ref>
[[File:Paramaribo - Hofstede Crulllaan 22 - Heilig Hartkerk 20161004.jpg|thumb|Church of Sacred Heart in Paramaribo]]
[[File:Paramaribo stad Arya Dewaker Mandir.jpg|thumb|[[Arya Diwaker]] temple]]
According to the 2020 census, 52.3% of Surinamese were Christians; 26.7% were [[Protestants]] (11.18% [[Pentecostal]], 11.16% [[Moravian Church|Moravian]], 0.7% [[Calvinism|Reformed]] (including [[Remonstrants]]), and 4.4% other Protestant denominations), while 21.6% were [[Catholics]].<ref name="CENSUS2012">{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics-suriname.org/images/Presentatie.pdf|title=2012 Suriname Census Definitive Results|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924105905/http://www.statistics-suriname.org/images/Presentatie.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|publisher=Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek – Suriname}}</ref> Hindus are the second largest religious group in Suriname, comprising nearly one-fifth of the population (18.8% in 2020),<ref name="grf" /> the third largest proportion of any country in the Western Hemisphere, after [[Guyana]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]], both of which also have large proportions of [[Indo-Caribbeans|Indians]]. Likewise, almost all practitioners of Hinduism are found among the Indo-Surinamese population. Muslims constitute 14.3% of the population, the highest proportion of Muslims in the Americas. They are largely of Javanese or Indian descent.<ref name="CENSUS2012" /> Folk religions are practiced by 5.6% of the population and include [[Winti]], an [[Afro-American religion]] practiced mostly by those of Maroon ancestry, [[Kejawèn|Javanism]] (0.8%),<ref name="CENSUS2012" /> a syncretic faith found among some Javanese Surinamese, and various indigenous folk traditions that are often incorporated into one of the larger religions (usually Christianity). In the 2020 census, 6.2% of the population declared they had "no religion", while a further 1.9% adhere to "other religions".<ref name="grf" />

===Languages===
[[File:Butcher Paramaribo market.jpg|thumb|upright|Butcher in the [[Central Market (Paramaribo)|Central Market]] in Paramaribo with signs written in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]]]

Suriname has roughly 14 local languages, but [[Dutch language|Dutch]] (''Nederlands'') is the sole official language and is the language used in education, government, business, and the media.<ref name=cia/> Over 60% of the population are [[First language|native speakers]] of Dutch<ref name="taalgebied">{{cite web|url=http://taalunieversum.org/taalpeil/2005/het_nederlandse_taalgebied.html|title=Het Nederlandse taalgebied|access-date=4 November 2008|publisher=Nederlandse Taalunie|year=2005|language=nl}}</ref> and around 20%–30% speak it as a second language. In 2004, Suriname became an associate member of the [[Dutch Language Union]].<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://taalunieversum.org/en/about_us/ Nederlandse Taalunie]. taalunieversum.org</ref>

Suriname is one of three Dutch-speaking sovereign countries in the world (the others being the [[Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]]). It is also the only area in the Americas where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population (as territories in the [[Dutch Caribbean]] all have other majority languages). Finally, Suriname and English-speaking [[Guyana]] are the only countries in [[South America]] along with the English-speaking British dependent territory of the [[Falkland Islands]] where a [[Romance language]] does not predominate.
[[File:Joe abbie toe jessie ma joe ne yéré ne jéng woortoe toe lessie, Rotterdam-Centrum, Rotterdam (2021) 01.jpg|thumb|A [[Sranan Tongo]]-language poetry sign located in [[Rotterdam]], Netherlands]]
In Paramaribo, Dutch is the main home language in two-thirds of the households.<ref name=Census>{{cite web|title=Geselecteerde Census variabelen per district (Census-profiel)|access-date=24 July 2008|author=Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek|publisher=ABS|url=http://www.statistics-suriname.org/www/images/stories/pdf/2007/census%20profiel%20website%2016jan07.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910012719/http://www.statistics-suriname.org/www/images/stories/pdf/2007/census%20profiel%20website%2016jan07.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2008}}</ref> The recognition of ''"Surinaams-Nederlands"'' ("[[Surinamese Dutch]]") as a national dialect equal to ''"Nederlands-Nederlands"'' ("Dutch Dutch") and ''"Vlaams-Nederlands"'' ("Flemish Dutch") was expressed in 2009 by the publication of the ''Woordenboek Surinaams Nederlands'' (''Surinamese–Dutch Dictionary'').<ref>''Prisma Woordenboek Surinaams Nederlands'', edited by Renata de Bies, in cooperation with Willy Martin and Willy Smedts, {{ISBN|978-90-491-0054-4}}</ref> It is the most commonly spoken language in urban areas. The local languages are only more predominant than Dutch in the interior of Suriname (namely parts of [[Sipaliwini District|Sipaliwini]] and [[Brokopondo District|Brokopondo]]).

[[Sranan Tongo]], a local English-based [[creole language]], is the most widely used [[vernacular language]] in daily life and business among the Surinamese. Together with Dutch, it is considered to be one of the two principal languages of Surinamese [[diglossia]]. Both are further influenced by other spoken languages which are spoken primarily within ethnic communities. Sranan Tongo is often used interchangeably with Dutch depending on the formality of the setting; Dutch is seen as a [[prestige dialect]] and Sranan Tongo the common [[vernacular]].<ref name=NYT2008>{{cite news|title=In Babel of Tongues, Suriname Seeks Itself|date=23 March 2008|first=Simon|last=Romero|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/world/americas/23suriname.html|author-link=Simon Romero}}</ref>

[[Sarnámi Hindustáni|Sarnami Hindustani]], an [[Indo-Aryan language|Indo-Aryan]] [[koiné language]] and the Surinamese [[Variety (linguistics)|variety]] of [[Caribbean Hindustani]], is the third-most used language. It is primarily spoken by the [[Indo-Caribbeans|descendants of Indian indentured labourers]] from the former [[British Raj]].

The six [[Maroon (people)|Maroon]] languages of Suriname are also considered English-based creole languages, and include [[Saramaccan language|Saramaccan]], [[Ndyuka (language)|Aukan]], [[Aluku]], [[Paramaccan people|Paramaccan]], [[Matawai language|Matawai]] and [[Kwinti language|Kwinti]]. Aluku, Paramaccan, and Kwinti are so mutually intelligible with Aukan that they can be considered dialects of the Aukan language. The same can be said about Matawai, which is mutually intelligible with Saramaccan.

[[Javanese language#Surinamese-Javanese|Surinamese-Javanese]] is used by the residents of Suriname who are descendants of the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] indentured laborers once sent from the [[Dutch East Indies]] (now [[Indonesia]]).

[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindian]] languages include [[Akurio language|Akurio]], [[Arawak language|Arawak-Lokono]], [[Carib language|Carib-Kari'nja]], [[Sikiana language|Sikiana-Kashuyana]], [[Tiriyó language|Tiro-Tiriyó]], [[Waiwai language|Waiwai]], [[Warao language|Warao]], and [[Wayana language|Wayana]].

[[Hakka language|Hakka]] is spoken by the descendants of the Chinese indentured labourers. Cantonese and [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin]] are spoken by the recent wave of Chinese immigrants.

[[English language|English]], [[Guyanese Creole|Guyanese English Creole]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[French language|French]], and [[French Guianese Creole]] are spoken at areas near the country's borders where there are many migrants from neighboring countries speaking their respective languages.

===Largest cities===
The national capital, Paramaribo, is by far the dominant urban area, accounting for nearly half of Suriname's population and most of its urban residents. Indeed, [[Primate city|its population is greater than the next nine largest cities combined]]. Most municipalities are located within the capital's metropolitan area, or along the densely populated coastline; about 90% of the population lives in [[Paramaribo]] or on the coast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Suriname - Summary |url=https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/suriname |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Climate Change Knowledge Portal |publisher=[[World Bank Group]] |language=en}}</ref>

{{Largest cities
|country = Suriname
|stat_ref =<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geonames.org/SR/largest-cities-in-suriname.html|title=Biggest Cities Suriname|website=www.geonames.org}}</ref>
|list_by_pop = 
|div_name = District

|city_1 = Paramaribo
|div_1 = Paramaribo District{{!}}Paramaribo
|pop_1 = 223 757
|img_1 = Waterkant seen from Suriname river.JPG

|city_2 = Lelydorp
|div_2 = Wanica
|pop_2 = 18 223
|img_2 = Lelydorp2010.jpg

|city_3 = Nieuw Nickerie
|div_3 = Nickerie District{{!}}Nickerie
|pop_3 = 13 143
|img_3 = Nickerie.jpg

|city_4 = Moengo
|div_4 = Marowijne District{{!}}Marowijne
|pop_4 = 7 074
|img_4 = Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 60006898 Bauxietfabriek van Moengo.jpg

|city_5 = Nieuw Amsterdam, Suriname{{!}}Nieuw Amsterdam
|div_5 = Commewijne District{{!}}Commewijne
|pop_5 = 4 935

|city_6 = Mariënburg
|div_6 = Commewijne District{{!}}Commewijne
|pop_6 = 4 427

|city_7 = Wageningen, Suriname{{!}}Wageningen
|div_7 = Nickerie District{{!}}Nickerie
|pop_7 = 4 145

|city_8 = Albina, Suriname{{!}}Albina
|div_8 = Marowijne District{{!}}Marowijne
|pop_8 = 3 985

|city_9 = Groningen, Suriname{{!}}Groningen
|div_9 = Saramacca District{{!}}Saramacca
|pop_9 = 3 216

|city_10 = Brownsweg
|div_10 = Brokopondo District{{!}}Brokopondo
|pop_10 = 2 696

}}