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. According to 2012 census, there were 270,629 males and 271,009 females in Suriname. YearTotalpopulation(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)
Age group20042012 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 groupMaleFemaleTotal% 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 0.03Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 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 groupMaleFemaleTotal% 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 1.09Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 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 groupMaleFemaleTotal% 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 0.04Age group MaleFemaleTotalPercent 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 groupMaleFemaleTotal% 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 1.43Age group MaleFemaleTotalPercent 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 UN estimates The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates for Suriname. PeriodLive birthsper yearDeathsper yearNatural changeper yearCBR*CDR*NC*TFR*IMR*Life expectancy total males females 1950–1955 10 000 3 000 7 00048.014.933.16.568956.054.457.7 1955–1960 12 000 3 000 9 00046.012.433.66.567658.757.060.5 1960–1965 14 000 3 000 11 00044.810.634.26.566460.558.762.5 1965–1970 14 000 3 000 11 00039.79.030.65.955562.460.564.5 1970–1975 13 000 3 000 10 00034.98.326.65.294964.061.766.5 1975–1980 11 000 3 000 8 00030.27.422.84.204465.162.867.7 1980–1985 11 000 3 000 8 00030.07.322.73.704266.563.669.8 1985–1990 10 000 3 000 7 00025.47.218.23.003967.164.070.7 1990–1995 9 000 3 000 6 00022.57.115.42.603467.664.471.1 1995–2000 11 000 3 000 8 00023.67.416.22.802967.864.671.4 2000–2005 10 000 4 000 6 00021.07.613.42.602468.164.871.7 2005–2010 10 000 4 000 6 00019.17.311.92.422269.666.473.1 * 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)
Registered births and deaths
+Births and deathsYearPopulationLive birthsDeathsNatural increaseCrude birth rateCrude death rateRate of natural increaseCrude migrationTFR 1932 4,186 1,853 2,333 1933 4,532 1,853 2,679 1934 4,474 1,835 2,639 1935 4,806 1,754 3,052 1936 4,536 1,916 2,620 1937 4,524 1,854 2,670 1938 4,514 1,916 2,598 1939 4,740 1,876 2,864 1940 5,224 2,036 3,188 1941 5,140 1,928 3,212 1942 5,159 2,148 3,011 1943 5,145 2,480 2,665 1944 5,346 2,467 2,879 1945 6,213 1,965 4,248 1946 6,098 2,026 4,072 1947 5,983 2,338 3,645 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 25.5 6.818.7 −5.5 1990 405,930 9,545 2,792 6,753 23.5 6.9 16.6 −3.4 1991 411,397 9,104 2,573 6,531 22.1 6.3 15.9 −2.6 1992 416,902 9,835 2,717 7,118 23.6 6.5 17.1 −3.9 1993 422,498 9,398 2,998 6,400 22.2 7.1 15.1 −1.9 1994 428,170 8,418 2,842 5,576 19.7 6.6 13.0 0.2 1995 433,918 8,717 2,696 6,021 20.1 6.2 13.9 −0.6 1996 439,743 9,393 2,894 6,499 21.4 6.6 14.8 −1.5 1997 445,647 10,794 2,878 7,916 24.2 6.5 17.8 −4.5 1998 451,629 10,221 2,814 7,407 22.6 6.2 16.4 −3.2 1999 457,692 10,144 2,992 7,152 22.2 6.5 15.6 −2.4 2000 463,837 9,804 3,090 6,714 21.1 6.7 14.5 −1.2 2001 470,064 9,717 3,099 6,618 20.7 6.6 14.1 −0.8 2002 476,374 10,188 3,125 7,063 21.4 6.6 14.8 −1.6 2003 481,146 9,634 3,154 6,480 20.0 6.6 13.4 −3.5 2004 492,829 9,062 3,319 5,743 18.6 6.8 11.8 12.1 2005 498,543 8,657 3,392 5,265 17.4 6.8 10.6 0.9 2.147 2006 504,257 9,311 3,197 6,114 18.5 6.4 12.1 −0.8 2.285 2007 509,970 9,769 3,374 6,395 19.2 6.6 12.6 −1.3 2.387 2008 517,052 10,097 3,357 6,740 19.5 6.5 13.0 0.7 2.446 2009 524,143 9,792 3,293 6,499 18.7 6.3 12.4 1.1 2.325 2010 531,170 9,712 3,484 6,228 18.3 6.6 11.7 1.5 2.302 2011 539,910 9,703 3,441 6,262 18.0 6.4 11.6 4.6 2.270 2012 541,638 10,217 3,687 6,530 18.9 6.8 12.1 −8.9 2.408 2013 550,222 10,012 3,557 6,455 18.2 6.5 11.7 3.9 2.320 2014 558,773 10,407 3,738 6,669 18.6 6.7 11.9 3.4 2.395 2015 567,300 10,148 3,663 6,485 17.9 6.5 11.4 3.6 2.312 2016 575,700 9,910 3,591 6,319 17.2 6.2 11.0 3.6 2.241 2017 583,200 9,785 3,508 6,277 16.8 6.0 10.8 2.1 2.191 2018 590,100 9,809 3,763 6,046 16.6 6.4 10.2 1.4 2.185 2019 598,000 10,127 3,955 6,172 16.9 6.6 10.3 2.9 2.245 2020 608,900 10,053 3,971 6,082 16.5 6.5 10.0 7.9 2.202 2021 616,500 10,252 5,535 4,717 16.6 9.0 7.6 4.7 2.228 2022 624,900 9,254 4,641 4,613 14.8 7.4 7.4 6.1 2.001 2023 633,400 8,926 4,423 4,503 14.1 7.0 7.1 6.3 2024 639,000 8,273 4,322 3,951 13.0 6.8 6.1 2.6
Ethnic groups +Population of Suriname according to ethnic group Ethnicgroup Census 1921 Census 1950 Census 1964 Census 1972 Census 1980 Census 2004 Census 2012 Number % Number % Number %Number % Number % Number % Number %East Indian 62,28031.3112,63334.7142,91737.6 135,11727.4148,44327.4Maroons 19,1809.727,6988.535,8389.4 72,55314.7117,56721.7Creole 71,65736.1114,96135.5119,00931.4 87,20217.784,93315.7Javanese 35,27017.848,46314.957,68815.2 71,87914.673,97513.7Mixed 00.000.000.0 61,52412.572,34013.4AmerindianWhere no separate figures are given, these people are included in Other. ––7,287This is included in Other in the source2.2–– 18,0373.720,3443.8Chinese ––5,339 1.6–– 8,7751.87,8851.5White ––4,3221.3–– 2,8990.61,6670.3Other 10,0955.12,9860.924,1556.4 2,2640.57,1661.3Unknown 1860.15220.200.0 1,2610.31,8050.3No answer 31,3186.41,5900.3Total107,723198,668324,211379,607355,240492,829541,638
The census used self-identification for ethnic classification. 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, 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.