Suriname (Republic of Suriname)

Suriname Republic of Suriname
Status	Independent State
Capital	Paramaribo
Land Area	156 000km21
Location	South America, The Americas
Population	0.5m (2011)2
Life Expectancy	71.28yrs (2017)3
GNI	$16 018 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	SR, SUR, 7405
Internet Domain	.sr6
Currency	Dollar (SRD)7
Telephone	+5978

1. Overview
2. Suriname National and Social Development
3. Population and Demographics
4. Politics and Freedom
5. Gender Equality
6. Peace Versus Instability
7. Religion and Beliefs
8. The Internet
9. Public Health Issues
10. Children's Health
11. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries
12. Links

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1. Overview

#china #india #indonesia #netherlands

“First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of African slavery in 1863, workers were brought in from India and Java. Independence from the Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In 1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a democratically elected government - a four-party coalition - returned to power in 1991. The coalition expanded to eight parties in 2005 and ruled until August 2010, when voters returned former military leader Desire BOUTERSE and his opposition coalition to power.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“Suriname is a warm, dense convergence of rivers that thumps with the lively rhythm of ethnic diversity. From Paramaribo, the country´s effervescent Dutch-colonial capital, to the fathomless jungles of the interior, you will get a genuine welcome to this tiny country - whether from the descendants of escaped African slaves, Dutch and British colonialists, Indian, Indonesian and Chinese indentured laborers or indigenous Amerindians.

You get the best of both worlds here: a city that is chock-full of restaurants, shopping venues and night spots and an untamed jungle utterly away from modern development.It´s not easy to get around this river-heavy, forest-dense country, and the mix of languages can make it hard to communicate, sometimes even for Dutch speakers. Don´t forget that a meeting of culinary traditions means the food here is as spicy and rich as the country itself.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Suriname National and Social Development

#human_development

UN HDI (2016)11
Pos.		Lower is better Rank11
1	Norway	1
2	Australia	2
3	Switzerland	2
	...
94	Jamaica	94
95	Colombia	95
96	Dominica	96
97	Suriname	97
98	Tunisia	97
99	Dominican Rep.	99
100	St Vincent & Grenadines	99
101	Tonga	101
	World Avg	94.3
q=188.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Higher is better Points12
1	Denmark	83.6
2	Finland	83.1
3	Sweden	82.6
	...
103	China	53.2
104	Ghana	53.1
105	Grenada	53.0
106	Suriname	52.8
107	Turkmenistan	52.7
108	St Lucia	52.7
109	Tunisia	52.2
110	Belize	52.0
	World Avg	55.4
q=198.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life.

3. Population and Demographics

#birth_control #demographics #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #overpopulation #population

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)13
Pos.		Lower is better Per 10013
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
	...
102	Kazakhstan	15.6
103	Ecuador	16.0
104	Morocco	16.1
105	Suriname	16.2
106	Grenada	16.2
107	Brunei	16.2
108	El Salvador	17.3
109	Panama	17.7
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

Emigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
	...
9	Tonga	45.4%
10	Albania	45.4%
11	Barbados	41.0%
12	Suriname	39.0%
13	Bosnia & Herzegovina	38.9%
14	Palau	38.8%
15	St Vincent & Grenadines	37.7%
16	Cape Verde	37.6%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
	...
42	Kuwait	2.27
43	Bhutan	2.27
44	Jamaica	2.28
45	Suriname	2.28
46	Uzbekistan	2.29
47	Cape Verde	2.29
48	Estonia	1.71
49	UAE	1.70
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

Immigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Qatar	86.5%
2	Monaco	71.6%
3	UAE	70.0%
	...
65	Slovenia	8.1%
66	St Vincent & Grenadines	7.9%
67	Ghana	7.6%
68	Suriname	7.5%
69	Italy	7.4%
70	Montenegro	6.8%
71	Burkina Faso	6.4%
72	Macedonia	6.3%
	World Avg	9.2%
q=192.

Life Expectancy (2015)16
Pos.		Higher is better Years16
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
107	Moldova	71.73
108	Belarus	71.46
109	Egypt	71.33
110	Suriname	71.28
111	Ukraine	71.13
112	Azerbaijan	70.90
113	Kyrgyzstan	70.79
114	N. Korea	70.52
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

Population (2012)17
Pos.		Population17
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.3b
3	USA	315.8m
	...
162	Equatorial Guinea	0.7m
163	Montenegro	0.6m
164	Solomon Islands	0.6m
165	Suriname	0.5m
166	Luxembourg	0.5m
167	Cape Verde	0.5m
168	Malta	0.4m
169	Brunei	0.4m
	World Avg	36.0m
q=195.

Suriname's population is predicted to rise to 601 679 by 2030. This country has a fertility rate of 2.28. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

• The Population of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

4. Politics and Freedom

#burundi #corruption #democracy #eritrea #france #freedom #human_rights #indonesia #mass_media #politics #slavery #UK

Corruption (2012-2016)18
Pos.		Higher is better Avg Score18
1	Denmark	90.8
2	New Zealand	90.6
3	Finland	89.4
	...
82	Burkina Faso	38.8
83	China	38.4
84	El Salvador	38.0
85	Suriname	38.0
86	Mongolia	38.0
87	Liberia	38.0
88	Trinidad & Tobago	37.8
89	Zambia	37.8
	World Avg	43.05
q=176.

Corruption is the abuse of public office for private gain₁₉. There are many forms of corruption. Politicians can sometimes (1) steal money (theft or embezzlement), (2) accept bribes (such as backhanders for awarding government contracts to companies), (3) give bribes (i.e., for electoral support or support in the mass media), (4) improperly coerce others (extortion), (5) give positions of power to friends and family without fairly seeking other applicants for those jobs (cronyism), or (6) grant favours to friends and family (nepotism) such as buying services from them at inflated prices (graft). The least corrupt countries between 2012-2016 were Denmark, New Zealand and Finland₁₈ and the worst were Somalia, N. Korea and Afghanistan₁₈.

Nominal Commitment to HR (2009)20
Pos.		Higher is better Treaties20
1	Argentina	24
2	Chile	23
3	Costa Rica	23
	...
141	Bahrain	12
142	Israel	12
143	Angola	12
144	Suriname	12
145	Kuwait	12
146	Trinidad & Tobago	12
147	Lebanon	12
148	Thailand	11
	World Avg	15.1
q=194.

There are many international agreements on human rights, and, many mechanisms by which countries can be brought to account for their actions. Together, these have been the biggest historical movement in the fight against oppression and inhumanity. Or, putting it another way: these are rejected mostly by those who wish to oppress inhumanely. None of them are perfect and many people object to various components and wordings, but, no-one has come up with, and enforced, better methods of controlling the occasional desires that states and peoples have of causing angst for other states and peoples in a violent, unjust or inhumane way. Points are awarded for the number of human rights agreements ratified by the country, plus the acceptance of the petition mechanisms for disputes. The maximum possible score in 2009 was 24.

Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom (2014)21
Pos.		Lower is better Rank21
1	Hong Kong	1
2	Switzerland	2
3	New Zealand	3
	...
54	Bosnia & Herzegovina	54
55	Armenia	55
56	Macedonia	55
57	Suriname	55
58	El Salvador	58
59	Ghana	59
60	Jamaica	60
61	Haiti	61
	World Avg	79.7
q=159.

The Human Freedom Index published by the Fraser Institute is...

“... a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. It uses 79 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas: Rule of Law, Security and Safety, Movement, Religion, Association, Assembly, and Civil Society, Expression, Relationships, Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Access to Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business. [...]

The highest levels of freedom are in Western Europe, Northern Europe, and North America (Canada and the United States. The lowest levels are in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. [...]

Countries in the top quartile of freedom enjoy a significant higher per capita income ($37,147) [compared with] the least-free quartile [at] $8,700). The HFI finds a strong correlation between human freedom and democracy.”

"The Human Freedom Index" by The Fraser Institute (2016)₂₂

Press Freedom (2013)23
Pos.		Lower is better23
1	Finland	638
2	Netherlands	648
3	Norway	652
	...
28	Portugal	1675
29	UK	1689
30	Ghana	1727
31	Suriname	1819
32	USA	1822
33	Lithuania	1824
34	Slovenia	2049
35	Spain	2050
	World Avg	3249
q=178.

The freedom to investigate, publish information, and have access to others' opinion is a fundamental part of today's information-driven world. Scores on the Press Freedom Index are calculated according to indicators including pluralism - the degree to which opinions are represented in the media, media independence of authorities, self-censorship, legislation, transparency and the infrastructure that supports news and information, and, the level of violence against journalists which includes lengths of imprisonments. The index "does not take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted".

It must be noted that press freedom is not an indicator of press quality and the press itself can be abusive; the UK suffers in particular from a popular brand of nasty reporting that infuses several of its newspapers who are particularly prone to running destructive and often untrue campaigns against victims. The Press Freedom Index notes that "the index should in no way be taken as an indicator of the quality of the media in the countries concerned".

Slavery (2018)24
Pos.		Lower is better % Victims24
1	Japan	0.03
2	Canada	0.05
3	Taiwan	0.05
	...
40	UK	0.21
41	Tunisia	0.22
42	Slovenia	0.22
43	Suriname	0.23
44	Spain	0.23
45	Ecuador	0.24
46	Italy	0.24
47	Morocco	0.24
	World Avg	0.65
q=167.

The taking of slaves has been an unwholesome feature of Human cultures since prehistory₂₅. Private households and national endeavours have frequently been augmented with the use of slaves. The Egyptian and Roman empires both thrived on them for both purposes. Aside from labourers they are often abused sexually by their owners and their owners' friends₂₆. The era of colonialism and the beginnings of globalisation changed nothing: the imprisonment and forced movements of labour continued to destroy many lives except that new justifications were invented based on Christian doctrine and the effort to convert non-Christians. By 1786 over 12 million slaves had been extracted from Africa and sent to colonial labour camps, with a truly atrocious condition of life₂₇. But they were not the only ones to blame; in Africa internal nations such as the Asantes sold and bought tens of thousands of slaves₂₈.

The abolition of the slave trade was a long and slow process. Until a relatively modern time, even philosophers, religious leaders and those concerned with ethics justified, or ignored, the problem of slavery₂₉. The first abolitionists were always the slaves themselves. Their protests and rebellions caused the industry to become too expensive to continue. After that, it was the economic costs of maintain slave colonies that led the British to reject and then oppose the slave trade globally. Finally, the enlightenment-era thinkers of France encouraged moral and ethical thinking including the declaration of the inherent value of human life and human dignity₃₀. A long-overdue wave of compassionate and conscientious movements swept across the West, eliminating public support for slavery, until the industries and churches that supported it had no choice but to back down.

'Modern slavery' includes forced labour (often of the under-age), debt bondage (especially generational), sexual slavery, chattel slavery and other forms of abuse, some of which can be surprisingly difficult to detect, but often target those fleeing from warzones and the vulnerable.₃₁. Some industries (diamond, clothing, coal) from some countries (Burundi₂₄, Eritrea₂₄, Indonesia₃₂) are a particular concern. The Walk Free Foundation, say that in 2016, 40.3 million people were living in modern slavery₃₃.

5. Gender Equality

#christianity #gender #gender_equality #human_rights #misogyny #politics #women

Gender Inequality (2015)34
Pos.		Lower is better34
1	Switzerland	0.04
2	Denmark	0.04
3	Netherlands	0.04
	...
96	Philippines	0.44
97	Samoa	0.44
98	Bolivia	0.45
99	Suriname	0.45
100	Panama	0.46
101	Honduras	0.46
102	Venezuela	0.46
103	Nicaragua	0.46
	World Avg	0.36
q=159.

The UN Human Development Reports include statistics on gender equality which take into account things like maternal mortality, access to political power (seats in parliament) and differences between male and female education rates. Gender inequality is not a necessary part of early human development. Although a separation of roles is almost universal due to different strengths between the genders, this does not have to mean that women are subdued, and, such patriarchialism is not universal in ancient history. Those cultures and peoples who shed, or never developed, the idea that mankind ought to dominate womankind, are better cultures and peoples than those who, even today, cling violently to those mores.

Year Women Can Vote35
Pos.		Lower is better Year35
1	New Zealand	1893
2	Australia	1902
3	Finland	1906
	...
73	Israel	1948
74	Belgium	1948
75	Niger	1948
76	Suriname	1948
77	Seychelles	1948
78	Costa Rica	1949
79	Chile	1949
80	China	1949
	World Avg	1930
q=189.

Women now have equal rights in the vast majority of countries across the world. Although academic literature oftens talks of when a country "grants women the right to vote", this enforces a backwards way of thinking. Women always had the right to vote, however, they were frequently denied that right. The opposition to women's ability to vote in equality with man was most consistently and powerfully opposed by the Catholic Church, other Christian organisations, Islamic authorities and some other religious and secular traditionalists.

Suriname has made some steps towards ending gender inequality but much more needs to be done.

See:

• "Religion Versus Womankind" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)

6. Peace Versus Instability

Peacekeeping and Security (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Samoa	1
2	S. Africa	2
3	Tunisia	3
	...
111	Equatorial Guinea	111
112	Botswana	112
113	Slovakia	113
114	Suriname	114
115	Greece	115
116	Trinidad & Tobago	116
117	Benin	117
118	Venezuela	118
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Refugees and UN Treaties (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Austria	1
2	Germany	2
3	Netherlands	3
	...
102	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	102
103	Barbados	103
104	Armenia	104
105	Suriname	105
106	Namibia	106
107	Tunisia	107
108	Cape Verde	108
109	China	109
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

7. Religion and Beliefs

#buddhism #christianity #hinduism #islam #judaism

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₃₇:

Christian	51.6%
Muslim	15.2%
Hindu	19.8%
Buddhist	0.6%
Folk Religion	5.3%
Jew	0.2%
Unaffiliated	5.4%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%₃₈.

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems

8. The Internet

#internet #the_internet

Internet Users (2016)39
Pos.		Higher is better39
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
116	Thailand	43%
117	Mauritius	43%
118	Cape Verde	43%
119	Suriname	42%
120	Bolivia	41%
121	Peru	41%
122	Guyana	40%
123	Grenada	39%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake (2017)40
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio40
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
160	Palau	0.0
161	Equatorial Guinea	0.0
162	Belize	0.0
163	Suriname	0.0
164	Grenada	0.0
165	Gabon	0.0
166	Lebanon	0.0
167	St Lucia	0.0
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

Internet access has become an essential research tool. It facilitates an endless list of life improvements, from the ability to network and socialize without constraint, to access to a seemingly infinite repository of technical and procedural information on pretty much any task. The universal availability of data has sped up industrial development and personal learning at the national and personal level. Individuals can read any topic they wish regardless of the locality of expert teachers, and, entire nations can develop their technology and understanding of the world simply because they are now exposed to advanced societies and moral discourses online. Like every communications medium, the Internet has issues and causes a small range of problems, but these are insignificant compared to the advantages of having an online populace.

9. Public Health Issues

#alcohol #genetics #health #mental_health #obesity #public_health #smoking #sociology #suicide #UK

Suriname has some poor policies and cultural issues which cause some public health problems. Suriname comes in the best 20 in terms of its smoking rate₄₁ (amongst the best in The Americas). It does better than average for its alcohol consumption rate₄₂. However Suriname performs less well in most areas. It does worse than average when it comes to its suicide rate₄₃ (one of the highest in The Americas), its adolescent birth rate₃₄ (still good for The Americas), the prevalence of overweight adults₄₄, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₃₆ and in its immunizations take-up₄₅. The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% during the past 40 years.

Alcohol Consumption (2016)42
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita42
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
78	Zambia	4.8
79	Zimbabwe	4.8
80	Lesotho	5.0
81	Suriname	5.1
82	Nicaragua	5.2
83	Turkmenistan	5.4
84	Armenia	5.5
85	Venezuela	5.6
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

There is nothing wrong with drinking modest and sensible amounts of alcohol but fitness, physical health, mental health and long-term health all suffer as a result of medium- or heavy- drinking₄₆ and the health risks to the baby when pregnant mothers drink₄₇ are well-known. Aside from the effects on the individual, alcohol misuse impacts on entire economies₄₈ via increased health service costs, policing costs and lost days' work. Worldwide, alcohol misuse is "among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death" and is a "cause of more than 200 disease and injury conditions in individuals, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries"₄₉. "In 2012... 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption"₅₀. Deaths from chronic alcohol misuse have been rising for decades, and so has violence, abuse, vandalism and crime all associated with alcohol over-use. The aggression and crime associated with alcohol in some Western countries infringes on the human rights of those who want nothing to do with such behaviour. Many of the social effects of alcohol are psychological and cultural; i.e., people don't have to behave criminally or destructively whilst drunk - it is a culturally learned behaviour. Experiments have shown that behaviour can be controlled: Those who do not wish to behave badly whilst drunk, will not do so.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
129	Ivory Coast	129
130	Mongolia	130
131	Afghanistan	131
132	Suriname	132
133	Grenada	133
134	Montenegro	134
135	Iraq	135
136	Madagascar	136
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults (2016)44
Pos.		Lower is better %44
1	Vietnam	18.3
2	India	19.7
3	Bangladesh	20.0
	...
127	Italy	58.5
128	Luxembourg	58.7
129	Panama	58.8
130	Suriname	58.9
131	Colombia	59.0
132	Cyprus	59.1
133	Iceland	59.1
134	Montenegro	59.4
	World Avg	49.0
q=191.

About one third of the global population is overweight or obese₅₁. Most Western countries are facing an obesity epidemic. Our cultures are having to change to compensate for widespread ill-health. It is costing our health systems a massive amount of money, and is having negative effects on national economies. The situation has persisted for a suitable length of time for our very perceptions to change; opinions on "normal weights" for people and "average sizes" for clothes has shot up₅₂. Over 2 in 3 adults in the UK are overweight₅₂ and this costs the NHS £5.1 billion per year₅₃ and "costs Britain's economy £47bn a year; more than war, terrorism or armed violence"₅₄. We are forgetting how to be healthy.

The causes are not genetic. Most people who say obesity "runs in their family" are wrong. The rate of increase in obesity is many, many times too fast to be accounted for by a change in inherited genes₅₅. Our culture and lifestyle choices are to blame. The causes of the modern obesity epidemic are processed foods, low levels of physical exercise, over-indulgence, poor choices in food products, poor knowledge of nutrition. Most of this is made much worse by well-funded advertising campaigns by food manufacturers selling cheaper mass-produced food. Even some so-called "health foods" contain well over recommended limits of fat, salt and sugar₅₆.

Smoking Rates (2014)41
Pos.		Lower is better41
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
8	Ethiopia	76
9	Vanuatu	76
10	Guyana	77
11	Suriname	79
12	Malawi	80
13	Tonga	81
14	Mozambique	82
15	Nepal	83
	World Avg	819
q=182.

Suicide Rate (2013)43
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100k43
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
	...
65	Sweden	25.5
66	Slovakia	25.7
67	Czechia	28.3
68	Suriname	28.7
69	Hong Kong	29.7
70	Poland	30.5
71	Austria	30.9
72	Uruguay	32.3
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

10. Children's Health

#health #parenting #population #vaccines

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)34
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100034
1	N. Korea	0.5
2	S. Korea	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
	...
101	Fiji	44.8
102	S. Africa	45.5
103	Cuba	45.6
104	Suriname	46.1
105	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	46.6
106	Chile	47.8
107	Solomon Islands	48.4
108	Peru	49.1
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)45
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %45
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
132	Paraguay	88.1
133	Bosnia & Herzegovina	88.0
134	Sierra Leone	87.7
135	Suriname	87.2
136	Ecuador	86.8
137	Cambodia	86.5
138	Namibia	86.5
139	Dominican Rep.	86.3
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

11. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries