Suriname

Population: 433,998 (July 2001 est.)

Languages: Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese

Background: 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 rule through a succession of nominally civilian...

Currency: Surinamese guilder (SRG, No information)

Data from CIA World Factbook. Click on CIA link for more. Click on map or flag for larger images.