Jurisdictions

Government type
Constitutional democracy; strong democratic tradition

Capital
Paramaribo

Independence
November 25, 1975 (from the Netherlands)

National holiday
November 25, 1975

Constitution
Ratified September 30, 1987; effective October 30, 1987

Legal system
The legal system is based on the Dutch legal system incorporating French penal theory; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations. Influenced by the codification movement in Europe, the Netherlands Codification was established.

Executive branch
The 1987 constitution introduced a political system with an executive president and vice president. The president is the head of state and head of government. President and vice president are elected by the National Assembly or, if no presidential or vice presidential candidate receives a two-thirds constitutional majority in the National Assembly after two votes, by a simple majority in the larger United People's Assembly (919 representatives from the national, local, and regional councils), for five-year terms. The President appoints the Cabinet and other officers of Government.

Legislative branch
The legislative branch of government consists of a unicameral National Assembly or Nationale Assemblée (51 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms). Members of the National Assembly are chosen by district on the basis of the system of proportional representation.

Judicial branch
The supreme instance of the Judicial Power entrusted with the administration of justice is called the Court of Justice of Suriname. Judges are nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Court of Justice; appointed to serve for life.
Jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters is shared between the three district Courts and the Supreme Court, which also functions as an Appellate Court for the district Courts. The Supreme Court consists of a President, a Vice President and a maximum of 15 members.
Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

International organization participation
ACP, AOSIS, CARICOM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Suriname also has close bilateral relations with the United States of America, the Netherlands and is associated with the European Union through the Lome Convention.

Economy and potential
Suriname is one of the smallest countries in South America and enjoys a relatively high standard of living for that part of the continent. The economy of Suriname is partially based on the production of bauxite, crude petroleum and gold, and other forms of trading. Suriname harbors more rain forest than all of Central America combined. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve is part of the Guyana Shield, one of the world's most undisturbed tropical wilderness areas extending across the southern Guiana's, southern Venezuela and adjacent parts of Brazil. These forests have at least 75 percent of their original forest covered and many, like Suriname's, are still in pristine condition, virtually uninhabited and in some places, unexplored.

View of Brownsberg natural landscape

In 2000, the World Bank ranked Suriname as the 17th richest country in the world in terms of its development potential. This ranking is based on both the natural resources on land and in the sea. Suriname continued to be one of the world's leaders in the production of bauxite and is a growing producer of crude petroleum and gold.

Source: The World Bank

Language
The official language is Dutch, but English is also widely spoken by a majority of the people.
Suriname is a member of the Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch language union).