Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Its All About the People

Suriname is a melting pot of culture. There are the East Indians 37%, Surinamese Creole 31%, the Javanese (Indonesian) 15%, and the Maroon (African slave descendants) 10%. As of recent years the Brazilian population has grown most of which are gold miners and now number 40,000+ members of the surinamese population and growing yearly.
As for religion there is no majority stakeholder, many of the people practice Christianity, either Roman Catholic or Protestant. And the Indian population is either Hindu of Islamic. The Islamic population however is the largest minority percentage in the world at 20%. There are other smaller pockets of religions. Old

While these numbers can only give you and idea of what the cultural environment of Suriname is like, to actually see it is a different story. During my recent visit it seemed that the majority of the population was either Hindu or Muslim. The Temples and Mosques peppered the city of
Paramaribo. Their spires reaching to the heavens, It was beautiful site. The communities were woven together like small families.

While many times the world over religion, politics and cultural differences breed separation within communities it would seem that the majority of the Surinamese people have found a common link among each other. Living side by side struggling to survive the people of this third world and often forgotten country have made their differences a part of their unity as a people.

How they Survive-The Economy As a Whole


Suriname has a massive mineral export business. They export gold, bauxite, and oil which accounts for a whopping 25% of the governments revenue but is also 85% of their exported assets.
The majority of their exports go to The Netherlands, Canada the United States and many of its Caribbean neighbors.

As of 2009 25% of the Suriname population is employed in the agricultural sector.

The figures provided below are courtesy of the CIA World Fact-book, and give a general outline of the countries financial situation as well as resource use and allocation for exports and imports.

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$4.274 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
$4.37 billion (2008 est.)
$4.123 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
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$3.184 billion (2009 est.)
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-2.2% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
6% (2008 est.)
5.3% (2007 est.)
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$9,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 113
$9,200 (2008 est.)
$8,800 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
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agriculture: 10.8%
industry: 24.4%
services: 64.8% (2005 est.)
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165,600 (2007)
country comparison to the world: 177
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agriculture: 8%
industry: 14%
services: 78% (2004)
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9.5% (2004)
country comparison to the world: 110
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70% (2002 est.)
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
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revenues: $392.6 million
expenditures: $425.9 million (2004)
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6.4% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157
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12.23% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 96
9.71% (31 December 2007)
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$484.7 million (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 103
$416.6 million (31 December 2007)
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$1.018 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 103
$824.4 million (31 December 2007)
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$793.1 million (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 118
$651 million (31 December 2007)
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$NA
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paddy rice, bananas, palm kernels, coconuts, plantains, peanuts; beef, chickens; shrimp; forest products
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bauxite and gold mining, alumina production; oil, lumbering, food processing, fishing
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6.5% (1994 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
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1.605 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 139
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1.467 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140
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0 kWh (2008 est.)
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0 kWh (2008 est.)
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fossil fuel: 25.2%
hydro: 74.8%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
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15,280 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
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14,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
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4,308 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109
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6,296 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 151
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79.6 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 73
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 144
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 143
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
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0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
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$24 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
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$1.391 billion (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 136
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alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
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Canada 36.1%, Belgium 12.5%, Norway 12.4%, UAE 8.9%, US 7.7% (2008)
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$1.297 billion (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 165
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capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, cotton, consumer goods
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US 31.1%, Netherlands 15.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.1%, China 7.7%, Japan 6.4% (2008)
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$263.3 million (2006)
country comparison to the world: 124
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$504.3 million (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158