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Most Surinamers 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.

Demographics of Suriname, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population: 431,303 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 32% (male 70,871; female 67,466)
15-64 years: 62% (male 137,209; female 131,905)
65 years and over: 6% (male 10,907; female 12,945) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.65% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 21.08 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 5.69 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -8.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.36 years
male: 68.71 years
female: 74.14 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Surinamer(s)
adjective: Surinamese

Ethnic groups:

• Hindustani, also known locally as East Indians; their ancestors emigrated from northern British India in the latter part of the 19th century to do indention work. In contrast to what their name suggests, a minority among them is Muslim. The majority is Hindu. 37%,
• Creole (mixed white and black) 31%,
• Javanese 15%,
• "Maroons" (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 8%,
• white 5%,
• Amerindian 2%,
• Chinese 2%,

Religions: Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%

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 (Hindi-Urdu), Javanese and portuguese

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93%
male: 95%
female: 91% (1995 est.)