Suriname - People
The population was estiamted in 2015 as 543,000 inhabitants. It is estimated that more than 320,000 Surinamese had settled in the Netherlands. The ethnic composition was Hindustanis: 27%; Creoles: 18%; Javanese: 15%; Black Brown: 15%; Métis: 12.5%; Native Americans: 3.7%; Chinese: 1.8%
Most Surinamers live in the narrow, northern coastal plain. For its size, the population is one of the most ethnically diverse 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 schools and the workplace.
Most of Suriname’s interior is rather isolated from the urban zones, and in many ways, is the most marginalized area of the country. Many interior families do not have easy access to clean drinking water, electricity, decent education, high-quality health care, and other public services. The percentage of the population in the urban areas living below the national poverty line was 66 percent in 2000. In the interior, this figure is much higher.
The original inhabitants of Suriname are the indigenous peoples. They live in some 30 major villages located for the most part in the savanna area and in the remote interior of the country. The Carib and Arowak villages are located along the savanna belt that stretches from the east to the west of Suriname, while the Trio and Wayana villages are located along rivers in the tropical rainforest of South-Suriname.
During the early years of the colonial era over 300,000 African were transported to Suriname to work on the plantations as slaves. The plantations were initially established on higher ground in the old coastal plain and savanna areas. After the Dutch took over the colony of Suriname from the British in 1667, dikes and sluices were built to make the low lying areas of the young coastal plain suitable for plantation agriculture. By the middle of the 18th century over 500 plantations had been established in the colony. Soon after the Dutch took over the colony of Suriname from the British, the town of Paramaribo emerged as the main urban center and it became the capital of the country.
The indigenous population did resist the settlement by white colonizers in the coastal area, and in 1678 the Caribs took advantage of the still weak Dutch presence by initiating a six-year guerilla war. In 1684 the Dutch governor concluded a peace treaty with the last to resist the European incursion into the country, and the Amerindians withdrew into the forest and avoided contact with the European colonizers, save for the trade in weapons, ammunition, metal implements and cloth.
Through rebellion and escape during the 17th and 18th centuries thousands of slaves freed themselves from their white masters and settled in groups on the banks of the rivers of the interior. The newly formed communities grew steadily in size until they began to present a military challenge to the plantation economy. The escaped slaves, know today as Maroons, raided the plantations to meet their need for metal implements, weapons and ammunition, but also to recruit new members, especially women, so as to develop and expand their societies.
Peace treaties were signed with the Aukaner Maroons of south-east Suriname in 1761 and with the Saramaka and Matawai Maroons of Central Suriname in 1762 and 1776. The treaties stipulated that the Maroons would only travel to town in small groups after receiving a pass from the government representative in the region, and that they would refrain from attacking plantations and would return any newly escaped slaves. The colonial government in turn agreed to supply the Maroons with the provisions they needed to survive in the rainforest. Three smaller Maroon groups, the Paramaka, Boni and Kwinti were formed after this period, but in the 19th century the colonial government also concluded similar treaties with them.
Around 1853 the Dutch government sponsored an immigration program for Dutch farmers. Initially they settled in Groningen, the capital of District Saramacca, but eventually most moved to the western and northern outskirts of Paramaribo to become active in agriculture and animal husbandry (and until a few decades ago they were important suppliers of milk, beef and agricultural produce).
Most of the ex-slaves after the abolition of slavery in 1863 left the plantations or settled on estates that they would eventually end up inheriting or owning. An effort was made to halt the decline in plantation productivity by importing indentured laborers mainly from India and Indonesia (Java). After completing the required labor contracts on the plantation most indentured laborers also left the estates and established small farms. Many Indians settled along roads around Paramaribo and became producers of rice, vegetables, fruits and meat that were transported to the main market in town. Others settled in Nickerie and Saramacca and south of Paramaribo in the District known today as Wanica. The Javanese settled in communities in the Commewijne and Saramacca districts, but also in areas north, west and south of Paramaribo. The capital city gradually increased in size as former slaves and indentured laborers settled both in the downtown area and in the outskirts of Paramaribo.
Both the Maroon and the indigenous populations are young populations, characterized by relatively high fertility rates, high mortality, and low life expectancies. Children learn adult behaviors and responsibilities from an early age. Little girls look after their younger siblings and help with household chores, while boys may be involved in hosselen—the informal trade of goods and services. Poverty and low education rates, combined with lack of alternative employment opportunities, are causing many Maroon boys to venture into gold mining.
The settlement patterns of the population today still reflect to some extent historical developments, though Greater-Paramaribo has grown into a multiethnic municipality of over 250.000 persons. Today about 65% of the population lives in and around Paramaribo, approximately 25% lives in the rural-coastal areas, while the interior population should be around 10 percent of the total.
A 2006 national survey in Suriname found that approximately 6 percent of children ages 5–14 were involved in child labor activities. Differences between urban, rural coastal, and rural interior areas were considerable though, with 3 percent, 6.5 percent, and 17.8 percent respectively. Of the 94 percent of the children ages 5–14 years of age attending school, 5.6 percent were involved in child labor activities (17.8 percent of children involved in child labor are living in rural interior areas). On the other hand, the majority of the 6 percent of children classified as child laborers were also attending school (87.7 percent nationwide and 77.5 percent in rural interior areas).
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