Geography of Suriname

Suriname is located in the northern part of South America and is part of Caribbean South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana. It is mostly covered by tropical rainforest, containing a great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, are increasingly threatened by new development. There is a relatively small population, most of which live along the coast.

Geography of Suriname
ContinentSouth America
RegionCaribbean
Coordinates4°00′N 56°00′W
AreaRanked 90th
 • Total163,820 km2 (63,250 sq mi)
 • Land95.33%
 • Water4.67%
Coastline386 km (240 mi)
Borderstotal length 1,707 km (1,061 mi)
Highest pointJuliana Top
1,230 meters (4,040 ft)
Lowest pointCaribbean Sea
0 metres (0 ft)
Longest riverCourantyne River
724 km (450 mi)
Largest lakeBrokopondo Reservoir
1,560 km (970 mi)
Exclusive economic zone127,772 km2 (49,333 sq mi)
Topographic map of Suriname

Location

Geographic coordinates: 4°00′N 56°00′W

Continent: South America

Area

Total: 163,820 square kilometers (63,250 sq mi)
Land: 156,000 square kilometers (60,000 sq mi)
Water: 7,820 square kilometers (3,020 sq mi)

Area - comparative: See order of magnitude 1 E+11 m². Slightly larger than Tunisia.

Land boundaries
Main article: Borders of Suriname

Total: 1,703 kilometers (1,058 mi)

Border countries:

Coastline: 386 kilometers (240 mi)

Maritime claims

Exclusive economic zone: 127,772 km2 (49,333 sq mi) and 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)

Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)

Climate and climate change
Further information: Climate change in Suriname

Suriname has a tropical rainforest climate and a tropical monsoon climate, with hot humid conditions year-round.

Climate change in both Suriname and the wider world is leading to hotter temperatures and more extreme weather. As a fairly poor country, its contributions to global climate change have been limited. Suriname has a large forest cover, the country has been running a carbon negative economy since 2014.[1] Hotter temperatures[2] and changes in precipitation trends[3] are predicted because of climate change.

Climate data for Paramaribo
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 33
(91)		 34
(93)		 35
(95)		 37
(99)		 37
(99)		 36
(97)		 37
(99)		 37
(99)		 36
(97)		 37
(99)		 36
(97)		 36
(97)		 37
(99)
Average high °C (°F) 30
(86)		 30
(86)		 30
(86)		 31
(88)		 30
(86)		 31
(88)		 31
(88)		 32
(90)		 33
(91)		 33
(91)		 32
(90)		 30
(86)		 31
(88)
Daily mean °C (°F) 26
(79)		 26
(79)		 26
(79)		 27
(81)		 27
(81)		 27
(81)		 27
(81)		 27
(81)		 28
(82)		 28
(82)		 27
(81)		 26
(79)		 27
(81)
Average low °C (°F) 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 23
(73)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 23
(73)		 23
(73)		 23
(73)		 23
(73)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)
Record low °C (°F) 17
(63)		 17
(63)		 17
(63)		 18
(64)		 19
(66)		 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 15
(59)		 21
(70)		 20
(68)		 21
(70)		 18
(64)		 15
(59)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 200
(7.9)		 140
(5.5)		 150
(5.9)		 210
(8.3)		 290
(11.4)		 290
(11.4)		 230
(9.1)		 170
(6.7)		 90
(3.5)		 90
(3.5)		 120
(4.7)		 180
(7.1)		 2,160
(85)
Source: Weatherbase[4]
Climate data for Nieuw Nickerie
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.5
(90.5)		 32.4
(90.3)		 32.5
(90.5)		 33.2
(91.8)		 34.8
(94.6)		 34.0
(93.2)		 34.5
(94.1)		 35.6
(96.1)		 35.4
(95.7)		 36.3
(97.3)		 34.9
(94.8)		 33.8
(92.8)		 36.3
(97.3)
Average high °C (°F) 28.9
(84.0)		 29.0
(84.2)		 29.2
(84.6)		 29.5
(85.1)		 29.8
(85.6)		 29.8
(85.6)		 30.3
(86.5)		 31.1
(88.0)		 31.7
(89.1)		 31.7
(89.1)		 30.9
(87.6)		 29.8
(85.6)		 30.1
(86.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 26.5
(79.7)		 26.6
(79.9)		 26.9
(80.4)		 27.2
(81.0)		 27.2
(81.0)		 27.1
(80.8)		 27.2
(81.0)		 27.8
(82.0)		 28.3
(82.9)		 28.2
(82.8)		 27.8
(82.0)		 27.0
(80.6)		 27.3
(81.1)
Average low °C (°F) 23.5
(74.3)		 23.7
(74.7)		 24.0
(75.2)		 24.2
(75.6)		 24.2
(75.6)		 23.9
(75.0)		 23.7
(74.7)		 24.0
(75.2)		 24.2
(75.6)		 24.0
(75.2)		 23.9
(75.0)		 23.7
(74.7)		 24.0
(75.2)
Record low °C (°F) 18.3
(64.9)		 18.2
(64.8)		 19.1
(66.4)		 19.9
(67.8)		 20.7
(69.3)		 20.6
(69.1)		 20.9
(69.6)		 19.9
(67.8)		 20.9
(69.6)		 20.3
(68.5)		 20.0
(68.0)		 20.1
(68.2)		 18.2
(64.8)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 191
(7.5)		 114
(4.5)		 111
(4.4)		 191
(7.5)		 246
(9.7)		 316
(12.4)		 266
(10.5)		 168
(6.6)		 61
(2.4)		 61
(2.4)		 79
(3.1)		 176
(6.9)		 1,980
(77.9)
Average relative humidity (%) 82 81 80 80 82 83 82 80 78 78 79 82 81
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[5]

Terrain

Most of the country is made up of rolling hills, but there is a narrow coastal plain that has swampy terrain.

A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 781km² of tidal flats in Suriname, making it the 34th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area. [6]

Elevation extremes

Lowest point: Unnamed location in the coastal plain - 2 meters (6.6 ft) below Sea Level.
Highest point: Juliana Top - 1,230 meters (4,040 ft)

Natural resources

Timber, hydropower, fish, forests, hydroelectric potential, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite and gold. Small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum and iron ore. It also has sizeable oil.

Water

The country has one large reservoir, the Brokopondo Reservoir. Several rivers run through it, including the Suriname River, Nickerie River and Maroni or Marowijne River.

Land use

(2005 Estimates)

Arable land: 0.36%
Permanent crops: 0.06%
Other: 99.58%

Irrigated land

510 square kilometers (200 sq mi) (2003)

Natural hazards

Tropical Showers, no hurricanes.

Environment

Current issues

Deforestation is a real problem as timber is cut for export. There is also a lot of pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities.

Climate change
This section is an excerpt from Climate change in Suriname.[edit]

Climate change in Suriname is leading to warmer temperatures and more extreme weather events in Suriname. As a relatively poor country, its contributions to global climate change have been limited. Because of the large forest cover, the country has been running a carbon negative economy since 2014.[7]

Suriname was the second country to update its Nationally Determined Contributions in 2020.[8]

International agreements

Suriname has agreed to the following agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

Extreme points

References
  1. "Suriname's climate promise, for a sustainable future". UN News. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  2. "Historical Climate Data Suriname". climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 2020-06-07. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  3. "Climate Data Projects Suriname". climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 2020-06-07. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  4. "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Paramaribo".
  5. "Klimatafel von Nickerie / Surinam" (PDF). Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  6. Murray, N.J.; Phinn, S.R.; DeWitt, M.; Ferrari, R.; Johnston, R.; Lyons, M.B.; Clinton, N.; Thau, D.; Fuller, R.A. (2019). "The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats". Nature. 565 (7738): 222–225. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8. PMID 30568300. S2CID 256767470.
  7. "Suriname's climate promise, for a sustainable future". UN News. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  8. "Suriname's Second National Communication - In Progress | UNDP Climate Change Adaptation". www.adaptation-undp.org. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
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