Suriname profile

18 October 2012 Last updated at 12:28 ET Suriname, once known as Dutch Guiana, is one of South America’s smallest countries. It enjoys a relatively high standard of living but also faces serious political and economic challenges.

Since independence from the Netherlands in 1975 Suriname has endured coups and a civil war. Former military strongman Desi Bouterse dominated politics for much of the post-independence era, but the country is now under civilian rule.

Suriname is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the Americas. Most of its people are descended from African slaves and Indian and Indonesian indentured servants brought over by the Dutch to work as agricultural labourers.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Former military leader Desi Bouterse won the presidency in 2010. A 2012 law pardoned the president for crimes committed under his dictatorship in the 1980s. The move soured relations with the Netherlands Economy: Bauxite mining is a key sector. Oil prospectors are seeking to tap offshore reserves. Gold reserves have attracted foreign investors and prospectors

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

However, there is little assimilation between the different ethnic groups, which confine their contacts to the economic sphere. Similarly, most political parties are ethnically based. This acts as an obstacle to consensus-building.

Suriname has potential for tourism, boasting rainforests, abundant wildlife and colonial architecture in the capital. But the sector is undeveloped, hampered by the inaccessibility of the interior and the lack of infrastructure. So, Suriname depends heavily on mining and processing its declining reserves of bauxite and is vulnerable to falls in commodity prices.

Suriname and neighbouring Guyana have been engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a potentially oil-rich offshore area. A UN tribunal settled the issue in 2007, redrawing the maritime border and giving both countries access to the basin. The ruling is expected to bring a surge of exploration by major oil companies.

The issue flared up in 2000 when Surinamese patrol boats evicted a Canadian-owned rig from a concession awarded by Guyana.

Suriname includes a variety of ethnic groups, including Amerindians, some of whom still live in traditional villages

View the original article here

Suriname profile