Countries

The Republic of Suriname is situated on the north coast of South America. It is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by French Guiana, on the south by Brazil and on the west by Guyana. It covers an area of 163 270 km².

The Courantyne River forms its western border with Guyana and the Marowyne River forms the boundary in the east with French Guiana. Apart from these, there are six major rivers, flowing generally from south to north, turning westwards in the coastal area.

The interior of the country consists of a dissected peneplain, sloping gently towards the low-lying coastal region between ranges of hills and low mountains (maximum elevation 1 280 m). Topography varies from undulating to steep and rugged.

A geographic division into four main natural regions is generally made that is also useful for soils and vegetation:

• The young coastal plain, increasing in width from 10 km in the east to 50 km in the west that can intrude deeply locally into the old coastal plain. It forms by far the most important agricultural zone of the country. Large areas of this region are at sea level or below;
• The old coastal plain does not form a continuous zone but consists of hundreds of undulating surfaces, separated by creek systems and swamps belonging to the young coastal plain. There is some farming and cattle;
• The "Zandery" landscape is a dissected plain, rising from 10 to 70 m. It consists of bleached white quartz sands and unbleached yellow or brown sands, forming a continuous belt across the country. Some shifting cultivation is practised;
• The old basement complex forms the remaining 80 percent of the country and consists of lowlands south of the coastal sedimentary basis. This zone corresponds with the "lowland region" and the "southern uplands" in Guyana. It forms part of the pre-Cambrian Guyana shield. However, sandstone mountains exist only in a few places in the central ranges of the country, in contrast with Guyana where the Roraima and Pakaraima mountains extend over a large area.

The climate is tropical. Average temperature is around 27° C all year round. Mean annual rainfall ranges from 2 000 to 2 500 mm, with the driest month (October) generally receiving over 60 mm. Locally, rainfall may be higher (in the central mountain ranges) or lower (in a narrow coastal strip and in the south-western part of the country) than the indicated range. The main rainfall occurs from April to July or August, with another ill-defined wet season in December-January.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.