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Web application MVC framework for PHP4 and PHP5. Event driven, component based, AJAX compatible. |
| Overview | People | Geography | Economy | Government | Communications | Transport | Military | Map |
| Country | Suriname |
| Flag |  |
| Capital | name: Paramaribo geographic coordinates: 5 50 N, 55 10 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Population | 470,784 (July 2007 est.) |
| GMT | -3 |
| Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana see map |
| Area | total: 163,270 sq km land: 161,470 sq km water: 1,800 sq km |
| Ethnic groups | Hindustani (also known locally as "East Indians"; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter part of the 19th century) 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) 10%, Amerindian 2%, Chinese 2%, white 1%, other 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), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese |
| Government type | constitutional democracy |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 25 November (1975) |
| Constitution | ratified 30 September 1987; effective 30 October 1987 |
| Legal system | based on Dutch legal system incorporating French penal theory; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
| Background | First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of slavery in 1863, workers were brought in from India and Java. Independence from the Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In 1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a democratically elected government - a four-party New Front coalition - returned to power in 1991 and has ruled since, expanding to eight parties in 2005. |
| Internet country code | .sr |
