Population:
481,267 (July 2009 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.1% (male 66,603/female 64,035)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 159,525/female 160,871)
65 years and over: 6.3% (male 13,004/female 17,229) (2009 est.)

Median age:
total: 27.9 years
male: 27.5 years
female: 28.3 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.103% (2009 est.)

Birth rate:
16.8 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate:
5.51 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Urbanization:
urban population: 75% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 18.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.21 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.73 years
male: 71 years
female: 76.65 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.99 children born/woman (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.4% (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
6,800 (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 500 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: dengue fever, Mayaro virus, and malaria
water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)

Nationality:
noun: Surinamer(s)
adjective: Surinamese

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

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.6%
male: 92%
female: 87.2% (2004 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 12 years
male: 11 years
female: 13 years (2002)

Education expenditures:
NA