Lying 2 to 5 degrees north of the equator, Suriname has a very hot tropical climate, and temperatures do not vary much throughout the year. The year has two wet seasons, from April to August and from November to February. It also has two dry seasons, from August to November and February to April.

Surinamese society is one of the most multilingual in the world. Dutch is the sole official language, and is the language of education, government, business and the media. Over 60 percent of the population speak it as a mother tongue, and most of the rest speak it as a second language.

The Suriname dollar, denoted by SRD (no longer SRG), is the official currency of Suriname. Introduced on January 1, 2004, the currency is comprised of 1000 Suriname guilders.

http://www.suriname.visahq.com

The population of Suriname in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 436, 000, which placed it as number 164 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In that year approximately 5% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 33% of the population under 15 years of age.

Paramaribo (nickname: Par′bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250, 000 people, more than half of Suriname's population.