Suriname Population: 427 980 (July 1998 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 33% (male 72 945; female 69 468) 15-64 years: 62% (male 133 840; female 129 452) 65 years and over: 5% (male 10 309; female 11 966) (July 1998 est.) Population growth rate: 0.77% (1998 est.) Birth rate: 22.48 births/1 000 population (1998 est.) Death rate: 5.79 deaths/1 000 population (1998 est.) Net migration rate: -8.99 migrant(s)/1 000 population (1998 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female (1998 est.) Infant mortality rate: 27.44 deaths/1 000 live births (1998 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.61 years male: 68.05 years female: 73.29 years (1998 est.) Total fertility rate: 2.59 children born/woman (1998 est.) 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 15.3% Maroons (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 10.3% Amerindian 2.6% Chinese 1.7% white 1% other 1.1% Religions: Hindu 27.4% Muslim 19.6% Roman Catholic 22.8% Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian) 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) Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi) Javanese Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 95% female: 91% (1995 est.)
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