Suriname

Economy - overview:
The economy is dominated by the mining industry, with exports of alumina, gold, and oil accounting for about 85% of exports and 25% of government revenues, making the economy highly vulnerable to mineral price volatility. Prospects for local onshore oil production are good, and a drilling program is underway. Offshore oil drilling was given a boost in 2004 when the State Oil Company (Staatsolie) signed exploration agreements with several Western oil companies. Bidding on these new offshore blocks was completed in July 2006. The short-term economic outlook depends on the government’s ability to control inflation and on the development of projects in the bauxite and gold mining sectors, though investment in these projects may slow with the tightening of global credit markets. Suriname has received aid for these projects from Netherlands, Belgium, and the European Development Fund. Suriname’s economic prospects for the medium term will depend on continued commitment to responsible monetary and fiscal policies and to the introduction of structural reforms to liberalize markets and promote competition. In 2000, the government of Ronald VENETIAAN, returned to office and inherited an economy with inflation of over 100% and a growing fiscal deficit. He quickly implemented an austerity program, raised taxes, attempted to control spending, and tamed inflation. The VENETIAAN administration also has created a stabilization fund to insulate future revenue from commodity shocks. These economic policies are likely to remain in effect during VENETIAAN’s third term.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$4.256 billion (2008 est.)
$4.015 billion (2007)
$3.805 billion (2006)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.984 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
6% (2008 est.)
5.5% (2007 est.)
4.8% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$8,900 (2008 est.)
$8,500 (2007 est.)
$8,200 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 10.8%
industry: 24.4%
services: 64.8% (2005 est.)
Labor force:
156,700 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 8%
industry: 14%
services: 78% (2004)
Unemployment rate:
9.5% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $392.6 million
expenditures: $425.9 million (2004)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.4% (2007 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
13.77% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$416.6 million (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$824.4 million (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$651 million (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Agriculture - products:
paddy rice, bananas, palm kernels, coconuts, plantains, peanuts; beef, chickens; shrimp; forest products
Industries:
bauxite and gold mining, alumina production; oil, lumbering, food processing, fishing
Industrial production growth rate:
6.5% (1994 est.)
Electricity - production:
1.595 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
1.457 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
13,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
12,370 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
2,899 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
6,369 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
88 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
$24 million (2007 est.)
Exports:
$1.391 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities:
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
Exports - partners:
Canada 26.8%, Norway 20.2%, Belgium 9.2%, US 8.9%, UAE 7.9%, France 7.2% (2007)
Imports:
$1.297 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities:
capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, cotton, consumer goods
Imports - partners:
US 27%, Netherlands 17.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.3%, China 5.9%, Japan 5.1% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$263.3 million (2006)
Debt - external:
$504.3 million (2005 est.)
Exchange rates:
Surinamese dollars (SRD) per US dollar - 2.745 (2007), 2.745 (2006), 2.7317 (2005), 2.7336 (2004), 2.6013 (2003)
note: in January 2004, the government replaced the guilder with the Surinamese dollar, tied to a US dollar-dominated currency basket