Millennium Development Goals
Surinam
Located on the northeastern coast of South America, Suriname has a total area of 164,000 sq. km. It borders to the north with the Atlantic Ocean, to the west with Guyana, to the east with French Guyana and to the South with Brazil.
Surinam 's population is about 450,000 and is made up of a rich mixture of diverse ethnic and religious groups. About 90 % of the population lives in the coastal areas.
Paramaribo, the capital is home to about 50% of the country's population with approximately 240,000 residents. The official language is Dutch and is spoken by nearly everyone.
For most Surinamese the mother tongue is Sranan Tongo, an English-based Creole language. Many Surinamese of Asian origin speak Sarnami-Hindi or Suriname-Javanese. Chinese, Bosneger and Amerindian languages are also spoken.
The population is roughly 40 % Christian, 33 % Hindu and 20 % Moslem. The Republic of Suriname, a former Dutch Colony, became independent in 1975. Mining, the agricultural sector and manufacturing are the most important sectors in the Surinamese economy.
The Government is the largest employer, accounting for some 60% of formal employment.
The Republic of Suriname has expressed its determination to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the national level. The Suriname MDGs report indicates there is a clear convergence between government policies and the MDG Agenda.
The Human Development Index for Suriname is 0.755, indicating a medium human development level, and is ranked 86th in the HDI. The adult literacy rate is 88% and life expectancy is 69.1 years.
The Gross Domestic Product per capita is $4,756 usd PPP and public expenditure on health as % of GDP is 5.2%.
• Goal 1 Whereas elements of a social safety net exist to prevent the unfortunate situation of large numbers of the population living on less than US$1 per day, Surinam's committee responsible for Goal 1, modified the target and adopted a national poverty line. Under this methodology, 69.2% of Suriname 's population is living under poverty conditions. Under this poverty line where 2,400 calories per day for an adult indicate/delimit poverty, 69.2% of population has no access to this amount of consumption..
• Goal 2 The net enrollment rate for primary education in 2000-2003 was 90% for children of 6-11 years.
• Goal 3 The ratio of girls-boys at primary school is 1.38 in 2003. Women in parliament are 10 out of 41 members.
• Goal 4 The under-five mortality rate is 27 per 1,000 live births. Infant mortality rate reaches 20.2 per 1,000 live birhts. 70.1% of one year-old children are immunized against measles.
• Goal 5 Suriname 's maternal mortality rate is 153 per every 100,000 live births. The percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel 85%.
• Goal 6 The HIV rate of prevalence among adults 15-49 years is 1.7 for the year 2003. HIV prevalence among pregnant women aged 15-24 years is 2%. The contraceptive ratio was 42% in 2003. In the year 2000, there were 13,216 malaria cases per 50,000 people.
• Goal 7 92% of Suriname population has access to safe-drinking water and sanitation while 93% of has access to improved sanitation.
• Goal 8 The Government of Suriname recognizes that a healthy population is key to development and reflects this resolve in its health sector program. The procurement of affordable essential drugs to combat the most threatening diseases is proof of this commitment. Partnership with the Private Sector is seen as a means of encouraging the widespread use of information and communications technologies to the benefit of the country. A program of widening the access to the new technologies is being put in place. ICT holds the promise of reducing the adverse effects of geographical remoteness.
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