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Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 56 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total: 163,270 sq km
land: 161,470 sq km
water: 1,800 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Georgia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,707 km
border countries: Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana
600 km
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with
swamps
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m
highest point: Wilhelmina Gebergte 1,286 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp,
bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron
ore
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 96%
other: 4% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: deforestation as timber is
cut for export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining
activities
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity
of flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened
by new development; relatively small population, most of which lives
along the coast
Background:
Independence from the Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years
later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime
that soon declared a socialist republic. It continued to rule through
a succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when
international pressure finally brought about a democratic election.
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