Paramaribo

Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 252,581 people as of the 2025 estimate, almost half of Suriname's population.

Name

The city is named for the Paramaribo tribe living at the mouth of the Suriname River; the name is from Tupi–Guarani para "large river" + maribo "inhabitants".

History

thumb|left|1830s [[lithograph of the market]]

The name Paramaribo is probably a corruption of the name of a native village, spelled Parmurbo in the earliest Dutch sources. This was the location of the first Dutch settlement, a trading post established by Nicolaes Baliestel and Dirck Claeszoon van Sanen in 1613.

In 1667, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Paramaribo was conquered by a squadron of ships under Abraham Crijnssen. The Treaty of Breda in 1667 confirmed Paramaribo as the leading town of the now Dutch colony of Suriname. The fort protecting Paramaribo was renamed Fort Zeelandia in honor of the Dutch province that had financed Crijnssen's fleet. (The town was also renamed New Middelburg but the name did not catch on with the inhabitants.)

thumb|[[Slavery in Suriname|Slave auction in Paramaribo, in 1831]]

The population of Paramaribo has always been very diverse. Among the first British settlers were many Jews and one of the oldest synagogues in the Americas, the Neveh Shalom Synagogue, is found in Paramaribo. The population of the town was greatly increased after 1873, when formerly enslaved people (who had been freed in 1863) were allowed to stop working for their former masters and leave the sugar plantations.

Paramaribo has remained the capital of Suriname, from its colonial days through the independence of Suriname in 1975 to the present day. The old town has suffered many devastating fires over the years, notably in January 1821 (which destroyed over 400 buildings) and September 1832 (which destroyed nearly 50 buildings). The slaves Kodjo, Mentor, and Present were found guilty of arson, and burnt alive.

In May 1972, the Paramaribo Zoo opened. In 1987, an administrative reorganization took place in Suriname and the city was divided into 12 administrative resorts (jurisdictions).

Geography

thumb|View of Paramaribo from space

The city is located on the Suriname River, approximately inland from the Atlantic Ocean, in the Paramaribo district.

File:Kaart van Paramaribo.png|Paramaribo around 1737.

File:Platte grond van de stad Paramaribo (1821).jpg|Paramaribo in 1821. The area devastated by the city fire of that year is indicated in brown.

File:Plan von Paramaribo.jpg|Paramaribo around 1876.

File:Map of Paramaribo (1920).jpg|Paramaribo around 1916–1917

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Climate

Paramaribo features a tropical rainforest climate (Af), under the Köppen climate classification. Because Paramaribo is more subject to the Intertropical Convergence Zone than the trade winds and experiences no tropical cyclones, its climate is classified as equatorial. The city has no true dry season; all 12 months of the year average more than of rainfall, but the city does experience noticeably wetter and drier periods during the year. The Northern Hemisphere "autumn" (September through November) is the driest period of the year in Paramaribo, and the heaviest rainfall occurs from April to July. Common to many cities with this climate, temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year, with average high temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and average low temperatures of 24 degrees Celsius. Paramaribo on average receives roughly of rainfall each year.

Demographics

Paramaribo has a population of 240,924 people (2012 census). While the population number has been stagnating in recent years, the population in many towns in the surrounding Wanica District is increasing.

Government

thumb|Ressorten of the Paramaribo district.

Administratively, Paramaribo forms its own district in Suriname. The resorts of Paramaribo district therefore correspond to boroughs of the city. There are twelve resorts in the Paramaribo district:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;"

!Ressort/jurisdiction

!Area in square km

!Population density

!Population (2012) The former harbour of Waterkant is used by ferries.

Most airlines like Gum Air and Blue Wing Airlines have their head offices on the grounds of Zorg en Hoop Airport in Paramaribo.

Education

Paramaribo's institution of higher learning is Anton de Kom University of Suriname, the country's only university.

Teachers academy (Insituut voor de Opleiding van Leraren), the country's teachers academy to prepare teachers for secondary education levels.

AlphaMax Academy is a private international school established on 1 September 1998, in Paramaribo, Republic of Suriname. The school is run by the Directors of the AlphaMax Foundation.

Healthcare

thumb|[[Sint Vincentius Hospital in Paramaribo]]

Paramaribo is home to four hospitals, the Academic Hospital Paramaribo, 's Lands Hospitaal, Sint Vincentius Hospital and Diakonessenhuis.

Historic inner city of Paramaribo

The Dutch colonial town established in 17th and 18th centuries was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. The historic inner city is located along the left bank of the Suriname River. The original architecture of buildings and street plan has largely remained intact and preserved.

Notable landmarks

thumb|[[Presidential Palace of Suriname]]

thumb|[[Arya Diwaker temple]]

thumb|Paramaribo's Neveh Shalom Synagogue

thumb|[[Helstone Monument]]

thumb|right|The [[National Assembly of Suriname]]

Fort Zeelandia
Presidential Palace of Suriname
Roman Catholic St Peter and St Paul Cathedral
Suriname Mosque
National Assembly of Suriname
Neveh Shalom Synagogue
The Arya Diwaker Hindu Temple
Garden of Palms, a landscape garden of royal palms behind the presidential palace
Centrumkerk
Kwakoe, abolition of slavery memorial

Notable people

Ashwin Adhin, Vice President (2015–2020), politician
Ronny Aloema, football player
Henck Arron, politician
Maarten Atmodikoro, football player
Regi Blinker, football player
Remy Bonjasky, kickboxer
Edson Braafheid, football player
Stanley Brouwn, artist
Romeo Castelen, football player
Audrey Christiaan, activist
Augusta Curiel, photographer
Edgar Davids, football player
Johan Ferrier, politician
Stanley Franker, tennis player
Henk Fraser, football player
Ulrich van Gobbel, football player
Rebecca Gomperts, physician and women's rights activist
Majoie Hajary, composer, pianist
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, football player
Ruth Jacott, singer, Dutch representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993
Jerry de Jong, football player
Rajendre Khargi, journalist and ambassador to the Netherlands
Anton de Kom, resistance fighter and author
Kelvin Leerdam, football player
Coenraad van Lier, physician, politician
Jeangu Macrooy, singer, Dutch representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2021
Stanley Menzo, football player
Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop (1729–1827), businessman and landowner known for his money in the Anglo-American settlement of Texas.
Pim de la Parra, director
Monique Pool, environmentalist
Johan Adolf Pengel, politician
Fred Ramdat Misier, politician
Herman Rijkaard, football player
Andy Ristie, kickboxer
Jairzinho Rozenstruik, mixed martial artist and kickboxer
Grace Schneiders-Howard, civil service worker/politician
Clarence Seedorf, football player
Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, 10th President of Surinam (since 2025), politician
Andwélé Slory, football player
Tyrone Spong, kickboxer and boxer
Regilio Tuur, boxer
Ronald Venetiaan, politician
Mark de Vries, football player
Jules Wijdenbosch, politician
Fabian Wilnis, football player
Aron Winter, football player

Twin towns – sister cities

Paramaribo is twinned with:

Antwerp, Antwerp Province, Belgium
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands
Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States