Suriname

Suriname is a South American country, located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of the continent. It was one of the few territories held by the Dutch in South America, but slowly gained independence starting in 1954. Being a small geographical area, most the indigenous Arawak population was forcibly removed or intermarried with the creole population.

Dutch is the official language of Suriname, however only 60% of the population speak it as a first language. The remaining part of the population generally speak Kongo-, Hindi- or Javanese-based creoles at home or in their communities, but generally still know Dutch as a second language. It is language of instruction in schools as well as the primary language of news broadcasts.