Before 1975 Suriname was a constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Surinamese held full Dutch nationality, with rights of travel and residence in the Netherlands. At independence on 25 November 1975, the accompanying arrangements gave people a transitional window to decide which nationality to keep, and in the years around that date roughly a third of the population moved to the Netherlands.

Many chose Dutch nationality not because they wanted to leave immediately but because they were unsure of the future and wanted to keep the option — precisely the logic this site is built on. The other side is that when a third of a population leaves within a few years, including a very high proportion of doctors, teachers, engineers and civil servants, the country left behind sustains a loss it has not made good decades later.

Because the Netherlands ruled both the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, and Suriname, and when labour was needed for Surinamese plantations after abolition they moved people from one colony to another. Suriname still has a Javanese-speaking community, Javanese cuisine with bami, nasi and saoto, and festivals with gamelan instruments.

Descendants of enslaved people who escaped into the rainforest and established independent communities. What is legally notable is that in the eighteenth century the Dutch colonial authorities signed treaties with several Maroon communities, effectively recognising their autonomy and land rights while slavery continued in the rest of the colony. In 2007 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognised the Saamaka community's collective rights to traditional lands.

Suriname sits on the same geological basin as Guyana, and offshore discoveries from 2020 indicate substantial reserves, with a final investment decision taken and production expected toward the end of this decade. Suriname is exactly where Guyana was around 2018 — knowing the money is coming without having it yet. This is the only phase in which institutional decisions can still be made before the money arrives.

No. Dual citizenship rules must be verified directly, as they have changed between periods and relate to the particular relationship with the Netherlands. If anyone offers Surinamese citizenship by investment, stop — when a country is about to become wealthy from resources, offers around it multiply.

Dutch is the official language and medium of instruction, but the everyday common language is Sranan Tongo — a locally formed creole, English-based with African, Portuguese and Dutch elements, spoken by almost everyone whatever community they belong to. Also spoken are Sarnami, Javanese Surinamese, Maroon languages and Indigenous languages.

Under the Treaty of Breda in 1667 the Netherlands and England exchanged territories: the Dutch retained Suriname while the English retained New Amsterdam in North America, later renamed New York.