Suriname Suriname Suriname (, , also spelled Surinam), officially known as the Republic of Suriname ( ), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west and Brazil to the south. At just under , it is the smallest sovereign state in South America. Suriname has a population of approximately , most of whom live on the country's north coast, in and around the capital and largest city, Paramaribo. Suriname was long inhabited by various indigenous people before being invaded
British Guiana 1899 arbitration award settling the British Guiana—Venezuela border made reference to the border with Suriname as continuing to the source of the Courantyne River, which it named as the Kutari River. The Netherlands raised a diplomatic protest, claiming that the New River, and not the Kutari, was to be regarded as the source of the Courantyne and the boundary. The British government in 1900 replied that the issue was already settled by the longstanding acceptance of the Kutari as the boundary. In 1962, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on behalf of Suriname, which had become a constituent country of the