Suriname

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Country Name

Suriname or officially known as the Republic of Suriname.

Location

Suriname is a country in northeastern South America, the Atlantic Ocean bordered it to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south.

Capital

Paramaribo.

Reason for Naming

The name Suriname may derive from an indigenous people called Surinen, who inhabited the area at the time of European contact. It may also be derived from a corruption of the name "Surryham" which was the name given to the Suriname River by Lord Willoughby in honor of the Earl of Surrey when an English colony was established under a grant from King Charles II.

Flag

The Suriname flag was adopted on November 25, 1975, when Suriname gained its independence from the Netherlands. The flag of Suriname consists of five horizontal stripes. The top and bottom stripes are green, the middle stripe is red and there is a white stripe above and below the red one. In the red stripe, a yellow five-pointed star is placed. The red represents the country's progress and struggles to achieve a better quality of life, the white represents freedom and justice, and the green represents the fertility and natural resources of the land, as well as hope. The yellow star stands for the unity of all the country's five main ethnic groups: Creoles (mixed African and Native American descent), Asian Indians, Chinese, American Indians, and Europeans.

Another Story Originally, the colors also represented three of Suriname's political parties. Red was for the Hindu Vatan Hitkari, white represented the People's Party and green stood for the National Party. The star represents a golden future for Suriname, achieved through unity and hard work. ​ * Flag Facts:

-The flags of Lithuania, Myanmar, and Suriname are the only non-African national flags to contain the pan-African colors red, yellow, and green.