Exact population: 439,117 (July 2006 est.)

Literacy: Total population: 88%; male: 92.3%; female: 84.1%

Ethnicities: Hindustani (also known locally as "East Indians"; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter part of the 19th century) 37%, Creole (mixed white and black) 31%, Javanese 15%, "Maroons" (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 10%, Amerindian 2%, Chinese 2%, white 1%, other 2%

Area: Total: 163,270 sq km; land: 161,470 sq km; water: 1,800 sq km

Land boundaries: Total: 1,707 km; border countries: Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km

Terrain: Mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps

Extremes: Lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m; highest point: Juliana Top 1,230 m

Imports: US 26.2%, Netherlands 19.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.5%, Japan 6.6%, China 4.6%, Brazil 4.2% (2004)

Exports: Norway 29.4%, US 15.2%, Canada 12.5%, Belgium 10.3%, France 8.4%, UAE 6.2% (2004)

Industries: Bauxite and gold mining, alumina production, oil, lumbering, food processing, fishing

Source: CIA World Factbook