After years of robust growth fueled by commodity prices, Suriname faced a significant fiscal crisis beginning in 2015 that was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the government implemented a macroeconomic stabilization plan and pursued debt restructuring, both with support from the World Bank Group.
Suriname is ranked 124th on the United Nations Human Development Index—approximately 17.5 percent of its population lives on less than $8.30 a day, the poverty threshold for upper-middle-income countries. Although its 94.5 percent forest cover makes Suriname one of the world's most carbon-negative countries, it remains highly vulnerable to flooding—particularly in coastal urban regions, including in the capital, Paramaribo.
