The mining and processing of bauxite (into alumina and aluminum) is the base of the economy. Additional industries include lumbering and plywood manufacturing and the manufacture of molasses and rum. Agriculture is confined mainly to the coastal plains area and the river valleys and has great potential for expansion. Rice is the chief crop. Other important crops include cacao, coffee, citrus fruits, bananas, and sugarcane. Shrimp fishing is expanding along the coast. In 1999 exports totaled $472 million; exports are typically predominated by alumina, aluminum, and bauxite. Imports totaled $445 million; imports usually consist mostly of fuels and industrial goods. Principal purchasers of Suriname’s exports are Norway, The Netherlands, the United States, Japan, Brazil, and the United Kingdom; chief sources of imports are the United States, The Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, and Brazil. In 1995 Suriname joined in forming the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), a free-trade organization. The organization’s other members include 12 nations bordering on or in the Caribbean and the members of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). The unit of currency is the Suriname guilder (401 guilders equal U.S.$1; 1998 average).

Suriname has a higher standard of living than many Latin-American countries. During the 1980s the economy experienced a decline, resulting mainly from falling export prices for bauxite and from a reduction in development aid from the United States and The Netherlands. This decline was marked by inflation, a growing budget deficit, and unemployment. Government expenditures account for almost half of total consumption. The civil service employs about 45 percent of the work force.

The economy is dominated by the bauxite industry, which accounts for more than 15% of GDP and 70% of export earnings. After assuming power in the fall of 1996, the WIJDENBOSCH government ended the structural adjustment program of the previous government, claiming it was unfair to the poorer elements of society. Tax revenues fell as old taxes lapsed and the government failed to implement new tax alternatives. By the end of 1997, the allocation of new Dutch development funds was frozen as Surinamese Government relations with the Netherlands deteriorated. Economic growth slowed in 1998, with decline in the mining, construction, and utility sectors. Rampant government expenditures, poor tax collection, a bloated civil service, and reduced foreign aid in 1999 contributed to the fiscal deficit, estimated at 11% of GDP. The government sought to cover this deficit through monetary expansion, which led to a dramatic increase in inflation and exchange rate depreciation. Suriname's economic prospects for the medium term will depend on renewed commitment to responsible monetary and fiscal policies and to the introduction of structural reforms to liberalize markets and promote competition. The new government of Ronald VENETIAAN has begun an austerity program, raised taxes, and attempted to control spending. the exchange rate has responded by stabilizing. The Dutch Government has restarted the aid flow, which will allow Suriname to access international development financing.