SURINAME · ECONOMY
Key Facts
- —The country Suriname is a Dutch-speaking country of about 640,000 people on South America’s north coast, between Guyana and French Guiana. Gold and oil carry its economy.
- —Who holds the levers The state oil company Staatsolie, two foreign gold miners, a handful of banks and the government decide most of what happens in the Suriname economy.
- —The size The IMF projects growth of 3.9% in 2026. Central government debt was about 106% of GDP, the value of everything the country produces, in 2025.
- —Gold Mining supplies more than 80% of exports, says the World Bank. Newmont of the United States runs the Merian mine, and China’s Zijin owns Rosebel.
- —Oil Staatsolie paid US$400 million to the state in 2025, about 30% of government revenue. The offshore GranMorgu field is due to start pumping in 2028.
- —The banks Ten primary banks were registered with the central bank at the end of 2025. De Surinaamsche Bank, known as DSB, calls itself the leading commercial bank.
- —The catch Power cuts hit Paramaribo in August 2026, the national airline lives on state cash, and the IMF says state-company accounts are not transparent.
The Suriname economy matters to American readers because US companies Newmont and APA hold stakes in its gold and offshore oil.
This guide names the main players as of October 2026 and shows who controls them.
The Suriname Economy in Numbers
Suriname has about 640,000 people, according to the World Bank, and counts as an upper-middle-income country. Its currency is the Surinamese dollar, trading at about 37.7 to the US dollar in October 2026.
The IMF projects real growth of 3.9% for 2026, in a statement of 11 February 2026. It expects growth of around 4% a year until 2028, when offshore oil should lift output sharply.
Mining supplies more than 80% of exports and nearly half of public revenue, according to the World Bank. That makes the Suriname economy far more exposed to the gold price than its small size suggests.
Debt is the weak spot. The IMF estimates central government debt at about 106% of GDP in 2025.
The World Bank puts it near 106% again at the end of March 2026.
Prices are also rising. The statistics bureau, the Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek, reported consumer prices 8.9% higher in July 2026 than a year earlier.
Staatsolie, the State Company at the Centre
Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname is the state oil company, founded on 13 December 1980. The Republic of Suriname is its only shareholder, and Annand Jagesar is its managing director.
It pumped 6.35 million barrels of onshore oil in 2025, about 17,400 barrels a day. Its refinery turned out 3.15 million barrels of diesel and petrol, and its power unit covered 69% of electricity demand in Paramaribo and nearby districts.
Staatsolie reported revenue of US$832 million and profit before tax of US$444 million for 2025. It handed US$400 million to the state in taxes, dividends and royalties, which it says is about 30% of total government revenue.
The company also owns 25% of the Merian gold mine and a share of the Saramacca gold project beside Rosebel. Its annual report lists proven oil reserves of 106.9 million barrels at the end of 2025.
In June 2026 Jagesar said Staatsolie was to support the tax service in its reform, because oil money only helps if the state collects it. President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons represented the shareholder at the company’s shareholder meeting on 15 May 2026.
Gold, Where Foreign Miners Dominate
Two foreign-run mines are the country’s large industrial gold producers. Newmont, a miner based in Colorado, owns 75% of the Merian mine in the east, and Staatsolie owns the other 25%.
Newmont lists Merian’s 2025 output at 178,000 ounces and says it expects higher production in 2026. The mine began commercial production in October 2016.
Rosebel Gold Mines became a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining on 1 February 2023. It produced 306,535 ounces in 2025, 5.46% more than the year before.
Rosebel says it paid US$363 million directly to the government in 2025. It plans a US$1.25 billion expansion over three years, covered in our report on the Suriname gold expansion.
Staatsolie’s gold royalties came to US$26 million in 2025, double the US$13 million of 2024. Its annual report shows the Merian partnership earned a profit before tax of US$84 million and the Rosebel partnership US$108 million.
Small-Scale Miners
Informal miners work across the interior and produced 475,820 ounces in 2022, according to the Planning Office. The World Bank notes that mining overall dominates exports.
In August 2026 Natural Resources Minister David Abiamofo backed removing miners from two sites in the Matawai area. Fifteen Surinamese had died in an accident at 21 Bergi.
Offshore Oil and the Foreign Partners
The biggest bet on the Suriname economy is GranMorgu, an offshore field in Block 58 run by France’s TotalEnergies. TotalEnergies and the US company APA Corporation each hold 40%, and Staatsolie holds 20%.
TotalEnergies puts the investment at US$10.5 billion, with a production ship able to lift 220,000 barrels a day. It expects start-up in 2028 and recoverable reserves of nearly 760 million barrels.
TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné visited Suriname on 19 September 2026. Staatsolie said construction of the production ship and preparations for drilling are on schedule.
Staatsolie pays for its 20% share with a bond worth US$516 million, issued in 2025, and a US$1.6 billion loan from 18 banks and institutions. More than 100 Surinamese companies already supply goods and services to the project, the company says.
A second player is Malaysia’s Petronas, which runs Block 52 with 80% while Staatsolie’s subsidiary Paradise Oil Company holds 20%.
In July 2026 World Oil reported two new Petronas discoveries, adding up to more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. A decision on the Sloanea gas field is targeted before the end of 2026.
Our guide to President Simons’ oil plans explains how the government wants to spend the revenue. The analysis of the oil-price shock shows what dearer fuel does to inflation.
The Banks and Who Holds the Money
The central bank, the Centrale Bank van Suriname, lists ten primary banks at the end of 2025. They include Republic Bank (Suriname), De Surinaamsche Bank, Hakrinbank, the Surinaamse Postspaarbank, the Volkscredietbank, the Landbouwbank, Finabank, Surichange Bank, Godo Bank and Trustbank Amanah.
DSB reported a consolidated net profit of SRD 788.9 million (about US$20.9 million) for 2025, up 44%. Its equity rose to SRD 4.2 billion (about US$111 million), and its loans grew 40% to SRD 8.2 billion (about US$217 million).
Finabank earned SRD 482 million (about US$12.8 million) in 2025, up 84%. Its total assets reached SRD 28.5 billion (about US$755 million), and customer deposits SRD 21.4 billion (about US$567 million).
In August 2026 Hakrinbank offered 6,775,859 DSB shares, or 17.96% of DSB, to the public. Bidding ran from 10 to 31 August 2026, and Hakrinbank said the sale reflected its own strategy, not a view on DSB.
In March 2026 Hakrinbank, Finabank and DSB each settled with Dutch prosecutors over suspected negligent money laundering in 2018. The three paid €415,000 in total (about US$466,000), and prosecutors found no intent.
At the Suriname Banking and Finance Summit on 17 October 2026, the president asked banks to guard financial integrity and lend to the productive economy. She said an international anti-money-laundering assessment is planned for 2027.
Power, Planes and the State Firms
The state also runs or backs the companies that keep the country moving. By late August 2026 the electricity company EnergieBedrijven Suriname was applying rotating power cuts of at least three hours in Paramaribo and four nearby districts.
It said demand was above its forecasts and that no reserve capacity was left. Staatsolie’s own power unit covered 69% of demand on the Paramaribo network in 2025, its annual report says.
Surinam Airways, the national carrier, receives about US$2 million a month in state support, according to Surinamese press reports of 22 August 2026. Finance Minister Adelien Wijnerman wants to turn that money into a loan, because the airline has not filed recent annual reports.
In November 2025 the IMF said the finances of state companies are “not transparent” and that non-performing firms should be closed or sold. The government has promised to review its loss-making firms, as the report on the 2026 budget describes.
The Referees, Government and Central Bank
President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons leads a government that depends on the National Assembly, the single-chamber parliament. Adelien Wijnerman is Minister of Finance and Planning, and David Abiamofo is Minister of Natural Resources, both still in post in October 2026.
The 2027 draft budget, tabled on 30 September 2026, shows revenue of SRD 70.1 billion (about US$1.86 billion).
Spending is SRD 80.9 billion (about US$2.14 billion). The gap of SRD 10.8 billion (about US$286 million) equals 4% of GDP, and the annual address has the details.
The IMF’s lending programme ended in March 2025, according to the IMF.
In February 2026 it urged a “significant fiscal adjustment in 2026”. It also asked for full use of the new sovereign wealth fund law, meant to manage mineral revenue openly.
The central bank supervises banks, and since a 2005 change to its law also insurers and pension funds. In June 2021 it ended the fixed exchange rate and let the Surinamese dollar float.
Debt is a theme of its own. The government has raised new money and reshaped old bonds, as the reports on the US$850 million in new loans and the oil-linked bond show.
What It Means for US Readers
American money is already inside the Suriname economy. Newmont owns three-quarters of Merian, and APA holds 40% of the GranMorgu oil field.
For investors, the clearest links are those two companies. For travellers and expats, the risks are power cuts, rising prices and a local currency that has weakened.
The country also sits beside Guyana, whose oil boom Suriname hopes to match, as the regional guide explains. More stories sit on the Suriname hub.
What Is Not Known
No official list names Suriname’s private business families or the owners behind its banks. The central bank register gives names and addresses, not shareholders.
Final results of the census that began in October 2024 were still pending in June 2026, with release planned for the end of September 2026. How much of the oil income the state will keep depends on contract terms that the public has not seen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Staatsolie?
The Republic of Suriname is the only shareholder of Staatsolie, according to the company. Annand Jagesar is its managing director as of September 2026.
Which companies mine gold in Suriname?
Newmont runs the Merian mine, with Staatsolie holding 25%. China’s Zijin Mining owns Rosebel Gold Mines, and thousands of informal miners work separately.
When will Suriname start producing offshore oil?
TotalEnergies and Staatsolie both say first oil from the GranMorgu field in Block 58 is planned for 2028. The production ship is under construction.
How big is the Suriname economy’s debt?
The IMF estimates central government debt at about 106% of GDP in 2025. The World Bank gives a similar figure for the end of March 2026.
Which banks are the biggest in Suriname?
The central bank registers ten primary banks, including DSB, Hakrinbank, Republic Bank and Finabank. DSB describes itself as the leading commercial bank.
Is it safe for US investors to put money in Suriname?
The main US stakes sit with Newmont and APA. Local assets carry currency, inflation and governance risks that the IMF has flagged.
Sources: Staatsolie, 2025 financial statements approved, 15 May 2026; Staatsolie, Annual Report 2025, 2026; Staatsolie, TotalEnergies CEO visit and GranMorgu progress, 21 September 2026; TotalEnergies, GranMorgu project, 2025; IMF, Press Release 26/043, 2025 Article IV, 11 February 2026; World Bank, Suriname overview, 2026; Newmont, Merian operation, FY 2025; Rosebel Gold Mines, 2025 results and expansion, 17 July 2026; Centrale Bank van Suriname, supervised credit institutions, 31 December 2025; Openbaar Ministerie (Netherlands), settlements with three Surinamese banks, 17 March 2026; Suriname Herald, 2027 draft budget, 30 September 2026; Times of Suriname, inflation July 2026 (ABS), August 2026; IMF, 2025 Article IV concluding statement, 20 November 2025; Staatsolie, Block 52 and Paradise Oil Company (Annual Report 2025), 2026; Suriname Herald, Natural Resources Minister on gold-miner removals, 7 August 2026; Sun Suriname, president at Banking and Finance Summit, 17 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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