National Flag of the Republic of Suriname (1975)

Suriname, formerly Dutch Guiana, is situated on the north-east coast of South America and adopted its name from the early inhabitants of the area, the Surinen Indians.

Both the Dutch and the British began colonising Suriname from the late 16th and early 17th century. 

A deal between the colonial powers saw the British cede their part of Suriname to the Dutch in 1667, for the North American Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (modern day New York).

Suriname became an autonomous overseas territory of the Netherlands in 1954 and achieved full independence, also adopting their current national flag, on the 25th of November 1975. 

The design was chosen after a nationally held flag competition. The aim of the competition was to create a flag to symbolise Suriname’s unity and progress, as well as incorporate the colours of the country’s main political parties.

The Symbolic Meaning

Red symbolises progress and the struggle to achieve a better quality of life. White represents freedom and justice. Green symbolises the fertility and natural resources of Suriname, as well as hope.

The colours also originally symbolised three of the country's political parties, red symbolised the Hindu Vatan Hitkari, white represented the People's Party and green symbolised the National Party.

The golden five-pointed star represents a golden future for Suriname, achieved through unity and hard work. 

The individual points represent the five main ethnic groups of the nation: Creoles (mixed African and Native American descent), Asian Indians, Chinese, American Indians and Europeans.