Surinam is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Marowijne River, French Guiana and Brazil. By the time the Spanish arrived in the late15th century, the Surinen (the original inhabitants of Surinam) had been driven out by other Amerindian groups. Fierce resistance to colonisation deterred most would-be occupiers from Europe, although the territory formally changed hands many times between the Dutch, English and French, before finally being confirmed as a Dutch possession by the terms of the 1815 Treaty of Vienna.

At this time, the majority of the population were slaves, working on the plantations. Despite the abolition of slavery in 1863, conditions changed very little until the early 20th century and the discovery of large bauxite deposits, which brought about a major change in the economic - and consequently, political - complexion of the country.

In 1954, Surinam, with the Netherlands Antilles, became an autonomous region within the Kingdom of The Netherlands. Full independence was achieved in 1975.

While the 17th-century capital, Paramaribo, with its attractive colonial architecture, is a good starting point for any visitor, Surinam's main attraction is its tropical rainforest, which covers nearly 80 per cent of the country and is home to a huge variety of wildlife.