Definition of Youth
The Youth Department within the Ministry of Youth and Sports considers youth within the range from 0 to 30 years of age.
Marriageable Age
- Opposite Sex
- Same Sex
- Without parental consent
- with parental consent
- Male
- 21
- 17
- --
Candidacy Age
- Lower House
- 21 Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union
- Upper House
- --
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union
Unicameral.
Situation of Young People
Literacy Rates
- 98.41% Male (15-24) %
- 99.66% Female (15-24) %
- Year: 2015
- Source: UNESCO
Net Enrolment Rate
Secondary School- 51.72%Male %
- 62.84% Female %
- Year: 2011
- Source: UNESCO
Situation of Young People
Tobacco Use
Consumed any smokeless or smoking tobacco product at least once 30 days prior to the survey.- 20.70% Male (13-15) %
- 16.60% Female (13-15) %
- Year: 2010
- Source: WHO
Policy & Legislation
The United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Suriname for the period 2012-2016 lists the drafting of a national youth policy as one of the achievements of previous engagement. Remarks made by the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs in March 2014 in New York outline that the “national youth policy is aimed at creating conditions for the full development of youth, which consists of a number of relevant issues, namely education and training, development and participation, protection and opportunities.” The policy, according to the Minister, “promotes social participation as well as participation in the development process.”
Public Institutions
(ministry, department or office) that is primarily responsible for youth?
Youth and Representation
Budget & Spending
- % of GDP
- % of gov. expenditure
Source: World Bank
Gaps indicate missing data from the original data source. (Accessed May 2014).
Additional Background
“...the government installed a national commission for monitoring of the implementation of all child and youth related policies, namely: The Presidential Committee for Child and Youth Policy (2010). This committee falls directly under the President and is comprised of 10 members, all of which are experts in various areas of child and youth affairs. The main tasks of the committee are: development of integrated policy, development of an action plan, monitoring of the implementation of the plan and advising the president on urgent priority interventions. The recent national development plan 2012-2016, the portfolios of the different ministries, the recent situation analysis of children, the CRC and the Paramaribo Declaration on Youth (2010), MDGs and other relevant international agreements, are applied as the broader frame of reference. Key priority policy areas have been identified: ECD (0-8yrs), Adolescents (13-21yrs), Violence, Vulnerable Children and Development Opportunities. Basic principles are: a multisectoral, rights-based approach, sustainable development, gender and social equality. Consultations rounds have been held with different stakeholders.”