
Energy consumption in Suriname
The most important figure in the energy balance of Suriname is the total consumption of2.94 billion kWh
of electric energy per year. Per capita this is an average of 4,794 kWh.Suriname can partly be self-sufficient with domestically produced energy. The total production of all electric energy producing facilities is two bn kWh. That is 80 percent of the country's own usage. The rest of the needed energy is imported from foreign countries. Along with pure consumption, the production, imports and exports play an important role. Other energy sources, such as natural gas or crude oil are also used.
Back to overview: Suriname
Energy Balance
Electricity | total | Suriname per capita | USA per capita |
---|---|---|---|
Own consumption | 2.94 bn kWh | 4,793.58 kWh | 11,744.38 kWh |
Production | 2.36 bn kWh | 3,857.18 kWh | 12,198.66 kWh |
Import | 808.00 m kWh | 1,318.14 kWh | 185.15 kWh |
98.2% of the country's population (as of 2020) has access to electricity. In rural areas, the share was 96.7% | |||
Crude Oil | Barrel/day | Suriname per capita | USA per capita |
Own consumption | 15,800.00 bbl | 0.026 bbl | 0.062 bbl |
Production | 14,800.00 bbl | 0.024 bbl | 0.054 bbl |
Import | 200.00 bbl | 0.000 bbl | 0.023 bbl |
In 2021 there were still 89.00 m barrels of recoverable but not yet used crude oil reserves in the currently known deposits of Suriname. Worldwide, there are still proved oil reserves totaling around 1.7 tn billion barrels. Suriname therefore has a share of 0.005% and ranks 72nd out of 211 countries with crude oil reserves.
CO₂ emissions
CO₂ emissions in 2019 | Suriname per capita | USA per capita | |
---|---|---|---|
total | 2.65 m t | 4.41 t | 14.52 t |
› of which diesel + gasoline | 2.36 bn t | 3,933.03 t | 7,179.51 t |
› of which natural gas | 11.00 m t | 18.32 t | 5,073.94 t |
Development of CO₂ emissions from 1960 to 2019 in million tons
See also: CO₂ equivalents by country

Production capacities per energy source
The given production capacities for electric energy have a theoretical value, which can only be obtained under ideal conditions. They are measuring the generatable amount of energy, that would be reached under permanent and full use of all capacities of all power plants.In practice this isn't possible, because e.g. solar collectors are less efficient under clouds. Also wind- and water-power plants are not always operating under full load. All these values are only useful in relation to other energy sources or countries.
Energy source | total in Suriname | Percentage in Suriname | Percentage USA | per capita in Suriname | per capita USA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fossil fuels | 1.92 bn kWh | 40,5 % | 59,9 % | 3,136.96 kWh | 2.06 kWh |
Nuclear power | 0.00 kWh | 0,0 % | 19,5 % | 0.00 kWh | 0.67 kWh |
Solar energy | 18.99 m kWh | 0,4 % | 3,2 % | 30.98 kWh | 0.11 kWh |
Wind power | 0.00 kWh | 0,0 % | 8,3 % | 0.00 kWh | 0.29 kWh |
Water power | 2.79 bn kWh | 58,8 % | 7,0 % | 4,554.40 kWh | 0.24 kWh |
Tidal Power Plants | 0.00 kWh | 0,0 % | 0,0 % | 0.00 kWh | 0.00 kWh |
Geothermics | 0.00 kWh | 0,0 % | 0,4 % | 0.00 kWh | 0.01 kWh |
Biomass | 14.24 m kWh | 0,3 % | 1,7 % | 23.24 kWh | 0.06 kWh |
Usage of renewable energies
Renewable energy includes wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy sources. This means all energy sources that renew themselves within a short time or are permanently available. Energy from hydropower is only partly a renewable energy. This is certainly the case with river or tidal power plants. Otherwise, numerous dams or reservoirs also produce mixed forms, e.g. by pumping water into their reservoirs at night and recovering energy from them during the day when there is an increased demand for electricity. Since it is not possible to clearly determine the amount of generated energy, all energy from hydropower is displayed separately.In 2019, renewable energy accounted for around 14.4 percent of actual total consumption in Suriname. The following chart shows the percentage share from 2000 to 2019:
