Suriname is the South American country with the smallest population among sovereign states.
Suriname’s population is roughly 625,000, making it smaller than neighboring Guyana, whose population is about 800,000. Paraguay and Uruguay each have populations several times larger. Population rankings can shift slightly with census dates and estimates, but Suriname remains the standard canonical answer.
The country is also South America’s smallest sovereign state by area. Much of its population lives along the narrow northern coastal plain, especially around Paramaribo, while the heavily forested interior is sparsely settled.
A common mix-up is French Guiana, which has a smaller population than Suriname but is an overseas region of France rather than an independent sovereign country. Suriname was formerly a Dutch colony and became independent in 1975.