Country Foundations

Suriname

Constitution in force since 1987, 12,488 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
74%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
77%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+3%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
63%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 86%, gap −14%Right to life100%86%−14%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom from torture100%76%−24%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%79%−21%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 0%, practiced 77%, gap +77%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…0%77%+77%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 100%, practiced 75%, gap −25%Right to a fair and public trial100%75%−25%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 64%, gap +64%Due process of law0%64%+64%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Freedom of expression100%79%−21%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 64%, gap −36%Freedom of the press100%64%−36%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Freedom of thought and conscience100%81%−19%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Freedom of religion100%90%−10%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Academic freedom0%80%+80%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom of assembly100%76%−24%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 87%, gap −13%Freedom of association100%87%−13%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Right to form and join trade unions100%85%−15%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 91%, gap +41%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%91%+41%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 93%, gap −7%Right to privacy100%93%−7%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Freedom of movement100%90%−10%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 50%, practiced 84%, gap +34%Right to own property50%84%+34%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Equality before the law100%76%−24%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 56%, gap −44%Right to education100%56%−44%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 59%, gap −41%Right to health care100%59%−41%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 54%, gap +54%Right to shelter or housing0%54%+54%Independent judiciary — declared 0%, practiced 72%, gap +72%Independent judiciary0%72%+72%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001987: constitutional text changed (+7 pts declared)19801990200020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1975–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −24%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −21%
  • Right to a fair and public trial −25%
  • Freedom of expression −21%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) +77%
  • Due process of law +64%
  • Academic freedom +80%
  • Right to shelter or housing +54%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1976
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1976
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1984
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1993
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 2021
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1993
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2017
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.