Social Media in Suriname 2017 (Updated)
According to Internet Live Stats, just under half of the Surinamese population currently has internet access. Internet World Stats provides us with a similar number, stating that an estimate of around 260.000 people in Suriname were on the internet as of June 2016. Most notable is that a large portion of users access the internet by mobile phone, supported by the notion that there are almost 900.000 mobile subscriptions (1.5 per capita) in Suriname.
So what does the Surinamese population do online? And how important is the role of Social Media in Suriname? This article gives a short impression of the current state of Social Media in Suriname as of February 2017.
Most visited websites based on browser data
For the past years, Alexa has listed Youtube as the number 1 visited website in Suriname, with Facebook as a close number 2. Recently however, Facebook has started to slip slightly in the rankings, just staying within the top 10 (Traffic numbers are based on traffic from November 2016, December 2016 and January 2017). A reasonable explanation for this drop is the fact that Alexa mainly registers browser traffic and doesn’t accurately measure traffic within mobile app (such as the Facebook App). This also has consequences for traffic registration of websites which have a lot of in-app traffic.
Within the 200 most visited websites in Suriname based on browser traffic, there are more than 25 Surinamese websites listed, falling in one of the following categories:
- News websites — Starnieuws.com, DWTOnline.com, Srnieuws.com, Gfcnieuws.org, Dbsuriname.com, Apintie.sr, Familienieuws.com, Srherald.com, Unitednews.sr, Waterkant.net, Dagbladdewest.com, Arkinoh.com, Ohmsuriname.com
- Professional services — Pashaglobal.com, Dsbbank.sr, Republiconlinebanking.com, Cbvs.sr, Hakrinbank.sr, Telesur.sr, Assuria.sr
- Informational and government websites — Gov.sr, Edu.sr, Politie.sr, Suriname.nu
Disclaimer: I’ve removed the position of the website within the top 200 on purpose, to avoid conclusions drown based on the statistics provided by Alexa. First of, Alexa.com ranks websites based on browser traffic over a period of 3 months. Secondly, as mentioned before, in-app traffic is not included (e.g. if you read an article on UNITEDNEWS.SR, within the Facebook app, it is considered in-app traffic. If you are reading this article within the Facebook app, it is considered in-app traffic). The ranking would therefore not be definite and incomplete.
Social Media Usage in Suriname
As mentioned before, YouTube and Facebook have long been the number 1 and 2 when it comes to Social Media traffic in Suriname. Instagram has seen a rise to third place and LinkedIn is fourth when it comes to traffic. There is a growing interest in blogs, as both Blogspot and Wordpress blogs are gaining more traffic than less popular Social Media channels such as Twitter.
Social Media in Suriname 2017
While Alexa has recorded a traffic drop on Facebook.com in Suriname, the platform still records the highest time spend on the website and is also, by far, the largest Social Media channel in Suriname, with 290.000 registered accounts. Second is Instagram, after more than doubling its total amount of users in Suriname in 2016. LinkedIn is the third Social Media channel which registers over 50.000 Surinamese accounts. While Twitter’s stake in Suriname’s Social Media Land has dropped, interest still remains for those who actually understand the platform. Most interaction does come from Surinamese diaspora consuming news about and staying in touch with their home country.
The case for YouTube is another interesting one. Listed as the top website when it comes to traffic, Surinamese YouTube users tend to consume the platform different than other Social Media, as you don’t have to be logged in to watch videos. Like YouTube, clear country statistics for Suriname are not available for Snapchat and Pinterest. With an internet population not even near half a million, Suriname is not necessarily on top of the list when it comes to collecting and providing data. Last but not least, Suriname’s own crowdfunding/social network ApuraNetworks also doubled its users in 2016, nearing the 5k mark.
Facebook in Suriname 2017
Over the past year, Facebook has continued to grow in amount of Surinamese users. This can also be said about local companies and organizations. Ten Surinamese Facebook pages have passed the 75.000 fans mark and over 20 pages are on pace to do so in 2017. While many public figures have decided to communicate through a Facebook page, Gail Eijk (44.950), Susana Vonsee (42.950), Enver Panka (22.500) and George Cheng (21.000) have all passed the 20k followers mark on their personal Facebook profiles.
Instagram, YouTube and more…
Instagram has rapidly grown to become the second biggest Social Media channel in Suriname. With that growth, many young Surinamese artists and entrepreneurs have used their Instagram account to gain a big following. There are several Surinamese people under the age of 25 with over 45.000 followers on Instagram. These online success stories have however yet to translate to recognition in the mainstream media. The most recognizable Surinamese account with over 30k followers is Âdïka and several local companies, including @shana_su and @jacanaresort have built up a following of over 20.000 on Instagram.
YouTube has also become a platform for Surinamese creators with many online comedians, cinema photographers and artists. In 2016, Nisha Madaran’s TU HI MERA DIL (You are my Heart) became the first Surinamese video clip to pass 2 million views on YouTube, after Suriname’s Kenny B received the honor of having the most watched video on YouTube in the Netherlands in 2015. It is also worth noting that many videos by Dutch artists that have been filmed in Suriname (often by a Surinamese crew) have passed 1 million views on YouTube as well. In 2017, local comedian Huan Grantjie will likely become the second Surinamese YouTuber to cross the 10.000 subscriber threshold.
Suriname has also seen a growth in the use of mobile apps. Aside from news apps, The TBL Cinemas App and the 1660 App are two of the few Surinamese mobile apps that have past the 10.000 downloads mark.
With this article, I hope to have provided some insight into the current state of Social Media in Suriname. Thanks for reading.
Tan bun,
Jean-luc van Charante
Create Your Own Online Platform
Are you living and/or working in Suriname and want to learn more about Social Media and Online Marketing? Join my ‘Create Your Own Online Platform’ Course, starting February 11th, 2017. Register at:
http://www.jeanluc.sr/training/create-online-platform/
Disclaimer: Due to the lack of data, I’m hesitant to list Surinamese accounts on Snapchat and Pinterest with more than 10.000 followers. Many Suriname related Twitter accounts with 10.000 followers are from Surinamese people abroad or of Surinamese descent. As making a distinction is hard (previous experiences have taught me that), I’ve decided to leave that out as well.
