 during the signing of the Treaty of Breda. Dutch remains the official language, and although the country is mostly rainforest – there are no natural harbours and few railways or roads – its capital, Paramaribo, is home to the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, which would not look out of place in a European city. A recent visitor was travel writer Emma Thomson, who described her arrival: 'At Atjoni, in Suriname, the road ran out. We bundled into a shallow wooden canoe alongside watermelons and gas canisters, babies and bananas, and motored away from the music blaring from a Chinese-owned supermarket posted on the riverbank. For two-and-a-half hours we followed the Suriname River, navigating her frothy rapids and passing villages where uniformed school kids sat outside singing and bare-breasted women washed their laundry in the muddy waters, until we reached Danpaati River Lodge. The entrance was fringed with trailing maripa-palm leaves – 'to keep out evil spirits,' explained lodge manager, Noach, noticing my interest. Our fellow island guests were golden-handed tamarin, squirrel monkeys and, in the distance, a bird whose echoing 'plop' of a call sounded like a coin being dropped into water.' 10 people per square mile Guyana's appeals are){kind=link}
The ultimate bucket list for misanthropes, as the global population passes 8 billion
Peace and quiet is getting harder to find. The global population reached 8 billion this week, according to estimates, and will continue to rise for some time to come. The UN projects that it will peak at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100. It will then start to fall.
But for those wishing to escape the crowds, there are plenty of options in both Europe and beyond. These are the 10 countries or territories with the lowest population density – perfect 2023 holiday inspiration for misanthropes.
Suriname, squeezed between French Guiana, Guyana and Brazil, was given to the Dutch by Britain in 1667 in exchange for none other than New Amsterdam (which would become New York) during the signing of the Treaty of Breda. Dutch remains the official language, and although the country is mostly rainforest – there are no natural harbours and few railways or roads – its capital, Paramaribo, is home to the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, which would not look out of place in a European city.
A recent visitor was travel writer Emma Thomson, who described her arrival: “At Atjoni, in Suriname, the road ran out. We bundled into a shallow wooden canoe alongside watermelons and gas canisters, babies and bananas, and motored away from the music blaring from a Chinese-owned supermarket posted on the riverbank. For two-and-a-half hours we followed the Suriname River, navigating her frothy rapids and passing villages where uniformed school kids sat outside singing and bare-breasted women washed their laundry in the muddy waters, until we reached Danpaati River Lodge. The entrance was fringed with trailing maripa-palm leaves – ‘to keep out evil spirits,’ explained lodge manager, Noach, noticing my interest. Our fellow island guests were golden-handed tamarin, squirrel monkeys and, in the distance, a bird whose echoing ‘plop’ of a call sounded like a coin being dropped into water.”