The Caribbean Javanese of Suriname

The Caribbean Javanese of Suriname, numbering approximately 78,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group descended from Javanese plantation workers in Suriname. They are an Indigenous people, in the Afro-Caribbean people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Javanese, Suriname.

Caribbean Javanese in French Guiana photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Caribbean Javanese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Suriname
People Cluster: Afro-Caribbean
Primary Language(s): Javanese, Suriname (jvn)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 78,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016428
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Caribbean Javanese of Suriname

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Javanese, Suriname
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Javanese, Suriname Speakers

Media Resources in Javanese, Suriname:

Films:

Bible Resources in Javanese, Suriname:

Or check out the Javanese, Suriname bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Caribbean Javanese

The Caribbean Javanese are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Caribbean Javanese

The Caribbean Javanese are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Caribbean Javanese

The Caribbean Javanese are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Caribbean Javanese of Suriname

And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
readExodus 14:22

Pray that the God who split the sea so that the Israelites might pass through would do another great work among these people, softening the hearts of those who remain lost to the good news and saving them from their sins.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
readPsalm 51:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence that God has turned His face from their sins and forgiven their iniquities.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Surinam Javanese (ROP3 - 109624) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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