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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Indo-Caribbean of Suriname

The Indo-Caribbean of Suriname, numbering approximately 134,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an ethnic group indigenous to the Caribbean who descended from Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era They are an Indigenous people, with Indo-Caribbean (Sarnami) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Indo-Caribbean people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Hindustani, Sarnami.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: East Indian (Hindu)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Suriname
People Cluster: Indo-Caribbean
Primary Language(s): Hindustani, Sarnami (hns)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 134,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022266
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Pray for the Indo-Caribbean 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

91%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hindustani, Sarnami
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Hindustani, Sarnami Speakers

Media Resources in Hindustani, Sarnami:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Hindustani, Sarnami:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Hindustani, Sarnami bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Minimally Reached People Group, (LPI: 3), 2% to 3% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Indo-Caribbean:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Indo-Caribbean 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.

Next steps for the Indo-Caribbean:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Indo-Caribbean 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.

Next steps for the Indo-Caribbean:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Indo-Caribbean of Suriname

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
readJohn 11:25

Pray for the many who have never heard about or understood the importance of what Jesus did for them, asking God to make a way for them to hear that the perfect Son of Man suffered, died, and rose again so that they might be saved.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that the gospel will advance among those who don’t know the good news of salvation in Jesus so that they might believe and trust in Jesus.

The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
readNumbers 6:26

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with peace in their lives, knowing that God is with them.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
readJohn 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Indo-Caribbean Across Countries (ROP3 - 108730) 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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