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The Arawak of Suriname

The Arawak of Suriname, numbering approximately 3,300 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an indigenous Arawakan-speaking people of northern South America whose traditional territories extend across Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Venezuela. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Dutch is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Arawak

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Suriname
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Dutch (nld)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 3,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG016424
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Pray for the Arawak 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dutch
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Dutch Speakers

Media Resources in Dutch:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Dutch:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1750 Dutch Staten Vertaling Bible✓
Herziene Statenvertaling (HSV)✓✓✓
Het Boek✓
New Dutch Translation (de Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling)✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dutch 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: 0), 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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Arawak:
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

Pray specifically for the Arawak of Suriname

While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
readLuke 9:42

Pray that those who are living outside of the hope of the gospel will know and trust that Jesus offers freedom from the oppression of sin and hope in eternal life.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
readGenesis 2:7

Pray that Christians will be able to share the hope of Christ with suffering people and that He will breathe new life into their souls.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

Arawak Across Countries (ROP3 - 100472) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ArawakPG016353ArawakGuyana15,000No Longer UnreachedGuyanese Creole EnglishEthnoreligion
ArawakPG047233ArawakUnited States3,600No Longer UnreachedEnglishProtestantism
ArawakPG016424ArawakSuriname3,300Unengaged and UnreachedDutchEthnoreligion
ArawakPG016328ArawakFrench Guiana1,000No Longer UnreachedArawakEthnoreligion
ArawakPG016456ArawakVenezuela425No Longer UnreachedSpanishEthnoreligion

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 Data Standards section.

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