The Caribbean Javanese of Suriname

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

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Suriname
People Cluster: Afro-Caribbean
Primary Language(s): Javanese, Suriname (jvn)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

97%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Javanese, Suriname
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Javanese, Suriname Speakers

Media Resources in Javanese, Suriname:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Javanese, Suriname:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1999 Bible League International✓✓✓

1 entry

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

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

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.

Next steps for the Caribbean Javanese:
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 Caribbean Javanese of Suriname

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

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 many people will receive the gospel and will be part of the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, clothed in white robes and palm branches, proclaiming salvation belongs to our God.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
readPsalm 133:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be unified and love one another as God loves them.

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
readActs 17:29

Pray that God will send out laborers to tell people of the one true God and, as the good news is shared, bring about repentance and belief as they turn from idols and follow Jesus.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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

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