The Surinamers of United States

The Surinamers of United States, numbering approximately 22,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Afro-Caribbean ethnolinguistic group whose identity is linked to the culture of Suriname. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Sranan Tongo is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Surinamer

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Afro-Caribbean
Primary Language(s): Sranan Tongo (srn)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 22,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG047307
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Surinamers of United States

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sranan Tongo
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Sranan Tongo Speakers

Media Resources in Sranan Tongo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Sranan Tongo:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wortu fu Gado✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Sranan Tongo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Surinamers 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 Surinamers:
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 Surinamers of United States

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
read1 John 3:8

Pray for those living in darkness to recognize the destructive power of sin and the victory Christ has won over it.

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.

And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that having sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will see that God provides for their needs and be content in His provision so that they may excel in every good work.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

Surinamese Creole Across Countries (ROP3 - 109625) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Surinamese CreolesSurinamese CreolesNetherlands258,000No Longer UnreachedDutchRoman Catholicism
Surinamese CreolesSurinamese CreolesSuriname163,000No Longer UnreachedDutchProtestantism
SurinamersSurinamersUnited States22,000No Longer UnreachedSranan TongoProtestantism
SurinamersSurinamersFrench Guiana20,500No Longer UnreachedSranan TongoEthnoreligion
Surinamese CreolesSurinamese CreolesCuracao2,000No Longer UnreachedSranan TongoFolk Catholicism

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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