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

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readMark 10:15

Pray for those who might be trapped in pride, that God will humble them and give them a childlike faith and complete dependence on Him through faith in Christ.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

5 people groups

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