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The Saramaccan of Suriname

The Saramaccan of Suriname, numbering approximately 36,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Maroon people descended from Africans enslaved on Suriname's plantations who fled into the rainforest in the late 1600s and 1700s and won a 1762 treaty securing their autonomy from the Dutch. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Saramaccan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: North American Peoples
Country: Suriname
People Cluster: Afro-American
Primary Language(s): Saramaccan (srm)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 36,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG016437
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Pray for the Saramaccan 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

85%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Saramaccan
Language Family: Indo-European

95%
%
Saramaccan Speakers

Media Resources in Saramaccan:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Saramaccan:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
1998 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. ✓ ✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Saramaccan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Saramaccan 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 Saramaccan:
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 Saramaccan of Suriname

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray for the gospel to advance and for more people to be brought into God's family through the reconciliation Jesus offers them.

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.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Saramaka Across Countries (ROP3 - 108714) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

2 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Saramaccan PG016437 Saramaccan Suriname 36,000 No Longer Unreached Saramaccan Ethnoreligion
Saramaccan PG016341 Saramaccan French Guiana 6,300 No Longer Unreached Saramaccan Ethnoreligion

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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