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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

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:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Saramaccan:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
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

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
readPsalm 34:8

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many will have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God and entrust their lives to Him.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
read1 Corinthians 9:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hearts that want to serve the lost around them so that many might come to faith in Jesus.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SaramaccanPG016437SaramaccanSuriname36,000No Longer UnreachedSaramaccanEthnoreligion
SaramaccanPG016341SaramaccanFrench Guiana6,300No Longer UnreachedSaramaccanEthnoreligion

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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