Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a medium level of human development; its economy is heavily dependent on its abundant natural resources, namely bauxite, gold, petroleum, and agricultural products. Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Nations, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
This is a demography of the population of Suriname, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.
Javanese is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family spoken primarily by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northern coast of western Java. It is the native language of more than 68 million people.
Hinduism is a minority religion in South America, which is followed by even less than 1% of the total continent's population. Hinduism is found in several countries, but is strongest in the Indo-Caribbean populations of Guyana and Suriname. There are about 320,000 Hindus in South America, chiefly the descendants of Indian indentured laborers in the Guianas. There are about 185,000 Hindus in Guyana, 120,000 in Suriname, and some others in French Guiana. In Guyana and Suriname, Hindus form the second largest religion and in some regions and districts, Hindus form the majority. Though in recent times, due to influence of Hindu culture the number of Hindus converts have increased in other countries in South America, including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and others.
Islam is the third largest religion in Guyana, after Christianity and Hinduism, respectively. According to the 2012 census, 7% of the country’s population is Muslim. However, a Pew Research survey from 2010 estimates that 6.4% of the country is Muslim. Islam was first introduced to Guyana via enslaved people from West Africa, but was suppressed on plantations until Muslims from British India were brought to the country as indentured labour. The current President of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali is the first Muslim president.
Hinduism is the third largest religious group in the Netherlands, after Christianity and Islam; representing about 1.0% of the Dutch population in 2019. After the United Kingdom and Italy, the third largest Hindu community of Europe lives in the Netherlands. There are between 150,000 – 200,000 Hindus currently living in the Netherlands, the vast majority of who migrated from Suriname – a former Dutch colony in South America. There are also sizable populations of Hindu immigrants from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Afghanistan, as well as a smaller number of Western adherents of Hinduism-oriented new religious movements.
Indo-Surinamese, Indian-SurinameseorHindustani Surinamese are nationals of Suriname who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent. Their ancestors were indentured labourers brought by the Dutch and the British to the Dutch colony of Suriname, beginning in 1873 and continuing during the British Raj. Per the 2012 Census of Suriname, 148,443 citizens of Suriname are of Indo-Surinamese origin, constituting 27.4% of the total population, making them the largest ethnic group in Suriname on an individual level. They are a subgroup of Asian Surinamese and Indo-Caribbean people.
Suriname has possibly the highest proportion of Hindus who are Arya Samajis, compared to any other country. In Suriname, the Hindu population had split, with roughly 20% following the teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Ārya Samāj, and 80% following the Sanatan Dharm. According to the census of 2012 the number of Ārya Samājĩs is 16,661. The arrival of Arya Samaj preachers in Suriname, in 1929, caused a rift in the Hindu community, between the followers of Sanātanī and the Ārya Samāj.
Religion in Suriname is characterized by a range of religious beliefs and practices due to its ethnic diversity. The government is vocally supportive of religious diversity and tolerance, and these attitudes are present in general society as well. According to the most recent census (2012), 48.4 percent of the population is Christian, 22.3 percent is Hindu, 13.9 percent is Muslim, 1.8 percent follows Winti, and 0.8 percent is Javanism. In addition 2.1 percent of the population follows other faiths, 7.5 percent are atheist or agnostic, and 3.2 percent did not answer the question about their religion. Later estimates suggest that Christians made up just over half the population in 2020.
Koewarasan is a resort in Suriname, located in the Wanica District. Its population at the 2012 census was 27,713. It is located to the west of Paramaribo, and is mainly a suburban area. The municipality was founded in 1939, and was originally intended for the Javanese settlers from Java, however due to World War II, only a single group arrived. The majority of the population are East Indian. Prior to 1939, Koewarasan was an agricultural area used for the cultivation of rice.
Surinamese people are people who identify with the country of Suriname. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Surinamese, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Surinamese.
Chinese Surinamese people are Surinamese residents of ethnic Chinese origin. The earliest migrants came in the 19th century as indentured laborers; there was another wave of migration in the 1950s and 1960s. There were 7,885 Chinese in Suriname at the 2012 census, constituting 1.5% of the total population. They constitute the largest component of the 'other' ethnic category, which makes up 2.3% of the population as per the CIA World Factbook. The majority of the Chinese Surinamese consider Hakka of Guangdong as their ancestral homes. There is a small minority of Heshan, Jiangmen origin Cantonese and Hakkas as well.
Islam is a minority religion in all of the countries and territories of the Americas, around 1% of North America population are Muslims, and 0.1% of Latin America and Caribbean population are Muslims.
Asian Surinamese, are Surinamese people of Asian descent. Asian migrants to Suriname came mostly from South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Historically, Asian Surinamese have been present in the country since the 19th century, the majority of which are descended from indentured labourers that were brought to Suriname after the abolition of slavery as replacements for African slaves.
Indonesia and Suriname established diplomatic relations on 24 January 1976. Both had a special relationship, based upon shared common history as former colonies of the Dutch Empire. Large numbers of Javanese migrated to Suriname to work on plantations during the late 19th and early 20th-centuries. Indonesia has an embassy in Paramaribo also accredited to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, while Suriname has an embassy in Jakarta. Indonesia and Suriname are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Forum of East Asia-Latin America Cooperation.
India–Suriname relations are the international relations that exist between India and Suriname. Indo-Surinamese form the largest ethnic group in Suriname, making 27.4% of the population. The current President of Suriname Chan Santokhi is of Indo-Surinamese descent.
Hinduism in Suriname is the second-largest religion. According to ARDA, there are 129,440 Hindus in Suriname as of 2015, constituting 23.15% of the population. Suriname has the second largest percentage of Hindus in the Western Hemisphere, after Guyana (24.8%).
The Javanese diaspora is the demographic group of descendants of ethnic Javanese who emigrated from the Indonesian island of Java to other parts of the world. The Javanese diaspora includes a significant population in Suriname, with over 13% of the country's population being of Javanese ancestry. Other major enclaves are found in French Guiana, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Caledonia, Singapore, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
Dance in Suriname is practiced from the amateur to the professional level for cultural, social and spiritual reasons, among others. Suriname has a variety of traditional and contemporary dance styles which have developed from the cultures of its ethnic groups. In addition, several foreign popular styles have been adopted from the West, the greater Caribbean, Java and Bollywood.
South Asians in the Netherlands, also referred to as South Asian Dutch or Dutch South Asians, are citizens or residents of the Netherlands whose ancestry traces back to South Asia. They are a subcategory of Dutch Asians.
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