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Indians in Suriname
India has the largest diaspora in the world and as per the Ministry of External Affairs, there are 3.2 Crores or 32 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) residing outside India.
As per the Ministry of External Affairs report, there are 237,205 (2.37 Lakh) Indians residing in Suriname.
- Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) – 237,000 (2.37 Lakh)
- Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) – 205
read about Population of Overseas Indians
Suriname Indian population
Indo-Surinamese make up around 28% of the Suriname population and approx population of Indians in Suriname as of 2023 is 2.50 Lakh. Indians in Suriname can trace their ancestors back to northern India, especially the Bhojpur and Awadh regions of the Hindi Belt, and some Indians from southern India. Indians first arrived in Suriname as indentured laborers from 1845 till 1917 and some Indians later came as entrepreneurs beginning in the mid-20th century and continuing till the present day.
Indo-Surinamese made up 37.6% of the population in the 1972 Census. Following the independence of Suriname on 25 November 1975, a significant portion of the Indo-Surinamese population migrated to the Netherlands, thereby retaining their Dutch passport.
Source: MEA report about overseas Indian population
Religion of Indian population in Suriname
Hinduism is the majority religion followed by Indo-Surinamese. Minority religions are Islam, Jainism, and Christianity. The breakdown of religious affiliation for Indo-Surinamese is as follows
- Hinduism – 78%
- Islam – 13%
- Christians – 7%
- Others – 2%
read about religion in Suriname