Ethnic Groups
- Amerindian, the original inhabitants of Suriname. 2%,
- Hindustani, also known locally as East Indians; their ancestors emigrated from northern British India in the latter part of the 19th century to do indention work. 37%,
- Creole (mixed white and black) 31%,
- Javanese 15% (Southeast Asians),
- "Maroons" (their African ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and escaped to the interior) 10%,
- Chinese 8%,
- White 5%,
and about 20,000 American expatriates from the United States.
Although there are official statistics available, the current population of Suriname is very different of these. Local estimates are
- 180,000 Hindustani (Indian descendants) estimates are up to 200-300,000 which can include unregistred immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana,
- 150,000 Creole (Mixed African and European/Asian/Amerindian/Jewish etc.) Some estimates are higher because this figure exclude immigrants from Haiti, French Guiana, Dominican Republic and Guyana,
- 80,000 Maroon (African descendants),
- 75,000 Javanese (Asians from formerly Dutch-ruled Indonesia not limited to those from the island Java),
- 60,000 Brazilian (estimates varies between 20.000 and 80. 000) from Brazil. There are smaller numbers of South American nationalities, but are Spanish speakers included in the European category,
- 40,000 Chinese (with some estimates even higher) with quite small communities of Koreans, Japanese and Filipinos.
- 12,000 to 24,000 Amerindian (esp. in the tropical rainforest south). It does not include Cherokees from the USA whom settled in the Guyanas in the 19th century,
- 20,000 European (of which 8,000 are Dutch) included are small communities of British, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish descendants, all integrated to the Dutch European group,
- 2,000 Arab/Middle-eastern (mostly Lebanese but also Syrian and Palestinians).
- 200 Jews who are identified in ethnoreligious terms.
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Suriname
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