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Asian Surinamese

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Asian Surinamese people
Languages
Dutch, Sarnami Hindustani, Surinamese-Javanese, Chinese, Lebanese Arabic
Religion
Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Kejawèn, Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Asian Caribbean

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 from indentured labourers that were brought to Suriname after the abolition of slavery as replacements for African slaves.

History

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Suriname was a plantation colony that depended on slave labour to work on plantations. The Dutch West India Company supplied slaves from West Africa between 1667 until the abolition of slavery on 1 July 1863. Many Afro-Surinamese are descendants of slaves who were transported via the Atlantic slave trade. Thereafter the Dutch recruited indentured labourers from the British Raj (Indian subcontinent) via an arrangement with the British, the Dutch East Indies and China. Unlike other Asian population groups, migrants from the Middle East, mainly Maronites from Lebanon but also Syria and Palestine, were not recruited as indentured labourers but migrated later on their own initiative to engage in the textile trade. Most Asian Surinamese have ancestry from those regions of the Asian continent.

The results of a 2012 census in Suriname showed that of the 541,638 residents,[1] 27% are of Indian descent (Hindustani), 14% are Javanese and 13.4% are multiracial.[1] Chinese was not recorded as an ethnic group. Instead people of Chinese descent were grouped in "Other" together with Amerindian and White.[2] In the 2004 census, 1.8% were Chinese.[3] Between 2004 and 2012 there was a big increase in multiracial people from 12.5% to 17.6%.[1]

Ancestry

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According to estimates of the General Statistics Bureau of Suriname, the population was composed of the following groups (2004-2012):

Ethnic group 2004[1] 2012[1] Growth
Amount % Amount % Amount %
Marron 72,553 14.7 117,567 21.7 45,014 62.0
Creole 87,202 17.7 84,933 15.7 -2,269 ‐2.6
Hindustani 135,117 27.4 148,443 27.4 13,326 9.9
Javanese 71,879 14.6 73,975 13.7 2,096 2.9
Multiracial (mixed) 61,524 12.5 72,340 13.4 10,816 17.6
Other (Chinese, Amerindian, White etc) 31,975 (includes 8,775 Chinese[2]) 6.5 40,985 7.6 9,010 28.2
Unknown 32,579 6.6 3,395 0.6 -29,184 ‐89.6
Total 492,829 100 541,638 100.0 48,809 9.9

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Censusstatistieken 2012". Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname (General Statistics Bureau of Suriname). Presentatie Definitieve Resultaten Census 8 Vol. 1, pages 19-20. Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  2. ^ a b "Censusstatistieken 2012". Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname (General Statistics Bureau of Suriname). Presentatie Definitieve Resultaten Census 8 Vol. 1, page 42. Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  3. ^ "REPORT ON CENSUS 2004 COVERAGE EVALUATION" (PDF). CENSUS OFFICE GENERAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS. 2006. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2021. 8,775 Chinese of total 492,829 residents
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