practitioners of other faiths (1.8%), and unaffiliated (5.4%). According to the 2020 census, 52.3% of Surinamese were Christians; 26.7% were Protestants (11.18% Pentecostal, 11.16% Moravian, 0.7% Reformed (including Remonstrants), and 4.4% other Protestant denominations), while 21.6% were Catholics. Hindus are the second largest religious group in Suriname, comprising nearly one-fifth of the population (18.8% in 2020), the third largest proportion of any country in the Western Hemisphere, after Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, both of which also have large proportions of Indians. Likewise, almost all practitioners of Hinduism are found among the Indo-Surinamese population. Muslims constitute 14.3% of the population, the highest proportion of Muslims in the Americas; they are largely of Javanese or Indian descent. Folk religions are practiced by 5.6% of the population and include Winti, an Afro-American religion practiced mostly by those of Maroon ancestry; Javanism (0.8%), a syncretic faith found among some Javanese Surinamese; and various indigenous folk traditions that are often incorporated into one of the larger religions (usually Christianity). In the 2020 census, 6.2% of the population declared they had "no religion", while a further 1.9% adhere to "other religions". Languages Suriname has roughly 14 local languages, but Dutch (Nederlands) is the sole official language and is the language used in education, government, business, and the media. Over 60% of the population are native speakers of Dutch and around 20%-30% speak it as a second language. In 2004, Suriname became an associate member of the Dutch Language Union. Suriname is the only Dutch-speaking sovereign country outside of Europe, and the only independent nation in the Americas in which Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population. Suriname and English-speaking Guyana are the only countries in South America where a Romance language does not predominate. In Paramaribo, Dutch is the main home language in two thirds of the households. The recognition of "Surinaams-Nederlands" ("Surinamese Dutch") as a national dialect equal to "Nederlands-Nederlands" ("Dutch Dutch") and "Vlaams-Nederlands" ("Flemish Dutch") was expressed in 2009 by the publication of the Woordenboek Surinaams Nederlands (Surinamese–Dutch Dictionary). It is the most commonly spoken language in urban areas; only in the interior of Suriname (namely parts of Sipaliwini and Brokopondo) is Dutch seldom spoken. Sranan Tongo, a local English-based creole language, is the most widely used vernacular language in daily life and business. Together with Dutch, it is considered to be the one of the two principal languages of Surinamese