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Buddhist Countries 2024

Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the world. It originated in India and is based around the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama, also known as Gautama Buddha or simply Buddha, who lived in India from roughly 563 BCE to 480 BCE. Those who practice Buddhism—known as Buddhists—believe in reincarnation. They believe that death is not the end, but instead, a person is reborn after they pass. Buddhists believe that finding enlightenment, or Nirvana, is the key to stopping the cycle of rebirth. Buddhism is a global religion, with practitioners all over the world, but is predominantly centered in East and Southeast Asia.

Buddhism can play different roles in the lives of different people. For some, Buddhism is a religion. For others, it is a philosophy. Still others practice Buddhism as a mental discipline through which they find themselves and experience inner peace. A 2019 article by the Pew Research Center cited published work that confirmed that many Asians may follow Buddhist customs and practices, but not consider themselves followers of Buddhism as a religion. It is estimated that as many as 506 million people around the world practice Buddhism as a religion, which would represent roughly 6.6% of the world’s total population.

Top 10 Countries with the Highest Percentage of Buddhists (Pew Research 2020):

Country
Buddhist %
Cambodia96.8%
Thailand92.6%
Myanmar79.8%
Bhutan74.7%
Sri Lanka68.6%
Laos64%
Mongolia54.4%
Japan33.2%
Singapore32.2%
South Korea21.9%

The first seven nations listed above have a Buddhist population that makes up at least 55% of the total population, making them Buddhist majority countries. Other countries with a significant percentage of Buddhists include Taiwan (Republic of China), Malaysia, China, Macau (China), Vietnam, Hong Kong (China), Northern Mariana Islands, and Nepal. Also, percentages can be misleading, as several additional nations have massive Buddhist populations that simply aren't in the majority. For example, China is home to an estimated 254 million Buddhists—roughly half of the total Buddhists in the world. This makes Buddhism the most popular religion in China by a wide margin. Yet, because more than 51% of China's residents remain unaffiliated with any religion, China is generally not considered a Buddhist country. The list below illustrates this point.

Top 10 Countries with the Highest Number of Buddhists (Pew Research 2020):

Country
Number of Buddhists
China254.7M
Thailand66.1M
Myanmar41.4M
Japan41.4M
Cambodia15.7M
Vietnam15.6M
Sri Lanka15.4M
South Korea10.9M
India10.1M
Malaysia5.2M
* All data including totals are 2020 estimates. Populations under 10,000 are listed as 9,999 and percentages under 0.10% are listed as 0.09%.

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Country
Number of Buddhists
Buddhist %
Cambodia15.7M96.8%
Thailand66.1M92.6%
Myanmar41.4M79.8%
Bhutan620K74.7%
Sri Lanka15.4M68.6%
Laos4.6M64%
Mongolia1.7M54.4%
Japan41.4M33.2%
Singapore1.9M32.2%
South Korea10.9M21.9%
Taiwan4.9M21.2%
China254.7M18.3%
Macau100K17.3%
Vietnam15.6M16.2%
Malaysia5.2M15.7%
Hong Kong1M13.3%
Northern Mariana Islands10K10.6%
Nepal3.5M10%
Brunei40K8.6%
Kuwait180K5.4%
Qatar90K3.8%
Bahrain50K3.1%
Australia720K2.9%
United Arab Emirates210K2.4%
New Zealand90K1.9%
North Korea380K1.5%
United States4.2M1.2%
Guam10K1.1%
Nauru10K1.1%
Canada370K1%
Norway40K0.8%
Palau10K0.8%
India10.1M0.7%
Indonesia1.8M0.7%
Oman20K0.7%
Suriname10K0.7%
Bangladesh1M0.6%
United Kingdom380K0.6%
Sweden60K0.6%
Switzerland50K0.6%
Maldives10K0.6%
Iceland10K0.6%
New Caledonia10K0.6%
France310K0.5%
Belize10K0.5%
Curacao10K0.5%
Bermuda10K0.5%
Sint Maarten10K0.5%
Saudi Arabia130K0.4%
Jordan30K0.4%
Denmark20K0.4%
Mauritius10K0.4%
Cyprus10K0.4%
Micronesia10K0.4%
Germany230K0.3%
Kazakhstan60K0.3%
Netherlands50K0.3%
Belgium40K0.3%
Israel20K0.3%
Austria20K0.3%
Libya20K0.3%
Puerto Rico10K0.3%
Trinidad and Tobago10K0.3%
Solomon Islands10K0.3%
French Guiana10K0.3%
American Samoa10K0.3%
South Africa90K0.2%
Italy150K0.2%
Peru50K0.2%
Czech Republic20K0.2%
Portugal20K0.2%
Lebanon10K0.2%
Ireland10K0.2%
Panama10K0.2%
Reunion10K0.2%
Falkland Islands10K0.2%
Brazil250K0.1%
Russia170K0.1%
Honduras10K0.1%
Slovakia10K0.1%
Finland10K0.1%
Aruba10K0.1%
Dominica10K0.1%
Pakistan20K0.09%
Nigeria20K0.09%
Ethiopia10K0.09%
Mexico10K0.09%
Philippines100K0.09%
Egypt10K0.09%
DR Congo10K0.09%
Iran10K0.09%
Turkey40K0.09%
Tanzania10K0.09%
Kenya10K0.09%
Colombia10K0.09%
Uganda10K0.09%
Sudan10K0.09%
Spain20K0.09%
Iraq10K0.09%
Algeria10K0.09%
Argentina20K0.09%
Afghanistan10K0.09%
Poland10K0.09%
Morocco10K0.09%
Ukraine20K0.09%
Angola10K0.09%
Uzbekistan10K0.09%
Yemen10K0.09%
Mozambique10K0.09%
Ghana10K0.09%
Madagascar10K0.09%
Ivory Coast10K0.09%
Venezuela10K0.09%
Cameroon10K0.09%
Niger10K0.09%
Syria10K0.09%
Mali10K0.09%
Burkina Faso10K0.09%
Malawi10K0.09%
Zambia10K0.09%
Chile10K0.09%
Romania10K0.09%
Chad10K0.09%
Somalia10K0.09%
Ecuador10K0.09%
Guatemala10K0.09%
Senegal10K0.09%
Zimbabwe10K0.09%
Guinea10K0.09%
Rwanda10K0.09%
Benin10K0.09%
Burundi10K0.09%
Bolivia10K0.09%
Tunisia10K0.09%
Haiti10K0.09%
Dominican Republic10K0.09%
South Sudan10K0.09%
Cuba10K0.09%
Papua New Guinea10K0.09%
Azerbaijan10K0.09%
Tajikistan10K0.09%
Greece10K0.09%
Hungary10K0.09%
Belarus10K0.09%
Togo10K0.09%
Sierra Leone10K0.09%
Nicaragua10K0.09%
Serbia10K0.09%
Paraguay10K0.09%
Kyrgyzstan10K0.09%
Bulgaria10K0.09%
Turkmenistan10K0.09%
El Salvador10K0.09%
Republic of the Congo10K0.09%
Central African Republic10K0.09%
Liberia10K0.09%
Palestine10K0.09%
Costa Rica10K0.09%
Mauritania10K0.09%
Croatia10K0.09%
Eritrea10K0.09%
Georgia10K0.09%
Uruguay10K0.09%
Moldova10K0.09%
Bosnia and Herzegovina10K0.09%
Gambia10K0.09%
Albania10K0.09%
Jamaica10K0.09%
Armenia10K0.09%
Botswana10K0.09%
Lithuania10K0.09%
Namibia10K0.09%
Gabon10K0.09%
Lesotho10K0.09%
Guinea Bissau10K0.09%
Slovenia10K0.09%
North Macedonia10K0.09%
Latvia10K0.09%
Equatorial Guinea10K0.09%
Timor Leste10K0.09%
Estonia10K0.09%
Djibouti10K0.09%
Fiji10K0.09%
Comoros10K0.09%
Guyana10K0.09%
Luxembourg10K0.09%
Montenegro10K0.09%
Cape Verde10K0.09%
Western Sahara10K0.09%
Malta10K0.09%
Bahamas10K0.09%
Guadeloupe10K0.09%
Martinique10K0.09%
Mayotte10K0.09%
Vanuatu10K0.09%
French Polynesia10K0.09%
Barbados10K0.09%
Sao Tome and Principe10K0.09%
Samoa10K0.09%
Saint Lucia10K0.09%
Kiribati10K0.09%
Grenada10K0.09%
Tonga10K0.09%
Seychelles10K0.09%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines10K0.09%
United States Virgin Islands10K0.09%
Antigua and Barbuda10K0.09%
Isle of Man10K0.09%
Andorra10K0.09%
Cayman Islands10K0.09%
Greenland10K0.09%
Saint Kitts and Nevis10K0.09%
Turks and Caicos Islands10K0.09%
Marshall Islands10K0.09%
Liechtenstein10K0.09%
Monaco10K0.09%
San Marino10K0.09%
Gibraltar10K0.09%
British Virgin Islands10K0.09%
Cook Islands10K0.09%
Anguilla10K0.09%
Tuvalu10K0.09%
Wallis and Futuna10K0.09%
Saint Pierre and Miquelon10K0.09%
Montserrat10K0.09%
Niue10K0.09%
Tokelau10K0.09%
Vatican City10K0.09%
showing: 228 rows

What are the 10 most buddhist countries?

The countries with the highest number of Buddhists are China, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, South Korea, India and Malaysia.

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