Index
back to Buddhism, Asia - South
| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buddhism | Asia - South | 22,000,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998); pg. 133. | "Location: Sri Lanka; India; Nepal; Bhutan; Myanmar... Buddhists in South Asia number approximately 22 million people. They are present in all countries in the region, although their greatest concentration is in Sri Lanka. " |
| Buddhism | Australia | - | 0.00% | - | - | 1947 | *LINK* Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS). "Australia: Statistics Show Australians Religious Affiliation " in ACNS #1315, 3 Sept. 1997 [97.8.5.2] (viewed online 24 June 1999). | "Since 1947 there has been great change in the religious composition of Australian society due to immigration and to conversion. Then, Anglicans were the biggest group - with 39% - and Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Pentecostals were undetectable. " [national census data] |
| Buddhism | Australia | 80,387 | - | - | - | 1986 | *LINK* web site: "Growth of Religions in Australia and New South Wales 1986-1996 " | Table "Australia " [growth of religion in Australia, 1986-1996]; "Prepared by the Buddhist Council of New South Wales from census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics "; "1986 adherents " |
| Buddhism | Australia | 139,800 | 0.80% | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* Government statistics web site (viewed circa Nov. 1998) | - |
| Buddhism | Australia | 139,847 | - | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* web site: "Growth of Religions in Australia and New South Wales 1986-1996 " | Table "Australia " [growth of religion in Australia, 1986-1996]; "Prepared by the Buddhist Council of New South Wales from census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics "; "1991 adherents " |
| Buddhism | Australia | - | 1.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Buddhism | Australia | 199,800 | 1.10% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* Government statistics web site (viewed circa Nov. 1998) | - |
| Buddhism | Australia | 199,812 | 1.12% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* Parliament of Australia web site; page: "Census 96: Religion " (viewed 18 Dec. 1999) | Self-identification, from 1996 govt. census. |
| Buddhism | Australia | 199,812 | 1.10% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "Growth of Religions in Australia and New South Wales 1986-1996 " | Table "Australia " [growth of religion in Australia, 1986-1996]; "Prepared by the Buddhist Council of New South Wales from census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics "; "1996 adherents " |
| Buddhism | Australia | - | 1.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* web page (1998): Radio National Transcripts: The Religion Report: "Religious Life in Australia " (Wednesday, 23 July, 1997.) [Discussion of results of 1997 Australian nationwide census, bases on self-identification.] | "Garry Bouma: There's been some interesting changes in this last census from the previous [national census] in 1991. Now we've got two new members of the 1% and over club. That's the Muslims & Buddhists who have cracked the 1% boundary. The only other group to do that in this century have been the Orthodox. " |
| Buddhism | Australia | - | 1.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Buddhism | Australia: New South Wales | 35,114 | - | - | - | 1986 | *LINK* web site: "Growth of Religions in Australia and New South Wales 1986-1996 " | Table "Australia " [growth of religion in New South Wales, 1986-1996]; "Prepared by the Buddhist Council of New South Wales from census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics "; "1986 adherents " |
| Buddhism | Australia: New South Wales | 58,743 | - | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* web site: "Growth of Religions in Australia and New South Wales 1986-1996 " | Table "Australia " [growth of religion in New South Wales, 1986-1996]; "Prepared by the Buddhist Council of New South Wales from census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics "; "1991 adherents " |
| Buddhism | Australia: New South Wales | 81,908 | 1.40% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "Growth of Religions in Australia and New South Wales 1986-1996 " | Table "Australia " [growth of religion in New South Wales, 1986-1996]; "Prepared by the Buddhist Council of New South Wales from census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics "; "1991 adherents " |
| Buddhism | Bangladesh | - | 1.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Buddhism | Bangladesh | 360,279 | 0.30% | - | - | 1995 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998); pg. 89-91. | "Location: Bangladesh; Population: 120,093,000 "; Pg. 91: "Although many non-Muslims fled Bangladesh in 1947... Buddhists (0.6%), Christians (0.3%) and tribal groups (0.3%) form other religious minorities in the country. " |
| Buddhism | Bangladesh | - | 0.60% | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site; (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | POPULATION 1995:132,219,000; Muslim 87%; Hindu 11.7%; Buddhist 0.6%; Christian 0.44% |
| Buddhism | Bangladesh | - | 0.50% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions "; total population: 132,219,000 |
| Buddhism | Barbados | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1998 | *LINK* tourism page: "Fun Barbados " | Barbados Religion page: church listing. "Currently there are around 60 Anglican churches that can be found on the island and over the years many other denominations have joined and can be found list below. " |
| Buddhism | Bhutan | 1,118,740 | 70.00% | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* Library of Congress Country Studies | [Total pop.] estimates vary widely: 1,598,216 in July 1991 but possibly only 700,000. 70 percent Mahayana Buddhists (predominantly Drupka subsect), 25 percent Hindus, 5 percent Muslims. Indeterminate but small number of Bon adherents. |
| Buddhism | Bhutan | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Buddhism | Bhutan | 1,350,000 | 75.00% | - | - | 1995 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998); pg. 118-119. | "Bhutanese: Location: Bhutan; Population: About 816,000 - 1.8 million (including Nepalese immigrants and other minorities) "; "Population data for Bhutan are unreliable. Estimates based on government reports place the total population at around 816,000 persons in 1995. This figure, however, excludes a large number of immigrants from Nepal. If the Nepalese are included, the population may currently exceed 1.8 million. "; "Approximately 75% of the Bhutanese are Buddhist. Mahayana Buddhism is the official religion of Bhutan. The dominant religious order in the country is the Red-Hat sect (Kargyupa). " |
| Buddhism | Bhutan | 630,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year; pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Buddhism | Bhutan | 1,398,893 | 75.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Lamaistic Buddhism 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%; Total population: 1,865,191 (July 1997 est.) note: other estimates range as low as 600,000. |
| Buddhism | Bhutan | 525,000 | 75.00% | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998); pg. 133. | "Some 75% of the mountain kingdom of bhutan's 700,000 people are Buddhists. " |
| Buddhism | Bhutan | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* tourism web page: "Bootan.com " | RELIGION: Unity and independence of the country under the state religion of Buddhism.; BUDDHISM: 70%; HINDU: 25%; MUSLIM: 4.9%; CHRISTIAN: .1% |
| Buddhism | British Columbia | 26,250 | 0.80% | - | - | 1991 | Gall, Timothy L. & Susan Bevan Gall (editors). Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Canadian Provinces. Detroit: U.X.L. (1997), [Orig. source: Canadian Census]; pg. 24. | "In 1991, 44.5% of British Columbia's population, or about 1,460,500 people, was Protestant... British Columbia also had... 36,100 Buddhists, 26,250 Moslems, 19700 Hindus, and 16,400 Jews. " |
| Buddhism | British Columbia | 36,400 | 1.12% | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* web site: "Statistics Canada "; web page: "Population, by religion, 1991 Census " (viewed 9 Jan. 1999); Source: Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 93-319-XPB. | table: "Population, by religion, 1991 Census " |
| Buddhism | Brunei | - | 12.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Buddhism | Brunei | - | 20.00% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site; (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Total Population: 160,000. Buddhism, etc. 20%, among Chinese. |
| Buddhism | Brunei | 43,066 | 14.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Muslim (official) 63%, Buddhism 14%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs and other 15% (1981); Total population: 307,616 (1997 est.). |
| Buddhism | California | - | - | 68 units |
- | 1978 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 136. | "Western Buddhist groups in America are usually quite small, many having only five or ten members who regularly attend meditation or chanting sessions. Many of these groups meet in the private residence of one of their members... according to a 1978 survey, there were in California sixty-eight [Buddhist] groups, and of these perhaps only a dozen had their own buildings and a membership of fifty persons or more. " |
| Buddhism | California | - | 0.70% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | California | - | 2.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Buddhist " |
| Buddhism | California: Los Angeles | - | - | - | - | 1999 | Gallagher, Winifred. Working on God. New York: Random House (1999); pg. 147-148. | "With members of Harvard's Pluralism Project, [Diana Eck] has found that Los Angeles, with its Thai, Korean, Sri Lankan, Vietnamese, Zen, Chinese, and Japanese communities, is now the world's most complex Buddhist city. " |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | 7,300,000 | - | - | - | 1987 | *LINK* Library of Congress Country Studies | In 1987 estimates vary from 6.3 to 7.3 million [total pop.]. Religion: Theravada Buddhism, suppressed by Khmer Rouge, revived but controlled under successor regime. |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | - | 88.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | - | 87.00% | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: 2/2/94 issue of GLOBAL PRAYER DIGEST); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | a nation that is 87 percent Buddhist |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | 9,580,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year; pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | 9,130,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, DK Publishing, Inc.: New York (1997); pg. 160-161. | List: "Top 10 Largest Buddhist Populations in the World "; (Rank: 9) |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1997 | Breuilly, Elizabeth, et al. Religions of the World: The Illustrated Guide to Origins, Beliefs, Traditions & Festivals. Facts on File Inc.: New York, NY (1997); pg. 10 to 11. | "There are over 3 million Buddhists worldwide... More than 85% of the population of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand is Buddhist, as is more than 70% of that in Cambodia, Laos, and Japan. " NOTE: The 3 million figure is obviously a typographical error. |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | 10,605,668 | 95.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Theravada Buddhism 95%, other 5%; Total population: 11,163,861. |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | - | 95.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* "World View: Controversy Besets Book On Moons " [headline of a miscellaneous religious news briefs section] in Salt Lake Tribune (26 Sept. 1998). [Orig. source: Christianity Today] | Christian Radio: The Cambodian government has granted the first license to a Christian radio station in the country, which is 95 percent Buddhist. |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | 8,740,020 | - | - | - | 1998 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 1999. New York: DK Publishing (1998); pg. 76. | Table: "Top 10 Largest Buddhist Populations in the World "; Rank: #7 |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | - | 87.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Buddhism | Cambodia | 10,317,950 | 95.00% | - | - | 1999 | Canesso, Claudia. Cambodia (in "Major World Nations " series), Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers (1999); pg. 63, 75. | Pg. 63: "Of Cambodia's estimated population of 10,861,000, about 90% are... Khmer. "; pg. 75: "By far the most important religion in Cambodia is Buddhism. About 95% of Cambodians--nearly all the Khmer--are Buddhists. " |
| Buddhism | Canada | 51,955 | 0.20% | - | - | 1981 | *LINK* Government statistics web site (viewed circa Nov. 1998): "Population, by religion, 1981 and 1991 Censuses " table | Total population = 24,083,495. |
| Buddhism | Canada | 163,415 | - | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* 1991 Canada Census | No information regarding which type: probably all |
| Buddhism | Canada | 163,400 | 0.61% | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* Government statistics web site (viewed circa Nov. 1998): "Population by religion, 1991 Census " table | Total population = 26,994,000. |
| Buddhism | Canada | 163,400 | 0.61% | - | - | 1991 | *LINK* web site: "Statistics Canada "; web page: "Population, by religion, 1991 Census " (viewed 9 Jan. 1999); Source: Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 93-319-XPB. | table: "Population, by religion, 1991 Census " |
| Buddhism | Canada | 180,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year; pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Buddhism | Canada | 100,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: "United Church of Canada Inter-Faith Dialogue "; web page: "Buddhism " (viewed 19 Feb. 1999), written by Fritz B. Voll, "Updated: Tue Jun 9 23:39:38 1998 " | "There are about 250 million Buddhists in the world. The estimate for Canada is around 100,000. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | - | - | 1 C.E. | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998); pg. 44. | "The Chinese initially encountered Buddhism at the beginning of the first century, when merchants and monks came to China over the Silk Road. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | - | - | 381 C.E. | Welty, Paul Thomas. The Asians: Their Heritage and Their Destiny (Revised Edition). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1966); pg. 146-147. | "Buddhism entered China around the beginning of the Christian era. At first it was frowned upon because it was thought that the concept of reincarnation was a fantasy and that the celibacy of monks was a disgraceful practice since it prevented a man from having descendants. Moreover, the authorities feared that the spread of this foreign religion would seriously threaten their power. It expanded rapidly, however, especially among the common people, and by 381 A.D. most of the people of northwest China were Budhdist. Winning converts also among the rulers and scholars, by the end of the T'ang Dynasty Buddhism was found everywhere in China. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | 44,600 units |
- | 841 C.E. | Hoobler, Thomas & Dorothy Hoobler. Confucianism (series: "World Religions "). New York: Facts on File (1993); pg. 48. | "In the years 841 to 845, the [Confucian] government launched an anti-Buddhist campaign, seizing the monasteries' land and secularizing, or restoring to lay status, the monks & the nuns. According to one account, 4,600 monasteries were seized, 40,000 Buddhist shrines were destroyed, and more than 260,000 monks & nuns were driven from their religious refuges. Buddhism in China was never to recover from the persecution, though it remained popular among the lower classes, well into the 20th century. " [44,600 would be minimum # of shrines & monasteries, but there were probably more locations] |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | - | - | 845 C.E. | Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996), Chapter: Taoism; pg. 190. | "the Taoist Church was also responsible for occasional persecutions of Buddhists during the 1st millenium, when the Taoists feared that their hierarchical power was being threatened. Major persecutions resulting in many deaths took place in AD 446 and again in 845, when a Taoist emperor moved to counter Buddhism's growing popularity by closing thousands of Buddhist monasteries and defrocking their monks and nuns, leading to the eventual decline, but not disappearance, of Buddhism in China. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | - | - | 907 C.E. | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998); pg. 45. | "Buddhism was most influential in Chinese history during the Tang dynasty (618-907). Several emperors officially supported the religion; the Tan empress Wu Zetian, in particular, surrounded herself with Buddhist advisors. During the years 842 to 845, however, Chinese Buddhists also experienced the most severe persecutions in their entire history: a total of 40,000 temples and monasteries were destroyed, and Buddhism was blamed for the economic decline and moral decay of the dynasty. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | 267,000 units |
- | 1945 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976; 1st ed. pub. 1945 by Philosophical Library); pg. 97. | "Today the T'ien-t'ai and the Pure Land Schools are still the strongest in China... Of the 738,000 monks and nuns, 267,000 temples, some 3,000,000 'home disciples,' and an unknown number of Buddha-worshipers in China... " |
| Buddhism | China | 200,000,000 | 33.00% | - | - | 1949 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Time Incorporated (1957); pg. 55. | "...a supreme test for both Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism had begun in 1949 with the Communist victory in China. In conquering that ancient land, the Communists took over the area where Mahayana Buddhism had had its greatest growth and claimed its greatest number of adherents. Perhaps a third of China's 600 millions might then have been counted as Buddhists. Communism, in doctrine the foe of all religion, promptly deprived monasteries of their lands and revenues, drove old monks to work in fields and factories and young ones to the Korean war as 'volunteers.' Stories filtered out of Red China of nuns compelled to marry, and of others who drowned themselves en masse rather than obey the order. " |
| Buddhism | China | 100,000,000 | - | - | - | 1955 | Cousins, L. S. "Buddhism " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st published in 1984]; pg. 330. | "According to government figures there were 100 million Chinese Buddhists in the 1950s. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | - | - | 1966 | Rutherford, Scott (ed.) East Asia. London: Apa Publications (1998); pg. 45. | "By the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, it seemed as if the Red Guards were intent on completely eradicating Buddhism. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | - | - | 1970 | Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996); pg. 191-192. | "the People's Republic of China was established along Communist lines in 1949. The Marxist government discouraged religion but did not ban it outright; that prohibition occurred during the disastrous period of the Great Cultural Revolution, 1966-78. Then, many Buddhist and Taoist temples and shrines were closed or destroyed and the clergy forced into labor. The same thing happened to the Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic clergy and places of worship that had been established in China. " |
| Buddhism | China | 100,000,000 | 13.33% | - | - | 1972 | Kinmond, William. The First Book of Communist China. New York: Franklin Watts (1972, revised edition); pg. 4, 74. | Pg. 4: "No one really knows how many Chinese there are because distances are so great... roughly 750,000,000... "; Pg. 74: "There are approx. 100 million Chinese Buddhists, 10 million Moslems, 3 million Catholics, 700,000 Protestants, and 20,000 Taoist priests and nuns. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 135-136. | "At present, with China and Tibet under the control of the People's Republic of China, Buddhism is no longer a living force in those countries. The Sangha has been decimated and the monasteries converted to museum pieces. " |
| Buddhism | China | - | 6.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
