Buddhism by country


This list of Buddhism by country shows the distribution of the Buddhist religion, practiced by about 500 million people as of the 2010s, representing 7% to 8% of the world's total population.
Countries with Buddhists majorities include Cambodia, Thailand , Myanmar , Bhutan , Sri Lanka , Japan, and others. China is the country with the largest population of Buddhists, approximately 244 million or 18.2% of its total population. They are mostly followers of Chinese schools of Mahayana, making this the largest body of Buddhist traditions. Mahayana, also practised in broader East Asia, is followed by over half of the world's Buddhists.
The second largest body of Buddhist schools is Theravada, mostly followed in Southeast Asia. The third largest body of schools Vajrayana, is followed mostly in Tibet, the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia, but is disseminated throughout the world. The fourth largest body of Buddhist schools is Navayana, mostly followed in Maharashtra, India.
According to scholar Peter Harvey, the number of adherents of Eastern Buddhism is 360 million, Southern Buddhism 150 million, and Northern Buddhism 18.2 million. Seven million additional Buddhists are found outside Asia.

By country

By region

Ten countries with the largest Buddhist populations

note: Exact number of followers when calculating Buddhists varies because Buddhism is often mixed with the native East Asian religions in their respective countries. For example, in Japan the number of Buddhists when calculating including the Shintoists would ramp the percentage of Buddhists in Japan from 67% to >98%.