Buddhism by the Numbers

Buddhism so influenced the ancient world that even money felt the impact among the Greeks (see Greco Buddhism).

Buddhists around the world

Vipassana Foundation (thedhamma.ocm)

The number of Buddhists around the world is grossly under-estimated. The statistics found in nearly all encyclopedias and almanacs place the number of Buddhists at approximately 500 million. This figure completely ignores over one billion Chinese people who live in the People's Republic of China.

While China is officially "communist" (although many free market conditions are already in place), it does not keep records on religion statistics. Another problem is that many Western reference sources refuse to accept that a person can belong to more than one religion. In Asia it is quite common for one person to have two, three, or more religions. In China, it is extremely common for a family to have a shrine in their home with statues and icons from Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.

Currently there are about 1.3 billion Chinese living in the People's Republic. Surveys (Gach-Alpha Books, U.S. State Dept. report on China, Global Center for the Study of Contemporary China, BBC News, China Daily, and a report by Christian missionaries in China) have found that about 8% to 91% identify Buddhism as one of their religions.

A percentage near the upper end of this estimate, or about 80%, works out to there being about 1.1 billion Chinese Buddhists. To ignore over one billion people as if they do not count is a terrible miscount and very misleading in the reporting of adherents. A Chinese Buddhist forum (bskk.com) currently has about 60,000 registered members and over 2 million posts, which is about double the amount of the largest English language Buddhist forum (which also has Chinese Buddhists participating in the discussions). But to be above reproach, a more conservative estimate is also shown (see below).

The following are links to studies that have analyzed or counted the number of Buddhists in China and the percentage found in their studies:

• U.S. State Department report: approximately 8% to 40% (the report lists 8% but then states that there are "hundreds of millions" of Chinese who practice various religions together, which includes Buddhism).
• BBC News, 2007: approx. 16% to 23%
• ChinaDaily.com, 2007: approx. 16% to 21%
• Seanetwork.org (article by Dr. A. Smith, 2004): approx. 50% to 80%
• Global Center for the Study of Contemporary China: approx. 23% to 98% (the report lists 23% but states that as many as 98% follow more than one religion, which includes Buddhism).
• Gach, Alpha Books, 2001: approx. 91%

The counting of Buddhists in America is also a little problematic since the U.S. Census Bureau does not ask religious affiliation. There are studies that suggest the percentage of Buddhists in America is More>>