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Share of the population: Buddhists

What this indicator measures

Share of the population that identifies as Buddhist, based on Pew Research Center estimates for 2020. The figures come from Pew Research Center estimates based on censuses and surveys; each person is counted according to their own religious identity, regardless of practice.

How to read this?

A value of 30 means 30% of inhabitants identify as Buddhist.

Ranking : ranked from highest to lowest

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192countries with data
97.1 %maximum · Cambodia
0 %median
0 %minimum · Zambia
2020data year(s)

In brief

The "Share of the population: Buddhists" ranking covers 192 countries and territories. Lowest value: Zambia (0 %). Highest value: Cambodia (97.1 %). Median: 0 % (data: 2020). The top 10% of countries exceed 1.7 %, while the bottom 10% stay below 0 %. By continent, the median is highest in Europe (0.2 %) and lowest in Africa (0 %).

Median by continent

Lower Higher
  • Europe 0.2 % (40)
  • Asia 0.2 % (49)
  • Oceania 0.1 % (13)
  • North America 0 % (24)
  • South America 0 % (12)
  • Africa 0 % (51)

Why this indicator matters

This indicator gives the share of the population that identifies as Buddhist. It helps compare the religious composition of countries in a factual way.

What makes this indicator vary

It depends on the country's history, migration, differences in birth rates between groups, conversions and the share of people who say they no longer identify with a religion.

Reading precautions

Estimates come from censuses and surveys; they are modeled for poorly covered countries. Each person is classified according to their declaration, regardless of practice or beliefs. Internal branches of each religion are not distinguished.

Full ranking

ranked from highest to lowest

RankCountryValueYear
1er🇰🇭 Cambodia97.1 %2020
2e🇹🇭 Thailand94.4 %2020
3e🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma)89.1 %2020
4e🇧🇹 Bhutan74.7 %2020
5e🇱🇰 Sri Lanka69.6 %2020
6e🇱🇦 Laos64.2 %2020
7e🇲🇳 Mongolia51.1 %2020
8e🇯🇵 Japan37.2 %2020
9e🇸🇬 Singapore30.8 %2020
10e🇻🇳 Vietnam23 %2020
11e🇲🇴 Macao SAR China19.6 %2020
12e🇹🇼 Taiwan19.2 %2020
13e🇰🇷 South Korea19 %2020
14e🇲🇾 Malaysia18.9 %2020
15e🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China8.4 %2020
16e🇳🇵 Nepal8.2 %2020
17e🇧🇳 Brunei6.3 %2020
18e🇨🇳 China3.7 %2020
19e🇦🇺 Australia2.6 %2020
20e🇨🇦 Canada1.7 %2020
21e🇰🇵 North Korea1.5 %2020
22e🇮🇸 Iceland1.3 %2020
23e🇲🇻 Maldives1.3 %2020
24e🇺🇸 United States1.3 %2020
25e🇳🇿 New Zealand1.2 %2020
26e🇬🇺 Guam1.1 %2020
27e🇸🇪 Sweden0.8 %2020
28e🇸🇨 Seychelles0.8 %2020
29e🇫🇷 France0.7 %2020
30e🇳🇴 Norway0.7 %2020
31e🇮🇩 Indonesia0.7 %2020
31e🇮🇳 India0.7 %2020
33e🇩🇰 Denmark0.7 %2020
34e🇨🇭 Switzerland0.6 %2020
34e🇳🇨 New Caledonia0.6 %2020
36e🇧🇩 Bangladesh0.6 %2020
36e🇮🇹 Italy0.6 %2020
36e🇲🇹 Malta0.6 %2020
39e🇨🇾 Cyprus0.6 %2020
40e🇦🇼 Aruba0.5 %2020
41e🇱🇺 Luxembourg0.5 %2020
42e🇬🇧 United Kingdom0.5 %2020
43e🇲🇺 Mauritius0.4 %2020
44e🇸🇷 Suriname0.4 %2020
45e🇨🇼 Curaçao0.4 %2020
45e🇷🇺 Russia0.4 %2020
47e🇩🇪 Germany0.3 %2020
47e🇸🇧 Solomon Islands0.3 %2020
49e🇺🇦 Ukraine0.3 %2020
50e🇫🇮 Finland0.3 %2020
51e🇦🇹 Austria0.3 %2020
51e🇳🇱 Netherlands0.3 %2020
53e🇱🇾 Libya0.3 %2020
54e🇧🇿 Belize0.3 %2020
55e🇧🇼 Botswana0.2 %2020
56e🇵🇷 Puerto Rico0.2 %2020
56e🇶🇦 Qatar0.2 %2020
58e🇪🇪 Estonia0.2 %2020
58e🇵🇹 Portugal0.2 %2020
60e🇭🇺 Hungary0.2 %2020
60e🇮🇪 Ireland0.2 %2020
62e🇧🇪 Belgium0.2 %2020
63e🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates0.2 %2020
63e🇵🇦 Panama0.2 %2020
65e🇧🇭 Bahrain0.2 %2020
66e🇰🇼 Kuwait0.1 %2020
66e🇸🇰 Slovakia0.1 %2020
68e🇧🇧 Barbados0.1 %2020
68e🇴🇲 Oman0.1 %2020
70e🇧🇷 Brazil0.1 %2020
71e🇬🇳 Guinea0.1 %2020
71e🇰🇿 Kazakhstan0.1 %2020
71e🇵🇫 French Polynesia0.1 %2020
74e🇫🇲 Micronesia0.1 %2020
75e🇨🇿 Czechia0.1 %2020
75e🇱🇻 Latvia0.1 %2020
75e🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia0.1 %2020
78e🇫🇯 Fiji0.1 %2020
78e🇹🇴 Tonga0.1 %2020
80e🇨🇷 Costa Rica0.1 %2020
80e🇨🇺 Cuba0.1 %2020
80e🇹🇷 Türkiye0.1 %2020
83e🇧🇾 Belarus0 %2020
83e🇨🇱 Chile0 %2020
83e🇩🇴 Dominican Republic0 %2020
83e🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea0 %2020
83e🇮🇱 Israel0 %2020
83e🇵🇭 Philippines0 %2020
83e🇸🇮 Slovenia0 %2020
83e🇼🇸 Samoa0 %2020
83e🇿🇦 South Africa0 %2020
83e🇿🇼 Zimbabwe0 %2020
93e🇦🇷 Argentina0 %2020
93e🇧🇬 Bulgaria0 %2020
93e🇬🇾 Guyana0 %2020
93e🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan0 %2020
93e🇱🇹 Lithuania0 %2020
93e🇲🇬 Madagascar0 %2020
93e🇳🇦 Namibia0 %2020
93e🇵🇪 Peru0 %2020
93e🇷🇴 Romania0 %2020
93e🇹🇱 Timor-Leste0 %2020
93e🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago0 %2020
104e🇦🇫 Afghanistan0 %2020
104e🇧🇴 Bolivia0 %2020
104e🇩🇿 Algeria0 %2020
104e🇪🇨 Ecuador0 %2020
104e🇪🇸 Spain0 %2020
104e🇬🇷 Greece0 %2020
104e🇭🇷 Croatia0 %2020
104e🇯🇴 Jordan0 %2020
104e🇲🇽 Mexico0 %2020
104e🇵🇾 Paraguay0 %2020
104e🇸🇿 Eswatini0 %2020
104e🇻🇪 Venezuela0 %2020
104e🇻🇺 Vanuatu0 %2020
117e🇦🇲 Armenia0 %2020
117e🇧🇯 Benin0 %2020
117e🇨🇴 Colombia0 %2020
117e🇨🇻 Cape Verde0 %2020
117e🇬🇪 Georgia0 %2020
117e🇬🇹 Guatemala0 %2020
117e🇭🇳 Honduras0 %2020
117e🇱🇧 Lebanon0 %2020
117e🇲🇰 North Macedonia0 %2020
117e🇵🇰 Pakistan0 %2020
117e🇵🇱 Poland0 %2020
117e🇸🇻 El Salvador0 %2020
117e🇷🇸 Serbia0 %2020
117e🇹🇩 Chad0 %2020
117e🇹🇲 Turkmenistan0 %2020
117e🇺🇿 Uzbekistan0 %2020
133e🇦🇴 Angola0 %2020
133e🇦🇱 Albania0 %2020
133e🇦🇿 Azerbaijan0 %2020
133e🇧🇮 Burundi0 %2020
133e🇧🇫 Burkina Faso0 %2020
133e🇧🇸 Bahamas0 %2020
133e🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina0 %2020
133e🇨🇫 Central African Republic0 %2020
133e🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire0 %2020
133e🇨🇲 Cameroon0 %2020
133e🇨🇩 Congo - Kinshasa0 %2020
133e🇨🇬 Congo - Brazzaville0 %2020
133e🇰🇲 Comoros0 %2020
133e🇩🇯 Djibouti0 %2020
133e🇪🇬 Egypt0 %2020
133e🇪🇷 Eritrea0 %2020
133e🇪🇹 Ethiopia0 %2020
133e🇬🇦 Gabon0 %2020
133e🇬🇭 Ghana0 %2020
133e🇬🇲 Gambia0 %2020
133e🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau0 %2020
133e🇬🇩 Grenada0 %2020
133e🇭🇹 Haiti0 %2020
133e🇮🇷 Iran0 %2020
133e🇮🇶 Iraq0 %2020
133e🇯🇲 Jamaica0 %2020
133e🇰🇪 Kenya0 %2020
133e🇰🇮 Kiribati0 %2020
133e🇱🇷 Liberia0 %2020
133e🇱🇨 St. Lucia0 %2020
133e🇱🇸 Lesotho0 %2020
133e🇲🇦 Morocco0 %2020
133e🇲🇩 Moldova0 %2020
133e🇲🇱 Mali0 %2020
133e🇲🇪 Montenegro0 %2020
133e🇲🇿 Mozambique0 %2020
133e🇲🇷 Mauritania0 %2020
133e🇲🇼 Malawi0 %2020
133e🇳🇪 Niger0 %2020
133e🇳🇬 Nigeria0 %2020
133e🇳🇮 Nicaragua0 %2020
133e🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea0 %2020
133e🇷🇼 Rwanda0 %2020
133e🇸🇩 Sudan0 %2020
133e🇸🇳 Senegal0 %2020
133e🇸🇱 Sierra Leone0 %2020
133e🇸🇴 Somalia0 %2020
133e🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe0 %2020
133e🇸🇾 Syria0 %2020
133e🇹🇬 Togo0 %2020
133e🇹🇯 Tajikistan0 %2020
133e🇹🇳 Tunisia0 %2020
133e🇹🇿 Tanzania0 %2020
133e🇺🇬 Uganda0 %2020
133e🇺🇾 Uruguay0 %2020
133e🇻🇨 St. Vincent & Grenadines0 %2020
133e🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands0 %2020
133e🇽🇰 Kosovo0 %2020
133e🇾🇪 Yemen0 %2020
133e🇿🇲 Zambia0 %2020

Frequently asked questions

Which country has the highest value for "Share of the population: Buddhists"?

The highest value is in Cambodia, at 97.1 % (2020).

Which country has the lowest value for "Share of the population: Buddhists"?

The lowest value is in Zambia, at 0 % (2020).

What is the world median value of "Share of the population: Buddhists"?

The world median is 0 %, calculated across 192 countries: half of the countries are above it, the other half below.

What is the value of "Share of the population: Buddhists" for France?

France scores 0.7 % (2020), ranking 29 out of 192 countries (ranked from highest to lowest).

Where does the "Share of the population: Buddhists" data come from?

It comes from Pew Research Center (2025), via Our World in Data. Site last updated: November 8, 2026. Each country is shown with the year of its most recent value.

What does "identifying as Buddhist" mean?

The person states their own religion in a census or survey. This says nothing about their practice or specific beliefs.

Where do these figures come from?

They come from Pew Research Center estimates, which combine censuses and surveys, published by Our World in Data.

Source and update

Source : Pew Research Center (2025), via Our World in Data. Site last updated: November 8, 2026.

Indicators in the same category : Origins, languages and religions