• Religion:  

Religion: Buddhism What is Primary Religion?

Population of Adherents

501,315,000

% of World Population

6.3 %

People Groups

686

Unreached Groups

533 (77.7 %)

Map Notes
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Progress Scale: ●●●●●   
☀
 = Frontier peoples
Photo People Group Country Population Primary Language Primary Religion Progress
Scale 		% Christian
Adherent 		%
Evangelical 		Scripture
Status ▲		 Est. Workers
Needed *
Buriat, Mongolia Mongolia 59,000 Buriat, Mongolia Buddhism ● 0.60 % 0.50 % Bible Portions 1
Okinawan, Ryukyuan Bolivia 2,500 Okinawan, Central Buddhism ● 1.50 % 0.10 % Bible Portions 1
Chaungtha Myanmar (Burma) 183,000 Rakhine Buddhism ● 0.10 % 0.07 % Bible Portions 4
Tai Khun Myanmar (Burma) 130,000 Khun Buddhism ☀ 0.00 % 0.00 % Bible Portions 3
Tai Khun Laos 800 Khun Buddhism ● 4.00 % 2.00 % Bible Portions 1
Tai Khun Thailand 7,200 Khun Buddhism ● 1.50 % 0.14 % Bible Portions 1
Bumthangpa Bhutan 23,000 Bumthangkha Buddhism ● 0.59 % Bible Portions 1
Lao Song Thailand 37,000 Thai Song Buddhism ● 1.00 % 0.90 % Bible Portions 1
Loba Bhutan 2,200 Lhowa Buddhism ☀ 0.00 % 0.00 % Bible Portions 1
Loba Nepal 3,100 Lhowa Buddhism ● 0.19 % Bible Portions 1
Rakhine Bangladesh 19,000 Rakhine Buddhism ☀ 0.00 % 0.00 % Bible Portions 1
Rakhine Myanmar (Burma) 2,687,000 Rakhine Buddhism ☀ 0.10 % 0.05 % Bible Portions 54
Mon Pakistan 1,300 Balti Buddhism ☀ 0.00 % 0.00 % Bible Portions 1
Nyahkur Thailand 1,700 Nyahkur Buddhism ☀ 0.00 % 0.00 % Bible Portions 1
Palaung, Rumai Myanmar (Burma) 158,000 Palaung, Rumai Buddhism ● 0.40 % 0.20 % Bible Portions 3
So Laos 89,000 So Buddhism ● 1.40 % 1.00 % Bible Portions 2
So Thailand 75,000 So Buddhism ● 1.00 % 0.60 % Bible Portions 2
Thai, Southern Malaysia 4,300 Thai, Southern Buddhism ☀ 0.00 % 0.00 % Bible Portions 1
Thai, Southern Thailand 5,341,000 Thai, Southern Buddhism ● 0.90 % 0.25 % Bible Portions 107
Tai Nua, Chinese Shan Myanmar (Burma) 102,000 Tai Nua Buddhism ● 0.11 % 0.11 % Bible Portions 2
Tai Nua, Chinese Shan China 490,000 Tai Nua Buddhism ● 0.19 % 0.17 % Bible Portions 10
Tai Nua, Chinese Shan Laos 15,000 Tai Nua Buddhism ☀ 0.00 % 0.00 % Bible Portions 1
Tai Nua, Chinese Shan Vietnam 109,000 Tai Nua Buddhism ● 0.19 % 0.17 % Bible Portions 2
Bru, Western Laos 89,000 Bru, Western Buddhism ● 12.00 % 8.00 % Bible Portions -
Bru, Western Thailand 25,000 Bru, Western Buddhism ● 8.00 % 6.00 % Bible Portions -
Totals: 686 Peoples   501,315,000     533 ●       5,942
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Disclaimers:
  1. Joshua Project data is drawn from many sources and of varying accuracy depending on source and editorial decisions. Populations are scaled to the current year. Other data may have varying ages. We welcome updates.
  2. Joshua Project occasionally adjusts profile text from third party sources. This is done to avoid confusion regarding the current reality of a people group, to fix grammar and spelling and to avoid potentially offensive wording.
  3. A displayed zero can mean true zero, a very small rounded number or sometimes unknown. Blanks mean an unknown value.
  4. Data is not as precise as it appears. Values for %Christian Adherent and %Evangelical (which determine unreached status) are often informed estimates, some more accurate than others. We recommend against using %Christian Adherent and %Evangelical to calculate absolute numbers.
  5. Joshua Project makes every effort to ensure that the subject in an image is in fact from the specific people group. In rare instances a representative photo may be used.
  6. Joshua Project may be able to provide more information than what is published on this site. Please contact us.
  7. On-the-ground reality may vary from what is presented here. Before making travel plans based on data presented here, please confirm with other sources to the extent possible.
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