• Religion:  

Religion: Buddhism What is Primary Religion?

Population of Adherents

501,784,000

% of World Population

6.3 %

People Groups

691

Unreached Groups

536 (77.6 %)

Map Notes
Click column headings for sorting ▲▼
Progress Scale: ●●●●●   
☀
 = Frontier peoples
Photo People Group Country Population ▲ Primary Language Primary Religion Progress
Scale 		% Christian
Adherent 		%
Evangelical 		Scripture
Status 		Est. Workers
Needed *
Mongol, Khalka Mongolia 2,416,000 Mongolian, Halh Buddhism ● 1.50 % 0.86 % Complete Bible 48
Rakhine Myanmar (Burma) 2,580,000 Rakhine Buddhism ☀ 0.10 % 0.05 % Bible Portions 52
Lao Laos 3,565,000 Lao Buddhism ● 3.50 % 2.00 % Complete Bible 71
Tai Man, Shan Myanmar (Burma) 4,537,000 Shan Buddhism ● 0.90 % 0.82 % Complete Bible 91
Thai, Southern Thailand 5,348,000 Thai, Southern Buddhism ● 0.90 % 0.25 % Bible Portions 107
Mongolian, Peripheral China 5,583,000 Mongolian, Peripheral Buddhism ☀ 0.04 % 0.02 % Complete Bible 112
Thai-Chinese Thailand 5,846,000 Thai Buddhism ● 4.00 % 2.66 % Complete Bible -
Thai, Northern Thailand 7,777,000 Thai, Northern Buddhism ● 0.20 % 0.03 % New Testament 156
Wahumpura Sri Lanka 8,446,000 Sinhala Buddhism ● 7.01 % Complete Bible -
Mahar (Buddhist traditions) India 11,375,000 Marathi Buddhism ● 0.13 % Complete Bible 228
Khmer Cambodia 14,235,000 Khmer Buddhism ● 3.20 % 1.90 % Complete Bible 285
Thai, Isan Thailand 18,987,000 Thai, Northeastern Buddhism ● 0.40 % 0.01 % New Testament 380
Thai Thailand 23,248,000 Thai Buddhism ● 2.00 % 1.70 % Complete Bible 465
Burmese Myanmar (Burma) 31,273,000 Burmese Buddhism ● 0.35 % 0.08 % Complete Bible 625
Vietnamese, Kinh Vietnam 81,749,000 Vietnamese Buddhism ● 9.40 % 1.40 % Complete Bible -
Japanese Japan 117,840,000 Japanese Buddhism ● 1.20 % 0.30 % Complete Bible 2,357
Totals: 691 Peoples   501,784,000     536 ●       5,906
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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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