• Religion:  

Religion: Buddhism What is Primary Religion?

Population of Adherents

501,316,000

% of World Population

6.3 %

People Groups

686

Unreached Groups

534 (77.8 %)

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 * ▼
Japanese Japan 118,468,000 Japanese Buddhism ● 1.20 % 0.30 % Complete Bible 2,369
Burmese Myanmar (Burma) 31,044,000 Burmese Buddhism ● 0.35 % 0.08 % Complete Bible 621
Thai Thailand 23,214,000 Thai Buddhism ● 2.00 % 1.70 % Complete Bible 464
Thai, Isan Thailand 18,960,000 Thai, Northeastern Buddhism ● 0.40 % 0.01 % New Testament 379
Khmer Cambodia 14,086,000 Khmer Buddhism ● 3.20 % 1.90 % Complete Bible 282
Mahar (Buddhist traditions) India 11,284,000 Marathi Buddhism ● 0.13 % Complete Bible 226
Thai, Northern Thailand 7,766,000 Thai, Northern Buddhism ● 0.20 % 0.03 % New Testament 155
Mongolian, Peripheral China 5,583,000 Mongolian, Peripheral Buddhism ☀ 0.04 % 0.02 % Complete Bible 112
Thai, Southern Thailand 5,341,000 Thai, Southern Buddhism ● 0.90 % 0.25 % Bible Portions 107
Tai Man, Shan Myanmar (Burma) 4,504,000 Shan Buddhism ● 0.90 % 0.82 % Complete Bible 90
Lao Laos 3,516,000 Lao Buddhism ● 3.50 % 2.00 % Complete Bible 70
Rakhine Myanmar (Burma) 2,687,000 Rakhine Buddhism ☀ 0.10 % 0.05 % Bible Portions 54
Mongol, Khalka Mongolia 2,381,000 Mongolian, Halh Buddhism ● 1.50 % 0.86 % Complete Bible 48
Khampa Eastern China 1,598,000 Tibetan, Khams Buddhism ☀ 0.05 % 0.01 % New Testament 32
Khmer, Northern Thailand 1,498,000 Khmer, Northern Buddhism ● 0.20 % 0.10 % Complete Bible 30
Khmer Vietnam 1,331,000 Khmer Buddhism ● 3.00 % 1.87 % Complete Bible 27
Mon Myanmar (Burma) 1,138,000 Mon Buddhism ● 0.90 % 0.82 % Complete Bible 23
Han Chinese, Mandarin Myanmar (Burma) 975,000 Chinese, Mandarin Buddhism ● 2.00 % 1.40 % Complete Bible 19
Tibetan, Central China 940,000 Tibetan, Central Buddhism ☀ 0.04 % 0.03 % Complete Bible 19
Pa-O Myanmar (Burma) 860,000 Pa'o Buddhism ● 1.70 % 0.30 % New Testament 17
Burakumin Japan 870,000 Japanese Buddhism ● 0.50 % 0.20 % Complete Bible 17
Japanese United States 858,000 Japanese Buddhism ● 1.50 % 0.50 % Complete Bible 17
Vietnamese Cambodia 818,000 Vietnamese Buddhism ● 3.00 % 0.17 % Complete Bible 16
Tai Lue China 804,000 Lu Buddhism ● 0.50 % 0.33 % New Testament 16
Amdo, Hbrogpa China 743,000 Tibetan, Amdo Buddhism ☀ 0.05 % 0.05 % New Testament 15
Totals: 686 Peoples   501,316,000     534 ●       5,943
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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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