(From Mission Catalyst, and Pew Research, 3/11/26) -Buddhists are the world’s only major religious group whose population shrank between 2010 and 2020, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of religion in 201 countries and territories.
In 2010, an estimated 343 million people around the world identified as Buddhists. By 2020, that figure had fallen to 324 million. That’s a decline of roughly 5%.
During this period, the global population grew by 12%. The size of other religious groups we track at the global level also grew. As a result, Buddhists’ share of the global population dropped from 4.9% in 2010 to 4.1% in 2020.
But why were there fewer Buddhists in 2020 than in 2010?
- Buddhists globally are relatively old and tend to have few children. So there are a lot of adults nearing the end of their lives and fewer children to replace them.
- Many people who were raised as Buddhists in childhood no longer identify with Buddhism in adulthood, a process known as religious switching. Although some people also convert to Buddhism, more people are leaving than joining.
These dynamics are tied to geography. Nearly all Buddhists – 98% – live in the Asia-Pacific region, and around four-in-ten live in five East Asian places: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In East Asia, the median age is higher than in other parts of the world, birth rates tend to be low, and many adults have left their childhood religions. Between 2010 and 2020, the total number of Buddhists in the five East Asian places fell by 32 million, or 22%.
To watch our brief video about the basics of Buddhism, please click HERE
To finish the Pew Research article with statistics, click HERE