Hinduism in Asia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hinduism is an Indian religion and in terms of followers, it is one of the largest religions in Asia. In 2022, the total number of Hindus in Asia is more than 1.2 billion, more than 22.8% of Asia's total population. [1] About 99.2% of the world's Hindus live in South Asia.[2] with India having 94% of the global Hindu population.[3] Other Asian nations with a notable Hindu population include Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.[4][5][6][7]

Hinduism expansion in Asia, from its heartland in Indian Subcontinent, to the rest of Asia, especially Southeast Asia, started circa 1st century marked with the establishment of early Hindu settlements and polities in Southeast Asia.

The roots of Hinduism started and emerged in the Indus river basin at the Indus Valley civilisation, nearly 3,000 BCE and spread through the Indian subcontinent,[8] though the history of Hinduism overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in the Indian subcontinent since the Iron Age, with some of its traditions tracing back to prehistoric religions such as those of the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization. It has thus been called the oldest religion in the world.[9]

Hinduism spread in South and Southeast Asia through Hindu rulers and dynasties, and the reign of the Gupta Empire (the Gupta era) was considered the Golden period for Hinduism and the religion also spread to Central Asia (including Afghanistan) through the Silk route.[10][11][12] There were also many Hindu colonies in West Asia due to significant trade with this parts of the world.[13] Though with the Spread of Islam and Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan and Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Hinduism started declining and shrunk in these regions.[14][15]

Demographics

A Balinese Hindu family after puja at Bratan temple in Bali, Indonesia
Natarajan Temple
A Sadhu in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Central Asia

Country Total pop Hindus %age Hindus pop
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 18,744,548 0.01% 12,732
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan 6,019,480 <0.01% <1,000
Tajikistan Tajikistan 8,734,951 <0.01 <1,000
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan 5,851,466 <0.01 <1,000
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan 32,653,900 0.01% 2,778
Total 72,004,345 <0.01% 16,000 (approx)

East Asia

Country Total pop Hindus %age Hindus pop
China China 1,425,178,782 0.1% 20,000
Hong Kong Hong Kong 7,448,900 1.6% 119,182
Macau Macau 658,900 <0.01% <1,000
Japan Japan 126,420,000 <0.01% 30,000
North Korea North Korea 25,610,672 <0.01% <1,000
South Korea South Korea 51,635,256 0.04% 24,414
Mongolia Mongolia 3,231,200 <0.01% <1,000
Taiwan Taiwan 23,577,488 <0.01% 1,900
Total 1,633,202,416 0.09% (approx) 1,551,037

Middle-East

Country Total pop Hindus %age Hindus pop
Bahrain Bahrain 1,496,300 9.8% 144,286
Kuwait Kuwait 4,226,920 7.1%[α] 300,667
Oman Oman 4,651,706 5.7% 182,679
Qatar Qatar 2,561,643 13.8% 358,800
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 33,413,660 1.1% 303,611
United Arab Emirates Arab Emirates 9,582,340 7.5%[β] 660,000
Yemen Yemen 28,915,284 0.7% 200,000
Total 84,847,853 2.52% 2,140,574

South Asia

Country Total pop Hindus %age Hindus pop
Afghanistan Afghanistan 37,466,414 <0.0001% <50
Bangladesh Bangladesh 165,158,616 7.95% 13,130,109
Bhutan Bhutan 742,737 22.6% 185,700
India India 1,320,000,000 79.8% 1,053,000,000
Maldives Maldives 369,031 0.01% <1,000
Nepal Nepal 28,901,790 81.3% 23,500,000
Pakistan Pakistan 224,864,293 2.14% 4,678,078
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 21,200,000 12.6% 2,671,000
Total 2,032,080,415 68% 1,068,727,901

Southeast Asia

Country Total pop Hindus %age Hindus pop
Brunei Brunei Darusalem 374,577 0.035% 131
Cambodia Cambodia 13,995,904 0.3% 41,988
Indonesia Indonesia 259,000,000 1.74% 4,646,357[γ]
Malaysia Malaysia 30,949,962 6.3% 1,949,850
Myanmar Myanmar 50,279,900 0.5% 252,763
Philippines Philippines 102,000,000 <0.1% 30,634 (2015)[20]
Singapore Singapore 5,600,000 5.0% 280,000
Thailand Thailand 65,068,149 0.1% 65,000
Vietnam Vietnam 85,262,356 0.07% 20,000
Total 571,337,070 1.118% 6,386,614

West Asia

Country Total pop Hindus %age Hindus pop
Armenia Armenia 2,975,000 <0.01% <1,000
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 10,027,874 <0.01% <1,000
Iran Iran 81,871,500 <0.01% 20,000
Iraq Iraq 39,339,753 <0.01% <1,000
Israel Israel 8,930,680 0.12% 11,500
Lebanon Lebanon 6,093,509 <0.01% <1,000
Palestine State of Palestine 4,816,503 <0.01% <1,000
Syria Syria 18,284,407 <0.01% <1,000
Turkey Turkey 80,810,525 <0.01% <1,000
Total 253,149,751 0.018% 46,000 (est)

See also

Notes

References

External links

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