Pew Research Center's June 9, 2025 report on how the global religious landscape changed from 2010 to 2020, finding that Buddhists were the only major group to shrink worldwide in that decade, from 343 million (just under 5 percent of world population) in 2010 to 324 million (just over 4 percent) in 2020, a 5 percent decline attributed to religious disaffiliation in East Asia and a comparatively low birth rate.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Pew's 2025 update to its global religion modeling, drawing on over 2,700 sources across 201 countries; its own Buddhist figure for 2010 (343 million) is substantially lower than the 2012 report's original 2010 estimate (488 million) for the same reference year, which this report attributes to revised treatment of religious identity in East Asia, where Buddhism is deeply embedded with local folk religions and many practitioners do not formally self-identify as Buddhist in survey terms; both figures are recorded on this axis rather than one overwriting the other. Citation
PublisherPew Research Center
Publication Year2025
URLhttps://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/buddhist-population-change/
Source TypeDemographic study
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Asia directly: "to religious disaffiliation in East Asia and a comparatively low birth rate."
This source names Global directly: "June 9, 2025 report on how the global religious landscape changed from 2010 to 2020, finding that Buddhists were the only major group to shrink worldwide in that decade, from 343 million (just under..."
Claims Backed By This Source (15 claims)
This source backs 15 claims across the atlas. As facts: 12 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 8 claims: 6 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Religions, 7 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 general references.
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