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Hinduism is a major religion and one of the most-followed religions in Asia. In 2020, the total number of Hindus in Asia is more than 1.2 billion, more than 26.2% of Asia's total population.^[1]^[2] About 99.2% of the world's Hindus live in Asia, with India having 94% of the global Hindu population.^{[citation needed]} Other Asian nations with a notable Hindu population include Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

History

The roots of Hinduism started and emerged in the Indus River at the Indus Valley civilisation, nearly 3,000 BCE and spread through the Indian subcontinent,^[7] 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.^[8]

Hinduism spread in the South and Southeast Asia by the Hindu rulers and dynasties and the reign of Gupta Empire or Gupta era was considered as the Golden period for Hinduism and the religion also spread to Central Asia and Afghanistan through the Silk route.^[9]^[10]^[11] There were also many Hindu colonies in the middle-east Asia with significance of trade with the parts of the world.^[12] Though with the Spread of Islam and Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan and Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, the Hinduism started declining and shrunk in the Indian subcontinent religion.^[13]^[14]

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	18,744,548	0.01%	12,732
Kyrgyzstan	6,019,480	<0.01%	<1,000
Tajikistan	8,734,951	<0.01	<1,000
Turkmenistan	5,851,466	<0.01	<1,000
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	1,425,178,782	0.1%	20,000
Hong Kong	7,448,900	1.6%	119,182
Macau	658,900	<0.01%	<1,000
Japan	126,420,000	<0.01%	30,000
North Korea	25,610,672	<0.01%	<1,000
South Korea	51,635,256	0.04%	24,414
Mongolia	3,231,200	<0.01%	<1,000
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	1,496,300	9.8%	144,286
Kuwait	4,226,920	7.1%^[α]	300,667
Oman	4,651,706	5.7%	182,679
Qatar	2,561,643	13.8%	358,800
Saudi Arabia	33,413,660	1.1%	303,611
Arab Emirates	9,582,340	7.5%^[β]	660,000
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	37,466,414	<0.01%	<1,000
Bangladesh	165,158,616	7.95%	13,130,109
Bhutan	742,737	22.6%	185,700
India	1,320,000,000	79.8%	1,053,000,000
Maldives	369,031	0.01%	<1,000
Nepal	28,901,790	81.3%	23,500,000
Pakistan	224,864,293	2.14%	4,678,078
Sri Lanka	21,200,000	12.6%	2,671,000
Total	2,032,080,415	52.57%	1,068,728,901

Southeast Asia

Country	Total pop	Hindus %age	Hindus pop
Brunei Darusalem	374,577	0.035%	131
Cambodia	13,995,904	0.3%	41,988
Indonesia	259,000,000	1.74%	4,646,357^[γ]
Malaysia	30,949,962	6.3%	1,949,850
Myanmar	50,279,900	0.5%	252,763
Philippines	102,000,000	<0.1%	30,634 (2015)^[19]
Singapore	5,600,000	5.0%	280,000
Thailand	65,068,149	0.1%	65,000
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	2,975,000	<0.01%	<1,000
Azerbaijan	10,027,874	<0.01%	<1,000
Iran	81,871,500	<0.01%	20,000
Iraq	39,339,753	<0.01%	<1,000
Israel	8,930,680	0.12%	11,500
Lebanon	6,093,509	<0.01%	<1,000
State of Palestine	4,816,503	<0.01%	<1,000
Syria	18,284,407	<0.01%	<1,000
Turkey	80,810,525	<0.01%	<1,000
Total	253,149,751	0.018%	46,000 (est)

Notes

^ The estimates vary depending on whether temporary workers – with no residency nor right to openly practice their religion – are included or not. The official Kuwaiti government census data does not count Hindus as residents or citizens of Kuwait.
^ In the United Arab Emirates, only Sunni Muslims can become citizens, non Muslims there are working as work-class laborers and employees on a particular time and contract basis.^[15]
^ The lower number is based on Pew Research estimate and is primarily concentrated in the island of Bali, Indonesia and nearby provinces of Indonesia. The higher number is based on a 2010 estimate by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Government of Indonesia.^[16] The largest Hindu organization in Indonesia Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia states that the Indonesian census greatly underestimates Hindu population, because predominantly Muslim nation of Indonesia does not recognize all forms of Hinduism, and only recognizes monotheistic Hinduism under its constitution.^[17]^[18]

References

Citations

^ "Projected Changes in the Global Hindu Population". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
^ "Hindus". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
^ "Table: Religious Composition by Country, in Numbers". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
^ Reyaz, M. (30 May 2014). "[Analysis] Are there any takeaways for Muslims from the Narendra Modi government?". DNA India. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
^ "Gorkhas to march for restoration of Nepal's Hindu nation status". Hindustan Times. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
^ "Hinduism - The spread of Hinduism in Southeast Asia and the Pacific". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
^ Brodd 2003.
^ Klostermaier 2007, p. 1.
^ Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0.
^ Klostermaier 2007, p. 78-81.
^ Michaels 2004, p. 40.
^ Pillalamarri, Akhilesh. "The Origins of Hindu-Muslim Conflict in South Asia". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
^ Werner, Karel (11 August 2005). A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism. Routledge. p. 728. ISBN 978-1-135-79753-9.
^ Brodd 2003, p. 57; Michaels 2004, pp. 147–158.
^ Marsh 2015e, p. 3.
^ Indonesia: Religious Freedoms Report 2010, US State Department (2011), Quote: "The Ministry of Religious Affairs estimates that 10 million Hindus live in the country and account for approximately 90 percent of the population in Bali. Hindu minorities also reside in Central and East Kalimantan, the city of Medan (North Sumatra), South and Central Sulawesi, and Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara). Hindu groups such as Hare Krishna and followers of the Indian spiritual leader Sai Baba are present in small numbers. Some indigenous religious groups, including the "Naurus" on Seram Island in Maluku Province, incorporate Hindu and animist beliefs, and many have also adopted some Protestant teachings."
^ F.K. Bakker (1997), Balinese Hinduism and the Indonesian State: Recent Developments, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Deel 153, 1ste Afl., Brill Academic, pp. 15–41
^ Martin Ramstedt (2004). Hinduism in Modern Indonesia: A Minority Religion Between Local, National, and Global Interests. Routledge. pp. 7–12. ISBN 978-0-7007-1533-6.
^ "Philippines, Religion And Social Profile". thearda.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.