Buddhism in the Middle East

It is estimated that in the Middle East, over 900,000 people profess Buddhism as their religion. Buddhist adherents make up just over 0.3% of the Middle East total population. Many of these Buddhists are workers who have migrated from Asia to the Middle East since the late 1990s, many of them come from countries that have large Buddhist populations, such as China, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

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Buddhism by country

Demographics

Theravada Buddhism is the predominant religion of workers from Thailand and Sri Lanka. Mahayana Buddhism is the predominant religion of workers from East Asia and Vietnam, although Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto are also represented among these people. In Dubai (the United Arab Emirates)[1] and Qatar,[2] the workers from Sri Lanka were allowed to celebrate Vesak (the most important holiday in Buddhism) in those Islamic countries.

Saudi Arabia
Main article: Buddhism in Saudi Arabia

It is estimated that there are 13.49 million foreign residents are living and working in Saudi Arabia.[3]

In addition to 400,000 Sri Lankans, there are a few thousand Buddhist workers from East Asia, the majority of whom are Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai. A number of Tibetan-Nepalese immigrants may also be among the foreign population of Saudi Arabia. According to a 2020 report by the Association of Religion Data Archives, Buddhists make up about 0.33% of the Saudi population with comprehensive data on foreigners being unavailable.[4]

Population by country

Buddhist percentages in the Middle East

   Saudi Arabia (45.9%)
   United Arab Emirates (24.6%)
   Kuwait (11.1%)
   Turkey (7.9%)
   Qatar (5%)
   Oman (3.6%)
   Bahrain (0.8%)
   Israel (0.7%)
   Lebanon (0.4%)
Buddhism by country in the Middle East
Country Population (2022)  % of Buddhists Buddhist total
 United Arab Emirates 9,441,129 2.40%[5] 210,000
 Qatar 2,695,122 3.80%[6] 90,000
 Kuwait 4,268,873 5.40%[7] 180,000
 Saudi Arabia 36,408,820 .40%[8] 130,000
 Bahrain 1,472,233 3.10%[9] 50,000
 Oman 3,204,897 .70%[10] 20,000
 Israel 9,038,309 .30%[11] 20,000
 Lebanon 5,489,739 .20%[12] 10,000
 Turkey 85,341,241 .09%[13] 40,000
Total 157,360,363 1.82% 750,000

See also

References
  1. "Lankans in Dubai to celebrate 'Vesak'", Emirates 24/7, 2011-05-05, archived from the original on 2021-06-11, retrieved 2013-07-22
  2. "Sri Lankans celebrate Vesak in Qatar", THE PENINSULA, 2009-05-09, archived from the original on 2021-02-27, retrieved 2013-07-22
  3. "Saudi Arabia (KSA) Population Statistics [2022 Updated] | GMI". Official GMI Blog. 2022-04-20. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  4. "National / Regional Profiles, Included Nations/Regions: Saudi Arabia [x], Western Asia [x], The World [x]". Association of Religion Data Archives. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  5. "International Religious Freedom Report: United Arab Emirates". Archived from the original on 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  6. "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  7. "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  8. "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  9. "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  10. "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  11. "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  12. "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  13. "Buddhist Countries 2022". worldpopulationreview.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
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