Distribution of Buddhists & Muslims

Islam is the predominant religion of Central Asia and of Southwest Asia & North Africa. Buddhism is clustered primarily in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Like Christianity, Islam and Buddhism are divided into major branches with distinctive geographic distributions.

Distribution of Buddhists

Buddhism, one of the world’s major universalizing religions, is clustered primarily in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Like the other two universalizing religions, Buddhism split into more than one branch, as followers disagreed on interpreting statements by the founder, Siddhartha Gautama. The three main branches are Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana (Figure 6-11). Mahayanists account for about 56 percent of Buddhists, primarily in China, Japan, and Korea. Theravadists comprise about 38 percent of Buddhists, especially in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Vajrayanists, also known as Lamaists and Tantrayanists, comprise about 6 percent and are found primarily in Tibet and Mongolia.

Distribution of Branches of Buddhism

An accurate count of Buddhists is especially difficult because only a few people participate in Buddhist institutions. Religious functions are performed primarily by monks rather than by the general public. The number of Buddhists is also difficult to count because Buddhism, although a universalizing religion, differs in significant respects from the Western concept of a formal religious system. Someone can be both a Buddhist and a believer in other Eastern religions, whereas Christianity and Islam both require exclusive adherence. Most Buddhists in China and Japan, in particular, believe at the same time in an ethnic religion.

Distribution of Muslims

The word Islam in Arabic means “submission to the will of God,” and it has a similar root to the Arabic word for “peace.” An adherent of the Islamic religion is known as a Muslim, which in Arabic means “one who surrenders to God.”

On a standard world map, such as Figure 6-5, Islam predominates in Central Asia and in Southwest Asia & North Africa. However, on a cartogram, most of the world’s Muslims live further east, in South and Southeast Asia. The countries with the most Muslims are Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. These four countries together are home to more than 40 percent of the world’s Muslims

Distribution of World’s Muslims

In this cartogram, the size of the country is proportional to the number of Muslims in the country.

Islam's Branches

Islam is divided into two principal branches: Sunni and Shiite. The word Sunni comes from the Arabic for “people following the tradition of Muhammad.” The word Shiite (sometimes spelled Shia) comes from the Arabic word for “party” or “support group.” Sunnis comprise 88 percent of Muslims and are the most numerous branch in most Muslim countries in Southwest Asia & North Africa, as well as in Southeast Asia.

Sunnis follow various schools of thought and religious law, which have distinctive regional distributions. The Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi’i schools of thought and religious law are named for their founders.

Distribution of Branches of Islam

Shiites are the largest branch in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. Nearly 40 percent of all Shiites live in Iran, 15 percent in Pakistan, 12 percent in India, and 10 percent in Iraq. Shiite Islam is divided into three principal schools of thought, based in part on disputes over leadership succession after the Prophet Muhammad. The largest, known as Ithna Ashari, is the most widely followed tradition in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. Other traditions include the Ismaili and Zaidi. Ismailis are clustered in Pakistan and Zaidiyyahs in Yemen. A third branch of Islam, Ibadi, is the predominant form of Islam adhered to in Oman.

Pause & Reflect 6.1.4

How does the ancestry of Muslims in the United States differ from the worldwide distribution of Muslims as shown in the map?

Islam In Europe & North America

The Muslim populations of North America and Europe have increased in recent years. In Europe, Muslims account for 7 percent of the population. Germany has the largest Muslim population, around 5.5 million, a legacy of immigration from predominantly Muslim Turkey. France has around 5.4 million Muslims, also a legacy of immigration, in this case from former French colonies in North Africa. In Southeast Europe, Albania has around 2 million Muslims and Bosnia & Herzegovina around 2 million each.

Estimates of the number of Muslims in North America vary widely, from 1 million to 5 million, but in any event, the number has increased from only a few hundred thousand in 1990. Muslims in the United States come from a variety of backgrounds. According to the U.S. State Department, approximately one-third of U.S. Muslims trace their ancestry to Pakistan and other South Asian countries and one-fourth to Arab countries of Southwest Asia & North Africa. Many of these Muslims immigrated to the United States during the 1990s. Another one-fourth are African Americans.

Muslims In The United States

Muslim women pray before the start of the United American Muslim Day parade, New York.