Buddhist population shrinks as East Asia’s low birth rate begins to take toll

Buddhists visit Jogye Temple in Seoul, May 2, 2025, ahead of Buddha's Birthday. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon

Exceptionally low birth rates across Northeast Asia are beginning to have a tangible impact on the global religious landscape, as Buddhism — long a major faith in the region — is shrinking, a study found.

According to a Pew Research Center study released Tuesday, an analysis of data from 201 countries and territories showed that Buddhism was the only major religion to see a decline in the number of followers. The global Buddhist population fell to 324 million in 2020, down from 343 million in 2010 — a decrease of 19 million, or 5.4 percent.

The decline stands in stark contrast to Christianity and Islam, which saw their numbers rise by 122 million and 347 million, respectively, over the same period.

Pew Research Center analyzed demographic shifts in the East Asian region and changes in the share of believers to have contributed to the decline in the Buddhist population.

The primary factors were identified as low birth rates and aging societies in East Asia, where these trends are unfolding at one of the fastest rates in the world. According to the research center, 98 percent of the world’s Buddhists reside in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pew Research Center noted that Buddhism is declining for demographic reasons, including relatively low fertility rates and an older age distribution, adding that the dynamics of slowing population growth are seen not only among Buddhists but in East Asia in general.

The relatively high rate at which people born into Buddhist families switch religions or become religiously unaffiliated was cited as another reason for the decline in followers. The study found that 22 out of every 100 adults raised in a Buddhist family said they had left the religion, either to adopt another faith or to become unaffiliated.

This trend was especially pronounced in East Asia, where the rate reached 60 percent in South Korea and 50 percent in Japan. These figures stand in stark contrast to Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Myanmar, where more people remained in the faith.

“In relatively affluent East Asian countries, there are more distractions beyond religion. In Japan and South Korea in particular, close geopolitical ties with the United States have allowed Christianity to exert greater influence. These factors may have contributed to the change,” said Ko Young-seop, a professor of Buddhist Studies at Dongguk University.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.