- Summary
- Adherents
- Religious Freedom
- Socio-economic
- Public Opinion
Religious Adherents1 |
Brunei | South-Eastern Asia | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baha'i | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Buddhist | 9.7% | 26.6% | 5.8% |
| Chinese Universalist | 5.2% | 2.1% | 5.8% |
| Christian | 15.0% | 21.5% | 33.3% |
| Confucianist | 1.9% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Ethnoreligionist | 10.7% | 5.0% | 4.0% |
| Hindu | 0.9% | 1.8% | 13.6% |
| Jain | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Jewish | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| Muslim | 55.2% | 28.1% | 20.8% |
| Shintoist | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Sikh | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Spiritist | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| Taoist | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Zoroastrian | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Other Religions | 0.0% | 10.4% | 1.6% |
| Neo-religions | 0.0% | 10.7% | -- |
| Non-religious | 1.1% | 3.1% | 11.7% |
| Atheist | 0.0% | 1.2% | 2.3% |
Religious Demography
The country has an area of 2,200 square miles and a population of 380,000. According to government statistics of citizens, there are 171, 892 Muslims, 8,901 Buddhists, 3,530 Christians, 372 Catholics, 32 Baha'i, 131 Hindus, 23 Atheists, 22 Taoists, 18 Sikhs, 17 Jews, and 3 Nasrani; as well as 32 individuals of other faiths and 7,884 who did not state their faith. Among permanent residents, according to the same statistics, there are 13,911 Muslims, 9,088 Buddhists, 3,088 Christians, 322 Catholics, 40 Baha'i, 99 Hindus, 11 Atheists, 18 Taoists, 15 Sikhs, 13 Jews, and 2 Nasrani, as well as 31 of other faiths and 6,910 who did not state their faith. These statistics did not cover a large expatriate population of temporary residents that included Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. There are 109 mosques and prayer halls, 7 Christian churches, 3 Chinese temples, and 2 Hindu temples officially registered in the country. Proselytizing by faiths other than the officially sanctioned branch of Islam is not permitted. There are no missionaries reported working in the country.2
Sources
Note: All country histories and flags were obtained from The World Factbook, 2008.
1. The World Christian Database (WCD) is based on the 2600-page award-winning World Christian Encyclopedia and World Christian Trends, first published in 1982 and revised in 2001. This extensive work on World religion is now completely updated and integrated into the WCD online database. Designed for both the casual user and research scholar, information is readily available on religious activities, growth rates, religious literature, worker activity, and demographic statistics. Additional secular data is incorporated on population, health, education, and communications. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
2. The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom report is submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. This report supplements the most recent Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters involving international religious freedom. It includes individual country chapters on the status of religious freedom worldwide. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. These State Department reports are open source.
