National / Regional Profiles
Included Nations/Regions: Thailand [x], South-Eastern Asia [x], The World [x]
Religion and State (RAS) Indexes1
Religion Indexes (Thailand)
|
State Funding of Religion Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3) Ranking: 6/253 |
Societal Discrimination of Minority Religions Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3) Ranking: 68/253 |
State Regulation of Majority or All Religions Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3) Ranking: 43/253 |
State Discrimination of Minority Religions Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3) Ranking: 76/253 |
Thailand: Major World Religions (1900 - 2050) (World Religion Database, 2020)2
The following groups with less than 1% of the population were hidden from this graph: Baha'is, Chinese folk-religionists, Confucianists, Hindus, Jews, New religionists, Shintoists, Sikhs.
Thailand: Largest Religious Groups (1900 - 2050) (World Religion Database, 2020)2
The following groups with less than 1% of the population were hidden from this graph: Atheists, Catholics, doubly-affiliated, Independents, Islamic schismatics, Orthodox, Protestants, Saktists, Shaivites, unaffiliated Christians, Vaishnavites.
Religious Adherents (World Religion Database 2020)2
| Religion | Thailand [x] |
South-Eastern Asia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baha'is | 0.09% | 0.16% | 0.11% |
| Buddhists | 87.17% | 25.69% | 6.83% |
| --Mahayanists | 7.77% | 8.51% | 4.89% |
| --Theravadins | 79.40% | 17.18% | 1.72% |
| --Lamaists | --- | 0.00% | 0.23% |
| Chinese folk-religionists | 0.92% | 1.91% | 5.98% |
| Christians | 1.31% | 22.86% | 32.16% |
| --unaffiliated Christians | 0.03% | 0.47% | 1.46% |
| --Orthodox | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3.75% |
| --Catholics | 0.55% | 15.30% | 15.90% |
| --Protestants | 0.66% | 4.98% | 7.51% |
| --Independents | 0.12% | 4.13% | 5.00% |
| Daoists | --- | 0.00% | 0.11% |
| Confucianists | 0.36% | 0.16% | 0.11% |
| Ethnic religionists | 2.26% | 4.69% | 3.65% |
| Hindus | 0.10% | 1.18% | 13.58% |
| --Vaishnavites | 0.03% | 0.18% | 5.15% |
| --Shaivites | 0.04% | 0.93% | 4.86% |
| --Saktists | 0.03% | 0.06% | 3.57% |
| Jains | --- | 0.00% | 0.08% |
| Jews | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.19% |
| Muslims | 5.87% | 37.18% | 24.20% |
| --Sunnis | 5.87% | 37.17% | 21.56% |
| --Shias | --- | 0.01% | 2.44% |
| --Islamic schismatics | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.21% |
| New religionists | 0.02% | 2.29% | 0.85% |
| Shintoists | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.04% |
| Sikhs | 0.08% | 0.03% | 0.34% |
| Spiritists | --- | --- | 0.19% |
| Zoroastrians | --- | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Non-Religious | 1.80% | 3.85% | 11.57% |
| --Agnostics | 1.75% | 2.82% | 9.65% |
| --Atheists | 0.05% | 1.04% | 1.92% |
Religious demographics (Thailand)3
The country has an area of 198,000 square miles and a population of 64 million. According to the 2000 census, approximately 94 percent of the population is Buddhist and 5 percent is Muslim; however, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academics, and religious groups estimated that approximately 85 to 90 percent of the population is Theravada Buddhist and up to 10 percent of the population is Muslim. There are also small animist, Christian, Confucian, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh, and Taoist populations. According to the Religious Affairs Department (RAD), the numbers of persons who do not profess a religious faith make up less than one percent of the population.
Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religion. The Buddhist clergy (Sangha), consists of two main schools: Mahanikaya and Dhammayuttika. The former is older and more prevalent within the monastic community than the latter, which grew out of a 19th-century reform movement led by King Mongkut (Rama IV). Both groups are governed by the same ecclesiastical hierarchy.
Islam is the dominant religion in four of the five southernmost provinces, which border Malaysia. The majority of Muslims are ethnic Malay, but the Muslim population also includes descendants of immigrants from South Asia, China, Cambodia, and Indonesia. The RAD reported that there are 3,610 registered mosques in 66 provinces, of which 2,312 are located in the five southernmost provinces. According to the RAD, 99 percent of these mosques are associated with the Sunni branch of Islam. Shi'a mosques make up the remaining 1 percent.
According to RAD statistics, there are an estimated 360,836 Christians in the country, constituting 0.5 percent of the population. While there are a number of denominations, the Government recognizes five Christian umbrella organizations: the Catholic Mission of Bangkok (Roman Catholic), the Church of Christ in Thailand (Protestant), the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand (Protestant), Saha Christchak (Baptist), and the Seventh-day Adventists. The oldest of these groupings, the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT), was formed in 1934 and has 500 registered churches. The Catholic Mission of Bangkok presently has 250 to 300 registered churches. The Evangelical Foundation of Thailand has 750 registered churches but approximately the same number of followers as the CCT.
According to a 2002 Government survey, there are 9 recognized tribal groups (chao khao), comprised of approximately 920,000 persons. These groups generally practice syncretistic forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, and spirit worship.
The Sikh Council of Thailand estimates that there are 70,000 Sikhs, most of whom reside in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Pattaya, Samui Island, and Phuket. There are 18 Sikh temples in the country.According to RAD statistics and local Hindu organizations, there are an estimated 95,000 Hindus in the country. There are six Hindu temples--five in Bangkok and one under construction in Phuket.The majority of ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese practice Mahayana or Theravada Buddhism. There are more than 718 Chinese and Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist shrines and temples throughout the country. Included in this statistic are 19 Vietnamese temples, 17 Chinese temples, and 682 Chinese shrines that registered with the Ministry of Interior. Many ethnic Chinese, as well as members of the Mien hill tribe, practice forms of Taoism. Some ethnic Chinese also practice Christianity, mainly Protestantism.
Summary Information |
Thailand [x] |
South-Eastern Asia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region | South-Eastern Asia | The World | -- |
| Total Population4 | 69,251,151 | 635,514,843 | 7,335,774,068 |
| Area in square miles | 198,117 | 1,735,335 | 196,939,900 |
| Life Expectancy from birth, in years5 | 75.1 | 72.1 | 71.9 |
| Gross National Income per capita, in current international dollars5 | 16,070.0 | 20,515.0 | 16,101.0 |
| Description of Polity Score6 | (anocratic) | -- | -- |
| Judicial Independence Composite Score, as average of scores for higher and lower courts7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 |
| Official Religion(s)8 | Buddhism | -- | -- |
Thailand - Google Map
Religion and the State
Religion and State Collection (2014) |
Thailand [x] |
|---|---|
| Is proselytizing Legal?1 | Yes |
| Is religious registration someties denied?1 | There is no registration requirement |
| What are the consequences of registration?1 | Groups need not register but registration is allowed or encouraged. This encouragement may include benefits given only to registered religions. |
| Official Support: The formal relationship between religion and state.1 | Multi-Tiered Preferences 1 |
| The extent to which religious education is mandatory in public schools.1 | Optional, or there is a choice between a religion and a non-religion course on topics like ethics, philosophy, or religions of the world. |
| The extent to which funding is exclusive to one or a few religions.1 | Government funding of religion goes primarily to one religion but at least some other religions receive some funds. |
| The extent to which there are religious requirements and oaths for holding office.1 | Some government officials (other than head of state church and the like) must meet some form of religious requirements to hold office. |
Constitutional Features [ View Excerpts]
Features of Constitution |
Thailand [x] |
|---|---|
| Is there a constitution?9 | Yes |
| Does the constitution state an official religion?10 | yes [ Article 67 ] |
| Does the constitution provide for freedom of religion?10 | yes [ Section 31 ] |
| Does the constitution protect religious equality/non-discrimination?10 | yes [ Article 27 ] |
Constitution |
Thailand [x] |
|---|---|
| Constitution Year10 | 2017 |
| Last Amended10 | 2017 |
| Source10 | Constitute Project |
| Translation10 | Source is an English translation. |
| Current as of10 | November 4, 2018 |
Public Opinion (Thailand)(Calculated by the ARDA from the World Values Survey)11 |
2005 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|
| Religious Affiliation/Identification | ||
| Percent belonging to a religious denomination. | --- | 99.6 |
| Percent identifying as a religious person. | 35.5 | 33 |
| Religious Behaviors | ||
| Percent attending religious services at least once a month. | 87.5 | 41.4 |
| Percent praying to God more than once per week. | --- | 36.9 |
| Percent that meditate or pray. | 76.2 | --- |
| Percent attending religious services at least once a month when 12 years old. | 19.5 | 15.4 |
| Religious Beliefs | ||
| Percent believing in God. | --- | 32.7 |
| Percent believing in heaven. | --- | 79.5 |
| Percent believing in hell. | 64.3 | --- |
| Percent believing in life after death. | 64.3 | --- |
| Percent believing that there are clear guidelines on good and evil. | 57.4 | --- |
| Percent believing that politicians who do not believe in God are unfit for public office. | 29.5 | 34.7 |
| Percent believing that religious leaders should not influence people's vote. | 60.1 | 44.6 |
| Percent believing that things would be better if there are more people with strong religious beliefs. | 63.8 | --- |
| Percent that think that religious faith is an important quality in children | 71.3 | 79.3 |
| Percent that agree: We depend too much on science and not enough on faith | 78.3 | --- |
| Percent believing church gives answers to people's spiritual needs. | 85.5 | --- |
| Percent that do not trust people of other religions | 45 | 39.9 |
| Percent believing church gives answers on family life problems. | 73.2 | --- |
| Percent believing churches give answers to moral problems. | 60.4 | --- |
| Percent that often think about meaning and purpose of life | --- | 39.6 |
| Percent believing churches give answers to social problems. | --- | 73.4 |
| Percent believing that religious leaders should influence the government. | --- | 41.3 |
| Percent believing that people have a soul. | --- | 48.6 |
| Percent believing in the concept of sin. | --- | 59.9 |
| Percent believing religious services are important for deaths. | --- | 80.8 |
| Percent believing religious services are important for births. | --- | 47.2 |
| Attitudes | ||
| Percent considering religion important. | 94.2 | 88.2 |
| Percent considering that God is not at all important in their life. | 0.1 | 35.8 |
| Percent confident in religious organizations. | 69.4 | 75.2 |
| Politics | ||
| Percent thinking that churches have an influence on national politics. | --- | 28.5 |
Socio-Economic Measures
Education |
Thailand [x] |
South-Eastern Asia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Literacy Rate, in percentage of adult population13 | 92.9 | 92.7 | 86.2 |
| Net Primary School Enrollment Rate, in percentage of population of official school age5 | 90.8 | -- | 89.6 |
| Net Secondary School Enrollment Rate, in percentage of population of official school age5 | 82.6 | -- | 65.1 |
Economic Measures |
Thailand [x] |
South-Eastern Asia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Domestic Product, in billions of current U.S. Dollars5 | 407.0 | 2,555.3 | 75,845.1 |
| Imports, in million current-year U.S. dollars14 | 221,171.9 | 1,319,718.9 | 20,150,355.0 |
| Exports, in million current-year U.S. dollars14 | 281,935.8 | 1,460,524.9 | 20,790,015.7 |
| Economic Freedom Index, scaled from 0 min to 100 max15 | 66.2 | 62.8 | 62.9 |
| Human Development Index16 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| 2013 Gender Inequality Index (GII)17 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Gross National Income per capita, in current international dollars5 | 16,070.0 | 20,515.0 | 16,101.0 |
Military Measures |
Thailand [x] |
South-Eastern Asia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composite Index of National Capability, in fraction of 118 | 0.0077178 | 0.004733518 | 0.005162584 |
| 2012 Military expenditure (% of GDP)5 | 1.5 | 1.3 | -- |
Demographic and Health Measures |
Thailand [x] |
South-Eastern Asia [x] |
The World [x] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Population4 | 69,251,151 | 635,514,843 | 7,335,774,068 |
| Life Expectancy from birth, in years5 | 75.1 | 72.1 | 71.9 |
| 2012 Net Migration Rate (migrants per 1,000 population)5 | 100.0 | -1,073.2 | -- |
| Urban Percentage of Total Population14 | 51.5 | 48.2 | 54.3 |
| Urban Population Growth, by percentage14 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
| Fertility Rate, in total births per woman14 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| Infant Mortality Rate, in deaths per 1000 live births14 | 10.5 | 22.0 | 30.5 |
| HIV Prevalence, in percentage of population ages 15-49 with HIV14 | 1.1 | -- | 0.8 |
Other Measures on Religion, State, and Society
Constitution Clauses Related to Religion
Constitution Excerpts (clauses that reference religion) (Thailand)10
Preamble
... in the 2560th year of the Buddhist Era.
...
Section 7.
The King is a Buddhist and Upholder of religions.
Section 27.
...
Unjust discrimination against a person on the grounds of differences in ... religious belief ... shall not be permitted.
[A technical exception follows for affirmative action.]
...
Section 31.
A person shall enjoy full liberty to profess a religion, and shall enjoy the liberty to exercise or practice a form of worship in accordance with his or her religious principles, provided that it shall not be adverse to the duties of all Thai people, neither shall it endanger the safety of the State, nor shall it be contrary to public order or good morals.
Section 50.
A person shall have the following duties:
(1) to protect and uphold ... religions ...
...
Section 67.
The State should support and protect Buddhism and other religions.
In supporting and protecting Buddhism, which is the religion observed by the majority of Thai people for a long period of time, the State should promote and support education and dissemination of dharmic principles of Theravada Buddhism for the development of mind and wisdom development, and shall have measures and mechanisms to prevent Buddhism from being undermined in any form. The State should also encourage Buddhists to participate in implementing such measures or mechanisms.
Section 96.
A person under any of the following prohibitions on the election day shall be the person who is prohibited from exercising the right to vote:
(1) being a Buddhist monk, Buddhist novice, ascetic or priest;
...
Variable Details
Sources
1 The Religion and State (RAS) Project is a university-based project located at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel and is directed by Jonathan Fox. Round 3 of the RAS includes all countries with populations of 250,000 or more as well as a sampling of smaller states and offers annual measures from 1990 to 2014. The methods used for conducting the RAS3 collection and the complete codebook can be reviewed online. Or, the codebook and data file can be downloaded free of charge here. For details on how the RAS indexes reported on the ARDA’s National Profiles were coded, constructed, and placed into categories, click here.2 Todd M. Johnson and Brian J. Grim, eds. World Religion Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2022).
3 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.
4 The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Demographics reports the estimates of religious demographics, both country by country and region by region. The RCS was created to fulfill the unmet need for a dataset on the religious dimensions of countries of the world, with the state-year as the unit of observation. It estimates populations and percentages of adherents of 100 religious denominations including second level subdivision within Christianity and Islam. The RCS Data Project would like to acknowledge, recognize, and express our deepest gratitude for the significant contributions of Todd M. Johnson the co-principal investigator of the World Religion Database.
5 Relying on agencies from each country, as well as a synthesis of data from United Nations divisions, Eurostate Demographic statistics, the U.S. Census international database, and its own data collection, the World Bank's Open Data site offers free and open access to data about development in countries around the globe.
6 The Center for Systemic Peace (CSP) is engaged in innovative research on the problem of political violence within the structural context of the dynamic global system. The Center supports scientific research and quantitative analysis in many issue areas related to the fundamental problems of violence in both human relations and societal-systemic development processes. The Center continually monitors political behavior in each of the world's major states and reports on emerging issues and persisting conditions related to the problems of political violence and "state failure." A dataset with these and other international measures can be downloaded from here. Used with permission. *Note: Polity Scores range from -10 to 10 and include the following categories: -10 to -9: strongly autocratic, -8 to -7 autocratic, -6 to -4 weakly autocratic, -3 to +3 anocratic, +4 to +6 weakly democratic, +7 to +8 democratic, +9 to +10 strongly democratic.
7 Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is a new approach to conceptualizing and measuring democracy. V-Dem provides a multidimensional and disaggregated dataset that reflects the complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond simple presence of elections. The V-Dem project distinguishes between seven high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, egalitarian, majoritarian, and consensual, and collects data to measure these principles. A dataset with these and other international measures can be downloaded from here. Used with permission.
8 The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Government Religious Preference (GRP) measures government-level favoritism toward, and disfavor against, 30 religious denominations. A series of ordered categorical variables index the state's institutional favoritism in 28 different ways. The variables are combined to form five composite indices for five broad components of state-religion: official status, religious education, financial support, regulatory burdens, and freedom of practice. The five components' composites in turn are further combined into a single composite score, the GRP score. The RCS Data Project would like to acknowledge, recognize, and express our deepest gratitude for the significant contributions of Todd M. Johnson, the principal investigator of the World Christian Database, the co-principal investigator of the World Religion Database, and co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia series.
9 Data under the "Features of Constitution" heading are drawn from coding of the U.S. State Department's 2008 International Religious Freedom Reports conducted by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the International Religious Freedom reports. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
10 Text from country constitutions was copied from primary documents obtained online using a variety of sources, including the Constitute Project, World Constitutions Illustrated, and government sources. When the text was in a language other than English, it was translated to English by ARDA staff or with web-based translation utilities such as Google Translate. Emphases were added to the text by ARDA staff to differentiate religious content from non-religious content. Text is current to the date listed in the "Current as of" field shown above. Please contact us at
11 The World Values Survey is a worldwide investigation of socio-cultural and political change. It is conducted by a network of social scientists at leading universities around the world. Interviews have been carried out with nationally representative samples of the publics of more than 80 societies. A total of four waves have been carried out since 1981. The ARDA has averaged the weighted responses across the waves for each country surveyed. The average responses for all countries have been placed in a single file and can be previewed and downloaded here. See the World Values Survey website for further information and to download the original survey data: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/.
12 Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organization that offers measures of the extent to which governments are accountable to their own people; the rule of law prevails; and freedoms of expression, association, belief and respect for the rights of minorities and women are guaranteed. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
13 The CIA's World Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the now defunct National Intelligence Survey (NIS) studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS program was terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and gazetteer components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The year 2010 marks the 67th year of the World Factbook and its predecessor programs. The maps and flags are also from the World Factbook, which is an open source.
14 Relying on agencies from each country, as well as a synthesis of data from United Nations divisions, Eurostate Demographic statistics, the U.S. Census international database, and its own data collection, the World Bank's Open Data site offers free and open access to data about development in countries around the globe.
15 The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom is a systematic, empirical measurement of economic freedom in countries throughout the world. A set of objective economic criteria are used to study and grade various countries for the annual publication of the Index of Economic Freedom. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
16 The United Nations Human Development Reports provide data and statistical analysis in various areas of human development. The Human Development Report (HDR) presents two types of statistics: the human development indicator tables, which provide a global assessment of country achievements in different areas of human development, and thematic statistical analysis. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
17 The 2013 Gender Inequality Index is a composite measure reflecting inequality in achievements between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labor market. It varies between zero (when women and men fare equally) and one (when men or women fare poorly compared to the other in all dimensions). The health dimension is measured by two indicators: maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate. The empowerment dimension is also measured by two indicators: the share of parliamentary seats held by each sex and by secondary and higher education attainment levels. The labor dimension is measured by women’s participation in the work force. Source: The United Nations Human Development Reports provide data and statistical analysis in various areas of human development. The Human Development Report (HDR) presents two types of statistics: the human development indicator tables, which provide a global assessment of country achievements in different areas of human development, and thematic statistical analysis. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
18 Military data is drawn from the National Material Capabilities (v4.0) dataset, which is a component of and hosted by the Correlates of War Project. The Correlates of War Project seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations. Correlates of War data may be accessed through the above link. Used with permission.
19 The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom reports. The 2003, 2005, and 2008 reports were coded by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The GRI, GFI and SRI values reported on the National Profiles are averages from the 2003, 2005, and 2008 International Religious Freedom reports, while the Religious Persecution measure is an average from the 2005 and 2008 reports. All other measures derived from the International Religious Freedom reports were coded from the reports 2008. A data file with all of the 2008 coding, as well as data files with other cross national collections are available for preview and download from the data archive on this site. Used with permission.
20 The Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset contains standards-based quantitative information on government respect for 15 internationally recognized human rights for 202 countries, annually from 1981-2011. It is designed for use by scholars and students who seek to test theories about the causes and consequences of human rights violations, as well as policy makers and analysts who seek to estimate the human rights effects of a wide variety of institutional changes and public policies including democratization, economic aid, military aid, structural adjustment, and humanitarian intervention. The full CIRI Human Rights Dataset can be accessed through the above link. Used with permission.
