Buddhism in Bangladesh
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Around 1,001,974 (0.63% of the country's population) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Chittagong Division | 969,630 (2.92%) |
| Dhaka Division | 20,335 (0.046%) |
| Barisal Division | 4,911 (0.054%) |
| Rangpur Division | 3,091 (0.0176%) |
| Rajshahi Division | 1,123 (0.0055%) |
| Sylhet Division | 1,105 (0.010%) |
| Khulna Division | 1,006 (0.0058%) |
| Mymensingh Division | 753 (0.0062%) |
| Religions | |
| Buddhism | |
| Languages | |
| Bengali, Chittagonian, Chakma, Pali, Marma | |
| Part of a series on |
| Theravāda Buddhism |
|---|
| Buddhism |
Buddhism is the third-largest religious affiliation and formed about 0.63% of the population of Bangladesh. It is said that Buddha once in his life came to this region of East Bengal to spread his teachings and he was successful in converting the local people to Buddhism, specially in the Chittagong Division and later on Pala empire propagate and patronized Buddhist religion throughout the Bengal territory.
About 1 million people in Bangladesh adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism, while a smaller portion are Mahayana Buddhists. Vajrayana Buddhism was once more prevalent in Bangladesh, but its following has now declined to almost none. Over 65% of the Buddhist population is concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, where it is the predominant faith of the Rakhine, Chakma, Marma, Tanchangya, Jumma people and the Barua. The remaining 35% are Bengali Buddhists. Buddhist communities are also present in the urban centers of Bangladesh, particularly Chittagong and Dhaka.