20 Staggering Hinduism Demographics

Many point to Christianity, Islam, and Judaism as the world’s three largest religions, but that’s actually incorrect. Hinduism is actually the world’s third largest religion. Because of long-term colonialism, the demographics of Hinduism have more disporia than most other religions in the world today.

Over 90% of those who practice Hinduism on a regular basis live in India.

For some time, Nepal was the only Hindu kingdom in the world. Today there are certain pockets of Hinduism, such as on the island of Mauritius where half the population practices this religion. More than 1 billion people follow this religion and here is a look at some of their demographics.

Where Hinduism Has Influence

• 99% of all practicing Hindus live in the Asia-Pacfic region.
• Outside of India, the largest populations which practice Hinduism are in Nepal at 2% of all Hindus and Bangledesh at 1% of all Hindus.
• About 60% of Southern Asia’s total population is considered to be Hindu.
• Hindus form a majority in just three countries, with 97% of those who practice this religion living in those countries.
• 25%-33% of the population in each country of Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago are considered to be practicing Hindus.
• 1 in 3 people in Fiji follows Hinduism.

Because of colonial disporia, there are pockets of Hindu populations on every continent group. 1.79 million Hindus live in the United States, with another 800,000 living in the UK. More than 3 million Hindus live on the African continent. When the population is put together, they account for about 15% of the total global population. Because they are so centralized, it is easy to think of this religion as one that is relatively small, but don’t be fooled. Hinduism has more influence than many realize.

Who Practices Hinduism?

• The average age of someone practicing Hinduism is just 26, which is younger than the overall global median age of 28.
• Hindus in disporia have the highest media age at 33.
• Outside of the 3 major population centers, Hispanics are the most likely to practice Hinduism.
• In the US, 61% of Hindus are actively employed and more than half own their own home. Just 3.5% are on some form of public assistance.
• 9.6% of US Hindus are in a high skill occupation.
• 40%. This is the percentage of Silicon Valley startups that have at least one person practicing Hinduism as part of their founding team.
• There are an estimated 38,000 US doctors and 12,000 US medical students who are practicing Hinduism.
• Hindus in the US are 5x over-represented in the fields of engineering and software creation and own 35% of the total real estate value the hospitality sector maintains.

Hinduism provides a major contribution to the global economy. Outside of India, more than $1 trillion is generated by practicing Hindus every year in GDP. This translates to $50,000 per person. With just 22 million Hindus outside of India, this puts people in this demographic on pace with the other major religions in terms of estimated income and GDP impact. These are highly skilled individuals who have become an integral part of who we are as a global population.

What Makes Hinduism Demographics Unique

• 48% of American practitioners of Hinduism hold a post-graduate degree.
• Hindus tend to have lower divorce rates, higher household incomes, and higher rates of education compared to all other religious demographics.
• 70% of US Hindus make at least $75,000 per year.
• In its core areas, Hinduism is seeing a drop in practitioners with Islam showing a surge. In India for the first time since its independence, less than 80% of the total national population identifies itself as being Hindu.
• Most practicing Hindus are part of the Vaishnava version of this faith [about 50% on rough estimates.] Another estimated 25% practice the Shaiva version.

Hinduism might be the most concentrated religion in the world today, but it remains consistent due to its lack of denominations, varying viewpoints, and other divisive factors that other religions tend to have. There are only 4 different types of Hinduism practices and many of them practice the same rituals, beliefs, and traditions. The difference between the 4 is basically how to achieve self-realization. Maybe this is why a majority of practicing Hindus tend to hold good jobs, have high incomes, and take advantage of their educational opportunities.