Here is the list of 11 countries with the largest Hindu population:
I. India
India is known as the birthplace of many religions but Hinduism is the most noteworthy one. It is believed that Hinduism began many thousand years ago. India has the world’s largest Hindu population, nearly 94.3% of the total Hindu population live here.Despite being the most Hindu-populated country, India is secular. Hinduism is a major religion of India, with over 80% of the population recognizing themselves as Hindu, which accounts for over 98 crore people in India. The overall population of India believes strongly in the philosophy or the teachings of Hindu culture and traditions. Dispersed throughout the length and breadth of the country,almost all the states including the union territories in India has a large number of Hindu Populace.
Hinduism is a major religion of India, with over 80% of the population recognizing themselves as Hindu, which accounts for over 98 crore people in India. The overall population of India believes strongly in the philosophy or the teachings of Hindu culture and traditions. Dispersed throughout the length and breadth of the country, almost all the states including the union territories in India have a large number of Hindu Populace.
Hindus at Har Ki Pauri near river Ganges via wikipedia.org
II. Nepal
The most common religion in the country with almost 81.3% of the population is Hinduism. It is believed that Lord Vishnu had systematized the people of Nepal and given them their national flag, with the combination of sun and moon as the emblem on it. The national calendar is based on the Hindu solar calendar. The traditions of people in Nepal is similar to that of the people from the Northern part of India.
III. Bangladesh
Hinduism is the second most eminent religion in the country. Casing about 8.2% of the population, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics for 2011 census. According to an official report, the number of Hindus in Muslim dominating Bangladesh has grown by one per cent ,almost 1.70 crores in a year constituting to an increase up to 10.7 percent of the population in 2015. Tradition and customs of the Hindus in the country greatly duplicate that of the Indian state of Bengal.
IV. Indonesia
Bali is the famous island and province of Indonesia. Unknown to most Hindus in the world, with the total population of 3,112,331- 83.5% of them follows Hinduism. Bali Hinduism is one of the official religions of Indonesia. The Ramayana is a national epic and ‘culture’ in Indonesia, despite being a Muslim dominated nation.
Balinese Puja at a temple via Wikimedia Commons
V. Pakistan
There are around 2 million Hindus living in Pakistan. Most of the Hindu population (over 90%) is mostly concentrated in the Sindh province and are Sindhis. Hindus are not isolated and spread out and are, in fact, organized. Despite the brutalities of Pakistan’s former military dictators and the single-minded Islamist, the current percentage of Hindus in the country is degrading, still, Pakistan manages to be one of the largest Hindu population nations in the world.
VI. Sri Lanka
Hinduism has a long tradition in Sri Lanka. Hindus currently make up for 12.60% of the Sri Lankan population and are almost exclusively Tamils apart from minor immigrant communities from India and Pakistan. Hinduism is mainly practiced in the Northeastern region, mostly by the Tamil population and also some Telegu and Malayalis. The majority of Sri Lankan Hindus follow the preaching of Shaiva Siddhanta.
VII. Philippines
Hindu communities are prominent in the Philippines and have had significant religious and cultural influence in the country dating back to the precolonial period. Hinduism is currently limited to the small recent immigrant Indian community in the country. Although ,some of the natives have also been practicing Hinduism. Yoga and meditation are also popular.
VIII. Malaysia
Malaysia being a multicultural country like India, it hosts about 1.78 million Hindus, almost 6.3% of its total population and most of them settled in the western part of the peninsula. Hinduism is the fourth largest religion in Malaysia. Major Hindu festivals that are celebrated in the country include Diwali, Pongal, Navratri, and Thaipusam. The country also has many Hindu temples although few have been demolished by Malaysian government officials in recent years.
IX. United States
Though Hinduism is a minority religion in states, a significant number of Hindus resides here. Around 1,790,560 people are Hindus, majority of them being Indian Americans or immigrants from Southeast Asia. American Hindus in 2015 accounted for an estimated 0.7% of the total US population.
President of the US Barack Obama receives a red shawl from a Hindu priest from Sri Siva Vishnu Temple. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
X. South Africa
Hinduism originated in Africa from the late 19th century onwards through the spread of the colonial rule.The second country with the highest Hindu population in Africa after Mauritius, South Africa has over 1.1% of the total population, Hindus. Most of them are believed to be immigrants from different parts of India. Present-day South Africa has numerous Hindu temples, where they celebrate the ancient Hindu festival Diwali.
XI. United Arab Emirates
Finally, UAE has a lot of Indian residents and almost 21.5 % of the population practices the religion. The total number of Hindus in the country is around 944,352 a lot of them belonging to the business communities.
A 2013 news report indicated that a Muslim businessman contributed five acres of land in Abu Dhabi to build a Swaminarayan temple.
– by Yajush Gupta of NewsGram