Spread of Hinduism
Hinduism is the third largest world religion after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism comes originally from populous India, which is why it is very widespread, with about one billion people. And 92 percent of all Hindus come from India. With more than 3,500 years, it is also one of the oldest religions with widespread practice today.
Hinduism (also known as "Sanatana Dharma") is a polytheistic or henotheistic religion. Unlike Christianity, for example, there is no single god or all-father. It is rather a complex of variously shaped traditions and religions that have developed and overlapped over time. The biggest Hindu currents are Vishnuism, Shaktism and Shivaism.
| Country | Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|
| India | 79.8 % | 1,137,769,000 |
| Nepal | 81.3 % | 24,418,000 |
| Bangladesh | 9.6 % | 16,258,000 |
| Indonesia | 1.7 % | 4,654,000 |
| Pakistan | 2.0 % | 4,628,000 |
| United States of America | 1.0 % | 3,319,000 |
| Sri Lanka | 12.6 % | 2,792,000 |
| Malaysia | 6.3 % | 2,115,000 |
| China | 0.1 % | 1,426,000 |
| United Kingdom | 1.3 % | 875,000 |
| Mauritius | 48.5 % | 614,000 |
| Kuwait | 8.3 % | 353,000 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3.6 % | 337,000 |
| Qatar | 12.0 % | 323,000 |
| Singapore | 5.2 % | 284,000 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 18.2 % | 278,000 |
| Fiji | 27.9 % | 258,000 |
| Oman | 5.3 % | 240,000 |
| Guyana | 28.4 % | 228,000 |
| Bhutan | 22.1 % | 172,000 |
| Suriname | 27.4 % | 168,000 |
| Bahrain | 9.8 % | 143,000 |
| New Zealand | 2.1 % | 108,000 |
Phases of dissemination
The oldest knowledge about Hinduism goes back to the third millennium B.C.E with the Vorvedic religions. Within India, the spread of Hinduism was slow at first, and it was not until the 12th century C.E. that it displaced the predominant Buddhism to second place. Even today, in many countries Hindu and Buddhist traditions still mix.In the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia, the number of followers rose steadily during the first 600 years after Christ. In Burma, Cambodia and Malaysia, trade routes played an important role in the development of Hindu communities. In many of these regions, Hinduism was later largely replaced by Buddhism.
There are also striking Hindu shares in the countries that belonged to the British Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. India also belonged to it from 1858 to 1947, which is why numerous traders and workers moved to the other British territories. The distribution areas in the Middle East and North America have similar backgrounds, where numerous Indian workers have been drawn for about 30 years.