Buddhism is practised throughout Africa. Though there have been some conversions amongst Africans, the majority of Buddhists in Africa are of Asian descent, primarily of Chinese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan or Japanese descent.
South Africa holds the largest Buddhist population in the continent. According to estimates in the 2010s, Buddhist adherents (together with Taoism and Chinese Folk Religion) had been increasing there to between 0.2% or 0.3% of the South African population, or between 100 and 150 thousand people, however, the number of practising Buddhists may be lower.
The African countries and territories in the Indian Ocean also have significant Buddhist minorities. Mauritius has the highest Buddhist percentage (between 1.5 to 2% of the total population) among African countries due to a high number of Chinese people (nearly 40 thousand or 3% of the Mauritian population). However, practicing Buddhists approximately comprise only about 0.4% of the population. Madagascar is also home of about 20 thousand Buddhists,religiousintelligence.co.uk - Madagascar about 0.1% of the total population. In the Seychelles and Réunion, Buddhists represent nearly 0.1% to 0.2% of the population.
In North Africa, about 0.3%, AllGov - Libya (roughly 20 thousand people) of Libya's population are also Buddhists, with most of them being foreign workers from Asia. There are also two Buddhist centers in Casablanca, Morocco.
Buddhist centers and temples can be found in many Sub-Saharan African countries such as: Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,SGI-Sierra Leone Hosts Buddhist Seminar Swaziland, Tanzania, state.gov - Tanzania , List of Buddhist centers in Tanzania Togo, Uganda, Zambia,Buddhist Study Exams Held in Zambia, Korea and the USA and Zimbabwe.
There have also been cases of some high-profile celebrities converting to Buddhism such as Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, a famous British actor of Nigerian descent.
One of the very few monastics of African descent is Ven. Bhante Buddharakkhita from Uganda, founder of the Uganda Buddhist Centre.
History
Evidence of Buddhism in Africa dates back to the Roman era. A 2nd century Buddha statue made of marble and presumed to have been made in Alexandria was found at Berenike in Egypt.
Buddhist population by country
Countries/Territories Practicing Buddhism(2010's estimates) Chinese Folk Religions(2010's estimates) Combined numbersEastern Africa - - - - - - - - - - - - 1,327 - 1,327 1,276 1,945 3,221 5,178 10,357 15,535 available - - 3,222 17,292 20,514 (France) - - - 2,035 4,341 6,376 (France) 1,570 - 1,570 - - - available available - - - - - - - 10,157 23,699 33,856 2,005 4,278 6,283 3,927 8,377 12,304 189 402 591Central Africa 1,632 162 1,794 353 753 1,106 - - - 1,684 3,593 5,277 - 283 283 3,734 - - - - - - - - - - -Northern Africa 5,320 11,350 16,670 1,687 - - 20,209 1,773 21,982 available - - 982 2,094 3,076 79 168 247 - - -Southern Africa 1,120 111 1,231 available - - available - - 159,220 35,589 194,809 available - -Western Africa - - - available - - - - - - - - 488 707 1,195 8,983 - - - - - 9,869 - - available - - available - - - - - - 8,458 4,675 13,133 1,679 398 2,057 availableSGI members in Sierra Leone Organize Buddhist Seminars availableSGI-Togo Appoints New Leaders - - Africa 256,383 132,348 388,731
See also Buddhism in Libya Buddhism in Senegal Buddhism in South Africa Buddhism in Morocco The Uganda Buddhist Centre Tanzania Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center Index of Buddhism-related articles
Further reading Clasquin, Michel / Krüger, Jacobus S. (eds.) (1999): Buddhism and Africa. Pretoria: University of South Africa
References