Six Percent of the Riau Islands Population Practices Buddhism

The Buddhist population in Riau Islands Province as of December 31, 2022, was recorded at 147,810 people. This is an increase of 1,185 people compared to the previous year, which reported 146,630 people.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the proportion of Buddhists in this province reached six percent of the total population recorded in 2022, which was 2.45 million people. Among other religions, the number of Buddhists in Riau Islands is second highest.

The number of people adhering to the Buddhist religion in Riau Islands Province in 2022, ranked by religion, from the highest number, is as follows:

* Islam: 1,671,242 people (68.23%)
* Protestant: 255,466 people (10.43%)
* Buddhist: 147,811 people (6.03%)
* Catholic: 54,457 people (2.22%)
* Confucian: 3,249 people (0.13%)
* Hindu: 933 people (0.04%)
* Other: 333 people (0.01%)

In other provinces in Sumatra, the number of people who practice Buddhism, ranked from largest to smallest, is as follows: North Sumatra 351,913 people, Riau 136,869 people, South Sumatra 67,772 people, Bangka Belitung Islands 62,862 people, Jambi 34,151 people, Lampung 24,065 people, Aceh 6,870 people, West Sumatra 3,345 people, and Bengkulu 2,086 people.