4. Buddhism
Followers: 488 million (7% of the world’s population)
Buddhism is mostly based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha who lived between 6th and 4th century B.C.E. in India. Differentiating in the philosophy and practice, there are two major branches of Buddhism. More than 50% of Buddhists in the world belong to Mahayana while 37% are considered to follow Theravada which is considered to be closer to the original form of Buddhism. In the core of both branches remain devotion to following the example of Buddha and his teachings. 51% of global Buddhist population is concentrated in China, while Thailand, Burma and Japan together account for 30%. Despite originating in India, Buddhism has less than 10 million adherents there.
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