Govt publishes data on populations of religious groups
According to the figures publicly launched by the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population, on 21 July in the capital Naypyidaw, Buddhists constitute 87.9 percent of the country, Christians make up 6.2 percent, Muslims comprise 4.3 percent, animists are counted at 0.8 percent and Hindus are listed at 0.5 percent. People who identify with other religions constitute 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent identified as following no religion. These percentages represent the composition of Myanmar’s total population of 51.4 million, including a non-enumerated population of approximately 1.2 million. Due to ongoing debates, publication of the census figures for religious and ethnic data was delayed after other results were made public in May of 2015 under the previous, Thein Sein-led government.
