Buddhism in Bangladesh

Buddhism is the third-largest religious affiliation and formed about 0.61% of the population of Bangladesh. It is said that Buddha once in his life came to this region of East Bengal to spread his teachings and he was successful in converting the local people to Buddhism, specially in the Chittagong division and later on Pala empire propagate and patronized Buddhist religion throughout the Bengal territory.

About 1 million people in Bangladesh adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism. Over 65% of the Buddhist population is concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, where it is the predominant faith of the Rakhine, Chakma, Marma, Tanchangya, Jumma people and the Barua. The remaining 35% are Bengali Buddhists. Buddhist communities are also present in the urban centers of Bangladesh, particularly Chittagong and Dhaka.