Hinduism

Hindus are today found virtually all over the world, as natives, as descendants of earlier migrants, or as relatively recent arrivals. South Asia is, however, where most Hindus have always lived, where their old and new sacred centers are located, and from where they have migrated elsewhere, carrying with them significant elements of their cultural heritage (including religion and languages). With an estimated population of more than 885 million (13% of the human mass), Hindus as the followers of a world religion occupy the third place, behind Christians and Muslims. Table 1 presents the 2010 estimates for 12 countries with a sizable number of Hindus.

It may be additionally noted here that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data for 2007, there were 2.57 million Indians ...