Religion by Country
Religion in Malaysia: Statistics, Demographics & Beliefs
A Muslim-majority federation with large Buddhist, Christian and Hindu communities — where religion, ethnicity and law are closely intertwined.
Quick answer
Islam is the official and majority religion of Malaysia, followed by 63.5% of the population. Buddhism (18.7%, mainly ethnic Chinese), Christianity (9.1%, concentrated in Sabah and Sarawak) and Hinduism (6.1%, mainly ethnic Indian) are the other major faiths. Religion tracks ethnicity closely: Malays are constitutionally defined as Muslim.
- Largest religion
- Islam — 63.5% (official religion)
- Second largest
- Buddhism — 18.7%
- Third / fourth
- Christianity 9.1% · Hinduism 6.1%
- Data source
- Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
- Reference year
- Population and Housing Census 2020
Religion in Malaysia at a glance
Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country in which Islam is the official religion of the federation, while significant Buddhist, Christian and Hindu communities give the country one of Southeast Asia's more visibly multi-religious societies. The figures below are from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) Population and Housing Census 2020.
| Religion | Share of population |
|---|---|
| Islam (official religion) | 63.5% |
| Buddhism | 18.7% |
| Christianity | 9.1% |
| Hinduism | 6.1% |
| No religion / atheist | 1.8% |
| Other (Confucianism, Taoism, Sikhism, folk and others) | 0.9% |
The largest religions in Malaysia
Islam is followed by 63.5% of the population and is the official religion. Under the Federal Constitution, ethnic Malays — a little over half the population — are legally defined as Muslim, so religion and Malay ethnic identity are tightly bound together in law. Most Malaysian Muslims are Sunni of the Shafi'i school.
Buddhism (18.7%) is the second-largest religion and is practised overwhelmingly by ethnic Chinese Malaysians, often blended in practice with Taoism and Chinese folk traditions. Christianity (9.1%) is the third-largest and is heavily concentrated in East Malaysia: about two-thirds of Malaysian Christians live in Sabah and Sarawak, and Christians form a majority in Sarawak. Roughly half of Malaysian Christians are Catholic and about 40% Protestant. Hinduism (6.1%) is followed mainly by ethnic Indian Malaysians, most of Tamil descent.
Religion and ethnicity
Religion in Malaysia maps closely onto ethnicity. Malays are constitutionally Muslim; the Chinese community is predominantly Buddhist with sizeable Christian and folk-religion minorities; and Indians are mostly Hindu, with Christian and Muslim minorities. Among non-Malay Bumiputera communities in East Malaysia, Christianity is the most common faith.
Religion by region
The religious map differs sharply between Peninsular Malaysia and the Borneo states. The peninsula is strongly Muslim-majority, while Sarawak has a Christian plurality and Sabah is religiously mixed. This East–West contrast is one of the defining features of Malaysia's demographics and shapes its politics and law.
A short history
Hindu–Buddhist kingdoms influenced the Malay Peninsula for centuries before Islam spread through maritime trade from around the 13th to 15th centuries, becoming dominant by the 17th century. Christianity arrived with European colonial powers — Portuguese, Dutch and British — and took deepest root in Borneo. Chinese and Indian migration under British rule brought Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism and Sikhism in larger numbers.
Religious diversity and law
All the world's major religions have a substantial presence in Malaysia, and Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism are recognised in public life, with major festivals from several traditions observed as national holidays. At the same time, the constitutional definition of Malays as Muslim, and state-level Islamic (syariah) law applying to Muslims, mean religious freedom operates within specific legal limits. For a wider comparison, see religion in Singapore and religion in Indonesia.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main religion in Malaysia?
Islam is the main and official religion of Malaysia, practised by 63.5% of the population according to the 2020 census.
What percentage of Malaysia is Muslim?
63.5% of Malaysia's population practised Islam at the 2020 census. Nearly all ethnic Malays are Muslim, as required by the Federal Constitution.
What religions are practised in Malaysia?
The major religions are Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, along with smaller communities of Confucianists, Taoists, Sikhs, Baha'is and followers of indigenous beliefs.
Which states in Malaysia are Christian-majority?
Christianity is concentrated in East Malaysia. Sarawak has a Christian plurality (about half its population), and Sabah has a large Christian community; most Malaysian Christians live in these two Borneo states.
Sources & methodology
Figures are from the Department of Statistics Malaysia's decennial Population and Housing Census, which records religious affiliation for the whole population. Religion in Malaysia is closely tied to legal ethnic categories, which affects how the data is collected and interpreted.
- Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 (religion by ethnic group and state).
- U.S. Department of State, 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Malaysia (citing 2020 census).