Buddhism is a religion rooted in the ideas of Siddhartha Gautama, and the number of Buddhist followers has grown significantly over the last century. In 1910, researchers reported that Buddhism had a following of approximately 138 million individuals, primarily concentrated throughout Asia. By 2010, that number had reached roughly 495 million, with a larger population size outside of Asia. Between 2000 and 2010, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were two of the countries with the fastest growth in the practice of Buddhism. Australia also reported that Buddhism was the country's fastest growing religion in terms of percentage, with a growth rate of 79.1% between 1996 and 2001.

Sociologists predict that the global Buddhist population will increase to 511 million by 2030, but then experience a decline over the following 2 decades. These researchers claim that the population will return to its current size by 2050. This decline is expected due to a low birth rate in Buddhist women and an aging population that will not be replaced by younger generations. This change means that the worldwide percentage of Buddhists, which is currently around 7%, will drop to only 5% in 2050, taking global population increase into account. In some countries, however, the population is expected to continue growing. This article discusses the countries expected to have the highest Buddhist population totals by the year 2050.