Minority Religions
According to Library of Congress, Pew Research Center, Oxford University, the CIA Factbook and other experts, Shi'a Islam in Pakistan make up 15-25% while the remaining 70-85% is Sunni Islam.
Although Shias are a second largest sect in the country, Pakistan holds the second largest Shia community after Iran in terms of numbers. The total Shia population in Pakistan is approximately 15 million to as high as 26 million according to Vali Nasr. While many independent sources claim Shia figures in Pakistan as high as 50 million in Pakistan. Globally, Shia Islam is represented by 10-20% of the total Muslims, while the remaining 80%-90% practice Sunni Islam.
An estimated 2.3% of the population are Ahmadis, who are officially considered non-Muslims by virtue of a 1974 constitutional amendment.
Non-Muslim religions include Hinduism and Christianity each with 2,800,000 (1.6%) adherents as of 2005. The Bahá'í Faith, has a following of 30,000, then Sikhism, Buddhism and Parsis, each claiming 20,000 adherents, and a very small community of Jains.
Read more about this topic: Sectarian Violence In Pakistan
Famous quotes containing the words minority and/or religions:
“What characterizes a member of a minority group is that he is forced to see himself as both exceptional and insignificant, marvelous and awful, good and evil.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“Those who believe in their truth—the only ones whose imprint is retained by the memory of men—leave the earth behind them strewn with corpses. Religions number in their ledgers more murders than the bloodiest tyrannies account for, and those whom humanity has called divine far surpass the most conscientious murderers in their thirst for slaughter.”
—E.M. Cioran (b. 1911)