Puneet Varma (Editor)

Hinduism in Tonga

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Hinduism in Tonga

Hinduism in Tonga has a small presence, with 200 followers according to the 2011 census. Some of these followers are Fijian. Hinduism has grown along with Buddhism, with its numbers almost doubling from 104 (or 0.1% of the population) to 200 followers (0.2%) from 2006 to 2011.

History

Hinduism has only been recognized as having a presence in Tonga for a short amount of time. The 1986 and 1996 Tongan Censuses did not include Hinduism as they only included the Tongan and part Tongan population. 2006 was the first time that Hinduism showed up in the Tongan Census, with 104 affiliating themselves as "Hindus". The next census in 2011 showed 200 Hindus (up 96), placing Hinduism ahead of Islam (24, down 23) and Buddhism (183, up 112). The 2011 census also showed that Hinduism had more than 1/4 of the followers of the Bahá'í Faith in Tonga (777, up 91), which was established in 1953 and grew rapidly in the 20th century.

Hinduism is expected to surpass the Gospel Church, whose followers declined from 243 in the 2006 Census to 236 people in the 2011 Census.

References

Hinduism in Tonga Wikipedia