Buddhism in Norway

The Vietnamese "Khuông Việt" pagoda at Løvenstad near Oslo, the only of its kind in Norway.

Buddhism in Norway has existed since the beginning of the 1970s, after immigration from countries with Buddhist populations, mainly Vietnam and Thailand. Buddhistforbundet (The Buddhist Federation) in Norway was established as a religious society in 1979 by two Buddhist groups (The Zen School and Karma Tashi Ling buddhistsenter) who wanted to create a common organization to preserve issues of common interest. Today, there are 14.500 members in Buddhistforbundet but it is estimated to be over 20 thousand (0.4% of the total population) practicing Buddhists in Norway. Around 1,000 of the members are ethnic Norwegians, or 5% of the Buddhist population.[1]

Population

By county

County	Total population	Buddhist population	Percent buddhist
Oslo	575,475	2,912	0.5 %
Akershus	527,625	1,767	0.3 %
Østfold	268,584	1,143	0.4 %
Hordaland	469,681	952	0.2 %
Rogaland	420,574	844	0.2 %
Sør-Trøndelag	286,729	801	0.2 %
Buskerud	254,634	774	0.3 %
Vestfold	229,134	538	0.2 %
Vest-Agder	168,233	512	0.3 %
Telemark	167,548	379	0.2 %
Hedmark	190,071	350	0.1 %
Oppland	184,288	274	0.1 %
Møre og Romsdal	248,727	246	0.0 %
Aust-Agder	107,359	227	0.2 %
Troms	155,553	177	0.1 %
Nordland	235,380	131	0.0 %
Nord-Trøndelag	130,708	104	0.0 %
Finnmark	72,492	81	0.1 %
Sogn og Fjordane	106,457	40	0.0 %

By region

County	Total population	Buddhist population	Percent buddhist
Eastern Norway	2,397,359	8,137	0.3 %
Western Norway	1,245,439	2,082	0.1 %
Trøndelag	417,437	905	0.2 %
Southern Norway	275,592	739	0.2 %
Northern Norway	463,425	389	0.0 %

Year	Buddhists	Percent
1990	3,012	0.07%
2000	7,031	0.16%
2005	9,471	0.20%
2010	13,376	0.27%

References

• Buddhism in Norway
• BUDDHISTFORBUNDET
• Buddhism Today - Buddhism in Norway, by Haavard Lorentzen