Buddhism in Oceania

{{Main|Buddhism in Australia}}

In Australia, Buddhism is a small but growing religion. According to the 2016 census, 2.4 percent of the total population of Australia, identified as Buddhist.{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Religion%20Data%20Summary~25 |title=2071.0 - Census of Population and Housing: Reflecting Australia - Stories from the Census, 2016 |website=www.abs.gov.au |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920073309/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Religion%20Data%20Summary~25 |archive-date=20 September 2017 |url-status=dead}} It was also the fastest-growing religion by percentage, having increased its number of adherents by 79 percent between the 1996 and 2001 censuses.Australia. Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia, 2003. 21 January 2003. 19 May 2006.^{[http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/9658217eba753c2cca256cae00053fa3?OpenDocument]} Buddhism is the third largest religion in the country after Christianity and Islam.

{{Main|Buddhism in New Zealand}}

Buddhism is New Zealand's third largest religion after Christianity and Hinduism, standing at 1.5% of the population of New Zealand.[http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/data-tables/total-by-topic.aspx Table 28, 2013 Census Data – QuickStats About Culture and Identity – Tables]. Buddhism originates in Asia and was introduced to New Zealand by immigrants from East Asia.

According to the Pew Research Center, 2010,{{cite web|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/northern-mariana-islands#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010|title=Religions in Northern Mariana Islands - PEW-GRF|website=www.globalreligiousfutures.org|access-date=2018-09-21|archive-date=2019-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421091227/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/northern-mariana-islands#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010|url-status=dead}} Buddhists constitute 10.6% of the population of Northern Mariana Island.The Japanese occupation had the effect of creating a sizable Buddhist community which remained even after their departure.

Buddhism has begun to gain traction, growing from 0.2% to 0.4% of the population in five years.[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90156.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Tonga]. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (September 14, 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

World Christian Database 2010 estimate shows 0.3% Buddhist of the population of American Samoa are Buddhists.{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_5_2.asp |title=American Samoa: Adherents Profile at the Association of Religion Data Archives, World Christian Database |publisher=Thearda.com |date= |accessdate=February 26, 2014 |archive-date=September 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929073936/http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_5_2.asp |url-status=dead }}

Buddhism is practiced by 4% of the population of Vanuatu.Religion in Vanuatu

According to the Pew Research Center, Buddhism is practiced by 1.1% of the population of Guam as of 2010.[http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/guam#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 Guam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912191843/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/guam#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |date=2017-09-12 }}. www.globalreligiousfutures.org.

About 0.8% of the population was estimated to be Buddhist in 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_173_2.asp |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives | National Profiles |publisher=Thearda.com |date= |accessdate=2013-06-03 |archive-date=2013-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002094314/http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_173_2.asp |url-status=dead }}

After the arrival of Jesuit priests in the early 19th century, foreign missionaries have been active. During the Japanese mandate, Japanese Christian missions were heavily subsidized; Japan's native Buddhists were given a comparative pittance.Willard Price. Japan's Islands of Mystery. p. 111. Japanese rule brought Mahayana Buddhism and Shinto to Palau, with the syncretism of the two being the majority religion among Japanese settlers. However, following Japan's World War II defeat, the remaining Japanese largely converted to Christianity, while the remainder continued to practise Buddhism, but stopped practicing Shinto rites.Brigham Young University—Hawaii Campus (1981), p. 36 The Seventh-day Adventist and Evangelical churches have missionaries teaching in their respective elementary and high schools.

Buddhism is practised by 0.7% of the people in the Federated States of Micronesia They are mainly concentrated on Pohnpei island.{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/Countries/Country_150_2.asp |publisher=The Association of Religion Data Archives |title=Religious Adherents, 2010 (World Christian Database) |accessdate=20 February 2016 |archive-date=23 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623150905/https://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_150_2.asp |url-status=dead }}

• Buddhism by country
• List of Buddhist temples in Australia

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