Malaysian constitution grants freedom of religion and it’s a secular state, and Islam is the “religion of the Federation”. According to Census 2020,  Approximately 63.5% of the population follows Islam. Sunni Islam of the Shafi’i school of jurisprudence is the dominant branch of Islam in Malaysia, while 18% are nondenominational Muslims.

Buddhism is the second largest religion and is followed by 18.7% of the population. 83.6% of the Chinese population identify as Buddhist, with significant numbers of adherents following Taoism (3.4%) and Christianity (11.1%), along with small Muslim populations in areas like Penang.

Among Other religions, 9.1% follow Christianity, 6.1% Hinduism and 1.3% practice Confucianism, Taoism, and other traditional Chinese religions. and the remaining 2.7% are classified as unaffiliated, which can mean agnostic, atheist, or “nothing in particular.”

The majority of the Indian population follows Hinduism (86.2%), with a significant minority identifying as Christians (6.0%) or Muslims (4.1%). Christianity is the predominant religion of the non-Malay Bumiputera community (46.5%) with an additional 40.4% identifying as Muslims.

Religion percentage in Malaysia

Source: Census 2020

Projected Religious Percentage

According to estimates from the Pew Research Center, Malaysia’s religious composition is expected to shift over time. While the Christian population remains stable at 9.4%, the Muslim population is projected to grow from 63.7% in 2010 to 72.4% by 2050. Hindu and Buddhist populations are gradually declining, with Hindus decreasing from 6% to 5% and Buddhists from 17.7% to 10.8% over the same period. Folk religions also see a slight decline. 

Source: PEW research