The U.S. government estimates the country's total population at 69.6 million (midyear 2022). In December 2021, the Department of Religious Affairs reported that the population is 92.5 percent Buddhist, 5.4 percent Muslim, and 1.2 percent Christian.
Yes, Thailand is generally Muslim-friendly.
Malay Muslims
The high number of Malay origin inhabitants in the southern region is due to the historical nature of the area, which contains parts of the Pattani Kingdom, an Islamic Malay kingdom established in the 19th century, but later annexed to Siam since the early Ayutthaya Kingdom.
The vast majority of Thais (around 95%), are followers of Theravada Buddhism. Buddhism is the origin of the moral code and cohesion of Thai society.
The law officially recognizes five religious groups: Buddhists, Muslims, Brahmin-Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians. While there is no official state religion, the constitution requires the King to be Buddhist and declares that he is the “upholder of religions.”
Just about every city and town has at least a few halal restaurants, and large cities such as Bangkok will have hundreds. Although Thailand is predominantly a Buddhist country, it's worth knowing that their second biggest religion is Islam.
The food that a strict Buddhist takes, if not a vegetarian, is also specific. For many Chinese Buddhists, beef and the consumption of large animals and exotic species is avoided. Then there would be the aforementioned "triply clean meat" rule.
Buddhism, the Thai state religion, teaches that use of intoxicants should be avoided. Nonetheless, many Thai people drink alcohol, and a proportion are alcohol-dependent or hazardous or harmful drinkers.
National surveys conducted in the early 21st century estimated that some 80% of the population of China, which is more than a billion people, practice some kind of Chinese folk religion; 13–16% are Buddhists; 10% are Taoist; 2.53% are Christians; and 0.83% are Muslims.
Muslims comprise Thailand's largest religious minority and are concentrated mainly in the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, and Satun.
The Pew Research Center estimated that there were 185,000 Muslims in Japan in 2010. For 2019 it was estimated that the numbers rose to 230,000, due to the more friendly policies towards immigration, the Japanese converts being estimated at 50,000, and Japan now has more than 110 mosques compared to 24 in 2001.
Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6 to 2 percent of the total population (21-28 million people) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerous group, the greatest concentration of Muslims are in Xinjiang, which contains a significant Uyghur population.
There are 3,943 mosques in Thailand as of March 2018. The Southern region has the most share in the kingdom with 3,340 mosques or roughly 85% of all mosques.
Islam in Vietnam is primarily the religion of the Cham people, an Austronesian minority ethnic group; however, roughly one-third of Muslims in Vietnam are of other ethnic groups.
Due to the rejection of Buddhist doctrine by most Muslim theologians, Muslims apply tolerance, which is subject to religious freedom stand on, 'firm in principle, tolerant in attitude'. Tolerance encourages Muslims to adhere to the principles of truth, but does not erode the respect for other religion.
Buddhism and Islam condemn alcohol because it induces a loss of self-control. In the Sunni tradition, “alcohol is the mother of all vices and it is the most shameful vice” (Sounan Ibn-Majah, Hadith 3371).
Drinking alcohol is considered haram, or forbidden, in Islam. As proof of the prohibition, Islamic scholars and Muslim religious authorities typically point to a verse in the Quran, the Muslim holy book, that calls intoxicants “the work of Satan” and tells believers to avoid them.
Theravada and Mahayana: often do not eat meat and fish, some are vegan. Theravada and Mahayana from China and Vietnam: do not eat garlic, onion, chives, shallot or leek (five pungent spices – believed to increase one's sexual desire and anger) Tibetans: never eat fish, usually will not eat foul.
All of India's most widely practiced religions have dietary laws and traditions. For example, Hindu texts often praise vegetarianism, and Hindus may also avoid eating beef because cows are traditionally viewed as sacred.
Atheism in Buddhism, Jainism
While Buddhism is a tradition focused on spiritual liberation, it is not a theistic religion. The Buddha himself rejected the idea of a creator god, and Buddhist philosophers have even argued that belief in an eternal god is nothing but a distraction for humans seeking enlightenment.
In Abrahamic religions, eating pig flesh is clearly forbidden by Jewish (kashrut), Islamic (halal) and Adventist (kosher animals) dietary laws. Although Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion, most of its adherents do not follow these aspects of Mosaic law and do consume its meat.
Forbidden food substances include alcohol, pork, carrion, the meat of carnivores and animals that died due to illness, injury, stunning, poisoning, or slaughtering not in the name of God.
Both Judaism and Islam have prohibited eating pork and its products for thousands of years. Scholars have proposed several reasons for the ban to which both religions almost totally adhere. Pork, and the refusal to eat it, possesses powerful cultural baggage for Jews.
Thailand does also have plenty of Thai Halal restaurant that serve Halal meat. Explore some of the Halal restaurants on our website! Is KFC in Thailand Halal? It's a bit of a complicated subject but the short answer is that KFC in Thailand is not Halal since not every branch has a Halal certificate.