Sikhism by country

Most of the 25–30 million followers of Sikhism, the world's fifth-largest religion live in the northern Indian state of Punjab, the only Sikh-majority administrative division on Earth,^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} but Sikh communities exist on every inhabited continent. Sizeable Sikh populations in countries across the world exist in India (20,833,116),^[7] Canada (~771,800),^[8] England (~520,100),^[9] the United States (~280,000),^[30] Italy (~220,000), and Australia (~210,400), while countries with the largest proportions of Sikhs include Canada (2.12%),^[8] India (1.72%), New Zealand (1.07%), Cyprus (~1.1%)^[31][32] England (0.92%),^[9][33] and Australia (0.83%).

Distribution of Sikhs

Percentage of Sikhs by country

Number of Sikhs by country

• v
• t
• e

Administrative divisions with significant proportions of Sikhs include Punjab, India (Sikhs account for 58% of the population), Chandigarh, India (13.1%), British Columbia, Canada (5.9%),^[8] Haryana, India (4.9%), Delhi, India (3.4%), West Midlands, England (2.9%), Manitoba, Canada (2.7%),^[8] Alberta, Canada (2.5%),^[8] Uttarakhand, India (2.3%), and Ontario, Canada (2.1%).^[8] Meanwhile, cities outside India with the largest Sikh populations are Brampton, Ontario, Canada (163,260),^[34] Surrey, British Columbia, Canada (154,415),^[35] and London, England (144,543).^[36]

At 93.33% Sikh, Tarn Taran is the world's most Sikh district or county.^[37] Located in the heart of the Majha region of Punjab founded by Guru Arjan Dev - the 5th Sikh guru,^[38] Tarn Taran also hosts the world's largest sarovar (sacred pool)^[39] even surpassing the great Darbar Sahib - Golden Temple in the neighbouring Amritsar district.

By country

The figures on the table below are either based on each of the country's respective censuses or are calculated by specific organizations. Some of these figures are rounded off. In case of conflicting estimates, both the lowest and highest estimates are included.

Sikhs and Sikhism by country

Country	No. of Sikhs	Sikh %	% of all Sikhs	Year
Afghanistan *	140	0.00%	0.00%	2022[40]
Argentina *	300 families	0.00%	0.00%	2012[41]
Austria *	9,000	0.04%	0.04%	2020[42]
Australia *	210,400	0.83%	0.90%	2021 (Census)[43]
Bangladesh *	20 families	0.00%	0.00%	2012[44]
Belgium *	10,000	0.09%	0.04%	2020[45]
Brazil *	300	0.00%	0.00%	2018[46]
Canada *	771,790	2.12%	3.31%	2021 (Census)[47]
Cyprus *	2,260	0.24%		2021[48]
Denmark *	4,000	0.07%	0.02%	2019[49]
Fiji *	2,577	0.31%	0.01%	2007[50]
France *	30,000	0.04%	0.13%	2017[51]
Georgia *	200	0.01%	0.00%	2018[52]
Germany *	18,000	0.02%	0.08%	2017[53]
Greece *	20,000	0.19%	0.09%	2015[54]
Hong Kong *	12,000	0.16%	0.05%	2021[55]
Iceland	100	0.03%	0.00%	2013[56]
India *	20,833,116	1.72%	89.27%	2011 (Census)
Indonesia *	15,000	0.01%	0.06%	2009[57]
Ireland *	2,183	0.04%	0.01%	2022 (Census)[58]
Italy *	220,000	0.37%	0.94%	2022[72]
Kenya	6,000	0.01%	0.03%	2013[73]
Kuwait	15,000	0.35%	0.06%	2021[74]
Malaysia *	100,000	0.30%	0.43%	2016[75]
Nepal *	609	0.00%	0.00%	2011 (Census)[76]
Netherlands *	15,000	0.08%	0.06%	2022[77]
New Zealand *	53,406	1.07%	0.23%	2023 (Census)[78]
Norway *	4,080	0.08%	0.02%	2020[79]
Oman	33,704	0.75%	0.14%	2020[80]
Pakistan *	15,998	0.01%	0.07%	2023 (Census)[81]
Panama *	302	0.01%	0.00%	2020[82]
Philippines	28,436	0.03%	0.12%	2020[82]
Portugal *	35,000	0.34%	0.15%	2020[83]
Saudi Arabia	6,700	0.02%	0.03%	2021[84]
Singapore *	12,051	0.35%	0.05%	2020[85]
South Africa *	13,000	0.02%	0.04%	2020[86]
Spain *	26,000	0.05%	0.11%	2020[87]
Sweden *	4,000	0.04%	0.02%	2020[87]
Thailand *	70,000	0.10%	0.30%	2005[88]
Trinidad and Tobago *	150	0.01%	0.00%	2022[89]
Uganda	2,400	0.01%	0.01%	2021[90]
United Arab Emirates *	52,000	0.56%	0.22%	2022[91]
United Kingdom *	524,529	0.85%	2.25%	2021 (Census)[92][93][94]
United States *	280,000	0.08%	1.20%	2021[115]
Total	23,336,631[a]	0.29%	100.00%

Census Data

As a religious minority, Sikhs have fought long and hard to get official status and to be counted in many countries across the world. Through the efforts of Sikh organisations and communities in their respective countries, there is now readily available population data on Sikhs as part of the census in the following territories:

Census Data

Country	Sikh Religion				Sikh Ethnicity
	Rank	Pop.	%	Year	Pop.	%	Year	Response
India	4th	20,833,116	1.72%	2011[116]
Canada	4th	771,790	2.12%	2021[47]	194,640	0.54%	2021[117]	Multiple
England	4th	520,092	0.92%	2021[92]	98,666	0.17%	2021[118]	Single
United States					48,321	0.01%	2020[119][120][121]	Single
					70,697	0.02%	2020[122][123][124]	Multiple
Australia	5th	210,400	0.83%	2021[125]	60,501	0.24%	2021[126]	Multiple
Malaysia	5th	58,604	0.25%	2000[127][128]
New Zealand	5th	53,406	1.07%	2023[78]	105	0.00%	2018[129]	Single
					192	0.00%	2018[130]	Multiple
Pakistan	4th	15,998	0.01%	2023[81]
Singapore	6th	12,051	0.35%	2020[85]
Thailand	6th	11,124	0.02%	2010[131]
Scotland	5th	10,988	0.2%	2022[132]	873	0.02%	2011[133]	Multiple
Wales	5th	4,048	0.13%	2021[92]	683	0.02%	2021[134]	Single
Austria	6th	2,794	0.03%	2001[135]
Fiji	4th	2,577	0.31%	2007[136]
Cyprus	4th	2,260	0.24%	2021[137]
Ireland	6th	2,183	0.04%	2022[138]
Nepal	7th	1,496	0.01%	2021[139]
Northern Ireland	6th	389	0.02%	2021[140]	43	0.00%	2021[141]	Single
Mauritius		182[b]	0.01%	2022[142]
Czech Republic		86	0.00%	2021[143]
Faroe Islands	7th	3	0.01%	2011[144]

Official statistics do not count unregistered arrivals or those who have not completed the census or surveys. However, they do provide for a much more accurate depiction of Sikh communities as opposed to estimates from various Sikh organisations whose estimates can vary vastly with no statistically valuable source. Thus, official statistics and census data is highly important and Sikh communities continue to push for census inclusion in many countries where they are still not counted.

Country	Born in Country[145]		Born Overseas[146]		Data
	Total	%	Total	%
England	296,673	57.0%	223,419	43.0%	2021
Canada	236,400	30.6%	535,390	69.4%	2021
Australia	51,939	24.9%	157,940	75.1%	2021
Singapore	8,369	69.5%	3,682	30.5%	2020
Wales	2,431	60.1%	1,617	39.9%	2021
Cyprus	56	2.5%	2,204	97.5%	2021

Canada has the largest Sikh population outside India, this is largely due to those born overseas outside Canada numbering 500,000+. Whilst England ranks number 1 for having the largest number born in the diaspora.

% Sikh by National Subdivision

Largest proportions and populations

Rank	Proportion		Population
	Country	Proportion	Country	Population
1	Canada	2.12%[47]	India	23,786,000[150]
2	India	1.72%[155]	Canada	771,790[47]
3	New Zealand	1.07%[78]	United Kingdom	524,000[156]
4	Australia	0.83%[157]	United States	280,000[178]
5	United Kingdom	0.80%[179]	Australia	210,400[157]
6	Oman	0.75%[80]	Italy	210,000[187]
7	United Arab Emirates	0.56%[188]	Malaysia	100,000[189][190][191]
8	Italy	0.37%[199]	Thailand	70,000[200]
9	Singapore	0.35%	New Zealand	53,406[78]
10	Cyprus	0.24%[201]	United Arab Emirates	52,000[202]
11			Philippines	50,000[203][204]
12			Oman	35,540[80]
13			Portugal	35,000[205]
14			France	30,000[206]
15			Spain	26,000[207]
16			Germany	25,000[208]
17			Greece	20,000[209]
18			Pakistan	15,998[81]
19			Netherlands	15,000[210]
20			Kuwait	15,000[211][212]
21			Hong Kong	15,000[213]
23			Singapore	12,051[214]
24			Indonesia	10,000[215]
25			Belgium	10,000[216]
26			Austria	10,000[217]

Historical Data

The Afghan Sikh population declined from between 200,000 and 500,000 (1.8% to 4.6% of the Afghan population) in the 1970s^{[218][219][220][221][222]} to 45 in 2022 following decades of conflict.

Sikhism by country (2001−2021)

Country	2021		2011		2001		Change (2011-2021)		Change (2001-2011)		Source
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	±	+%	±	+%
India			20,833,116	1.72%	19,237,391	1.87%			1,595,725	8.29%	[223][224][225][226][227]
Canada	771,790	2.12%	454,965	1.38%	278,410	0.94%	316,825	69.64%	176,555	63.42%	[47][228][229]
England	520,092	0.92%	420,196	0.79%	327,343	0.63%	99,896	23.77%	92,853	28.37%	[92][230][231]
United States	269,986	0.08%	189,242	0.06%	119,740	0.04%	80,744	42.67%	69,502	58.04%	[232][233][234][259]
Australia	210,400	0.83%	72,296	0.34%	17,437	0.09%	138,101	191.02%	54,859	314.61%	[260]
New Zealand	[d]40,908	1.07%	[e]19,191	0.45%	5,199	0.14%	34,215	178.29%	13,992	269.13%	[78][261]
Norway	4,208	0.08%	2,975	0.06%							[262]
Wales	4,048	0.13%	2,962	0.10%	2,015	0.07%	1,086		947		[92][230][231]
Nepal	1,496	0.01%	609	0.00%			887				[76][139]
Fiji	500	0.10%	[f]2,540	0.30%	[g]3,067	0.40%			-527	-17.18%	[263]
Northern Ireland	389	0.02%	216	0.01%	219	0.01%	173		-3		[264][265][266]

Depiction of early Sikh immigration to Canada (Whitehorse, Yukon). Circa 1906.

Other data

Administrative divisions

The following table will only list administrative divisions with 1,000 Sikhs or higher.

Sikhs by administrative division (2021)^{[47][267][81][268][269][260][h]}

Administrative division	Pop.	%
Punjab, India	16,004,754	57.69%
Haryana	1,243,752	4.91%
Rajasthan	872,930	1.27%
Uttar Pradesh	643,500	0.32%
Delhi	570,581	3.40%
Ontario	300,435	2.14%
British Columbia	290,870	5.92%
Uttarakhand	236,340	2.34%
Jammu and Kashmir	232,585	1.90%
Maharashtra	223,247	0.20%
West Midlands	172,398	2.90%
Madhya Pradesh	151,412	0.21%
California	146,614	0.37%
London	144,543	1.64%
Chandigarh	138,329	13.11%
Alberta	103,600	2.48%
Victoria	91,745	1.41%
Himachal Pradesh	79,896	1.16%
South East	74,348	0.80%
Jharkhand	71,422	0.22%
Chhattisgarh	70,036	0.27%
West Bengal	63,523	0.07%
Gujarat	58,246	0.10%
East Midlands	53,950	1.11%
New South Wales	47,165	0.58%
Manitoba	35,470	2.71%
New York	31,496	0.16%
Telangana	30,340	0.09%
Karnataka	28,773	0.05%
Queensland	27,713	0.54%
East	24,284	0.38%
Yorkshire and the Humber	24,034	0.44%
Auckland	23,832	1.52%
Quebec	23,345	0.28%
Odisha	21,991	0.05%
Assam	20,672	0.07%
Western Australia	18,583	0.70%
Washington	17,316	0.22%
South Australia	17,259	0.97%
New Jersey	15,417	0.17%
Bihar	14,753	0.01%
Tamil Nadu	14,601	0.02%
North West	11,862	0.16%
Texas	10,777	0.04%
Andhra Pradesh	9,904	0.02%
Scotland	9,055	0.17%
Saskatchewan	9,035	0.82%
South West	7,465	0.13%
North East	7,206	0.27%
Indiana	6,812	0.10%
Virginia	6,792	0.08%
Michigan	5,809	0.06%
Punjab, Pakistan	5,649	0.00%
Sindh	5,182	0.01%
Illinois	5,087	0.04%
Bay of Plenty	4,842	1.57%
Nova Scotia	4,730	0.49%
Pennsylvania	4,354	0.03%
Australian Capital Territory	4,323	0.95%
Waikato	4,074	0.89%
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	4,050	0.01%
Wales	4,048	0.13%
Maryland	4,013	0.06%
Kerala	3,814	0.01%
Ohio	3,517	0.03%
Arunachal Pradesh	3,287	0.24%
Meghalaya	3,045	0.10%
Canterbury	2,973	0.50%
Massachusetts	2,379	0.03%
Florida	2,359	0.01%
Ladakh	2,263	0.83%
Tasmania	2,208	0.40%
Arizona	2,177	0.03%
Georgia	2,173	0.02%
Nagaland	1,890	0.10%
Sikkim	1,868	0.31%
New Brunswick	1,780	0.23%
Wellington	1,647	0.32%
Manipur	1,527	0.05%
Goa	1,473	0.10%
North Carolina	1,431	0.01%
Connecticut	1,424	0.04%
Wisconsin	1,412	0.02%
Northern Territory	1,401	0.60%
Hawke's Bay	1,347	0.81%
Colorado	1,324	0.02%
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	1,286	0.34%
Prince Edward Island	1,165	0.77%
Oregon	1,130	0.03%
Nevada	1,118	0.04%
Tripura	1,070	0.03%
Balochistan	1,057	0.01%

Sub-districts

Faith in Newton, Surrey (2021)^[279] World's only Sikh majority neighbourhood outside India

1. Christian (16.4%)
2. No Religion (13.9%)
3. Sikh (51.5%)
4. Muslim (8.7%)
5. Hindu (8.1%)
6. Buddhist (0.9%)
7. Jewish (0.1%)
8. Other faiths (0.4%)

A sub-district is a local administrative division known as different names in respective countries: called tehsils in India, electoral districts in Canada and wards in England. These are smaller than counties or districts and consist of neighbourhoods and suburbs. Newton, Surrey is the only Sikh majority sub-district outside India with Sikhs representing 51.5% of the population in 2021.^[280] There are however, a number of other neighbourhoods outside India where Sikhs form the largest group (plurality).

Neighbourhoods with Sikhs as Largest Group^[281]

Sub-district (neighbourhood)	Division	Nation	% Sikh
Newton - Surrey	British Columbia	Canada	51.5%
Blakenhall - Wolverhampton	West Midlands	England	40.7%
Brampton East - Peel	Ontario	Canada	40.4%
Southall Green - Ealing	London	England	36.8%
Heston West - Hounslow	London	England	31.8%
Lady Margaret - Ealing	London	England	28.2%
Pinkwell - Hillingdon	London	England	26.5%
Norwood Green - Ealing	London	England	26.2%

Municipalities

• 
  Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is located in Delhi. India's capital and second-largest city with nearly 20 million inhabitants, Delhi was home to 570,581 Sikhs at the 2011 census, the largest municipal Sikh population in the world.
• 
  Gurdwara Dasmesh Darbar is located in Brampton, Ontario. Home to 163,260 Sikhs at the 2021 census, Brampton has the world's largest municipal Sikh population outside India.
• 
  Gurdwara Amb Sahib is located in Mohali, Punjab, the largest Sikh-majority city on Earth with a total population of 166,864 at the 2011 census.

20 largest municipal Sikh populations

Municipality	Sikh population	Total population	Sikh proportion %	Largest religious group	Source
Delhi	570,581	16,787,941	3.40%	Hindu (81.68%)	[282]
Amritsar	556,431	1,159,227	48.00%	Hindu (49.36%)	[283]
Ludhiana	465,393	1,618,879	28.75%	Hindu (65.96%)	[284]
Jalandhar	185,869	868,929	21.39%	Hindu (74.90%)	[285]
Patiala	178,336	446,246	39.96%	Hindu (57.22%)	[286]
Brampton	163,260	650,165	25.11%	Christian (35.72%)	[287]
Surrey	154,415	562,565	27.45%	Christian (30.24%)	[288]
London	144,543	8,799,728	1.64%	Christian (40.66%)	[289]
Chandigarh	138,329	1,055,450	13.11%	Hindu (80.78%)	[290]
Bhatinda	100,139	446,246	35.04%	Hindu (62.61%)	[291]
Mohali	85,983	166,864	51.53%	Sikh (51.53%)	[292]
Melbourne	85,286	4,917,750	1.73%	Christian (40.14%)	[293]
Moga	82,456	163,397	50.46%	Sikh (50.46%)	[294]
Mumbai	60,759	12,442,373	0.49%	Hindu (65.99%)	[295]
Batala	59,996	156,619	37.82%	Hindu (56.00%)	[296]
Barnala	58,652	116,449	50.37%	Sikh (50.37%)	[297]
Khanna	52,240	128,137	40.77%	Hindu (56.41%)	[298]
Tarn Taran	50,583	66,847	75.67%	Sikh (75.67%)	[299]
Muktsar	49,934	116,747	42.77%	Hindu (55.56%)	[300]
Calgary	49,465	1,306,784	3.83%	Christian (44.53%)	[301]

See also

• Sikh diaspora
• Punjabis

• List of religious populations

Notes

1. Total of countries listed above. List last totaled on 11 June 2023.
2. Combined responses of "Sikh" (116) and "Punjabi" (66).
3. Sikhs comprise 1.7% (23,786,052) of India's total population of 1,399,179,585 per 2023 estimate by the World Factbook.^[147]
4. 2023 census
5. 2013 census
6. 2007 census
7. 1996 census
8. 2011 census data for India,^[148] 2011 census data for Scotland,^[270] 2018 census data for New Zealand,^[271] 2020 census data for United States,^[275] and 2022 census data for Bihar.^{[276][277][278]}