# Jain communities

The Jains in India are the last direct representatives of the ancient Shramana tradition. People who practice Jainism, an ancient religion of the Indian subcontinent, are collectively referred to as Jains.

## Sangha

Jainism has a fourfold order of muni (male monastics), aryika (female monastics), Śrāvaka (layman) and sravika (laywoman). This order is known as a sangha.. Many Jains are in general caste.

## Cultural influence

The Jain have the highest literacy rate in India, 94.1.% compared with the national average of 65.38%. They have the highest female literacy rate, 90.6.% compared with the national average of 54.16%.
As per national survey NFHS-4 conducted in 2018 Jains were declared wealthiest of any community with 70% of their population living in top quintiles of wealth. The sex ratio in the 0-6 age group is the second lowest for Jain (870 females per 1,000 males).

## Communities

Jains are found in almost every part of India. There are about 100 different Jain communities in India. They can be divided into five groups based on historical and current residence:

### Central India

* Jainism in Bundelkhand
* Jainism in Madhya Pradesh

### Western India

* Jainism in Gujarat (Gujarati Jain)
* Jainism in Maharashtra (Marathi Jain)
** Jainism in Mumbai

### Northern India

* Jainism in Delhi
* Jainism in Uttar Pradesh
* Jainism in Rajasthan (Marwari Jain)

### Southern India

* Jainism in Karnataka
* Jainism in Kerala
* Jainism in North Karnataka
* Jainism in Tamil Nadu (Tamil Jain)

### Eastern India

* Jainism in Bengal
* Jainism in Nagaland

## Diaspora

Virchand Gandhi made a presentation of Jainism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893, marking one of the earliest appearances of Jainism outside India. The World Jain Congress was held in Leicester in 1988.
* Jainism in Europe
* Jainism in Canada
* Jainism in the United States
* Jainism in East Africa - One of the oldest Jain overseas diaspora. Their number was estimated at 45,000 at the independence of the East African countries in the early 1960s. Most members of the diaspora belonged to Gujarati speaking Halari Visa Oshwal Jain community originally from the Jamnagar area of Saurashtra.
* Jainism in West Africa

## Population

The Jain population in India according to 2011 census is 0.54% i.e. 4,451,753 (Males 2,278,097; Females 2,173,656) out of the total population of India 1,210,854,977 (males 623,270,258; females 587,584,719). The tabular representation of Jain population in the major states of India as per 2011 Census data released by the government is:
| S. No. | State | Persons (total) | Persons (rural) | Persons (urban) | Male (total) | Male (rural) | Male (urban) | Female (total) | Female (rural) | Female (urban) |
| 1 | India | 4,451,753 | 904,809 | 3,546,944 | 2,278,097 | 467,577 | 1,810,520 | 2,173,656 | 437,232 | 1,736,424 |
| 2 | Maharashtra | 1,400,349 | 269,959 | 1,130,390 | 713,157 | 140,476 | 572,681 | 687,192 | 129,483 | 557,709 |
| 3 | Rajasthan | 622,023 | 166,322 | 455,701 | 317,614 | 84,649 | 232,965 | 304,409 | 81,673 | 222,736 |
| 4 | Gujarat | 579,654 | 44,118 | 535,536 | 294,911 | 22,357 | 272,554 | 284,743 | 21,761 | 262,982 |
| 5 | Madhya Pradesh | 567,028 | 109,699 | 457,329 | 291,937 | 57,431 | 234,506 | 275,091 | 52,268 | 222,823 |
| 6 | Karnataka | 440,280 | 220,362 | 219,918 | 225,544 | 113,598 | 111,946 | 214,736 | 106,764 | 107,972 |
| 7 | Uttar Pradesh | 213,267 | 30,144 | 183,123 | 110,994 | 15,852 | 95,142 | 102,273 | 14,292 | 87,981 |
| 8 | Delhi | 166,231 | 192 | 166,039 | 85,605 | 94 | 85,511 | 80,626 | 98 | 80,528 |
| 9 | Tamil Nadu | 89,265 | 10,084 | 79,181 | 45,605 | 5,044 | 40,561 | 43,660 | 5,040 | 38,620 |
The Jain population in United States is estimated to be about 150,000 to 200,000.
In Japan, there are more than 5,000 families who have converted to Jainism and the religion is growing there.