Hinduism in Pakistan

Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Pakistan, with 2.17% of the population being Hindus, around 5.2 million people, according to the 2023 Pakistani census. However, the Pakistan Hindu Council claims 8-10 million Hindus, making up 4% of the population. Umerkot District has the highest percentage of Hindus, at 52.2% of the population. Tharparkar District has the most Hindus in total, with 714,698 people.

Most Hindus in Pakistan live in Punjab and Sindh. They speak different languages like Sindhi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Seraiki, Aer and Dhatki. In rural Sindh, the diversity of beliefs often makes it hard to define Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Islam strictly. Even though Pakistan is mostly Muslim, Sindh has a strong Hindu heritage.

 Persecution 
Hindus are one of the most persecuted minorities in Pakistan. When the country was created, Hindus accounted for 19.2% of Pakistan's population. In 2025, Hindus account for merely 1.6% of the country's population. The steep decline in Pakistani Hindus population is a continous result of systematic rape, abduction and forced marriage of underaged Hindu girls by Muslims. Forced coversions of Hindus and organized killings by the fraudulent use and weaponization of Islamic blasphemy laws have led to the dwindling population of this persecuted minority. 

The Pakistani constitution officially prohibits non-Muslims from holding positions in the country like president, prime minister and chief justice. The Pakistani justice system is negligent in protecting minorities, as is well documented in journals and studies on the websites of the United Nations and Pew Research Center. 

 Demographics 

 Population 
The official number of Hindus living in Pakistan was 5.2 million, or 2.17% of the population, in the country's 2023 census. However, demographic experts of Pakistan and various Hindu politicians in the have given different estimates based on their research:
+Number of Hindus residing in Pakistan as an estimation research of (2019–2021)Source/claimed byPopulationYear of claimedPakistan Hindu Council8,000,0002020Gulf News (U.A.E based)8,800,0002019The Economic Times (according to an official estimation)7,500,0002021According to Hindu community of Pakistan9,000,0002021Claimed by Mangla Sharma, member provincial assembly (MPA) from Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P)10,000,0002020

 Percentage by district 
Following is a table showing the percentage of Hindus in the districts of Pakistan:
Administrative UnitDistrictPercentage of Hindus SindhUmerkot54.53%Tharparkar43.39%Mirpurkhas38.74%Tando Allahyar34.17%Badin23.61%Tando Muhammad Khan22.25%Sanghar21.79%Matiari16.66%Hyderabad8.22%Ghotki6.19%Karachi South4.01%Jamshoro3.87%Shaheed Benazirabad3.86%Sukkur3.55%Kashmore3.22%Thatta3%Sujawal District2.91%Khairpur2.76%Jacobabad2.16%Malir1.77%Naushahro Feroze1.64%Larkana1.45%Shikarpur1.4%Karachi East1.38%PunjabRahim Yar Khan3.12%Bahawalpur1.12%BalochistanSibi2.4%Lasbela1.58%Jaffarabad1.34%Kacchi1.04%Mastung1%Khyber PakhtunkhwaKohat1%

 References 

Category:Religion in Pakistan
Pakistan