Myanmar: Census on religious affiliation finally published

The Myanmar authorities have finally published the section of the 2014 census concerning religious affiliation, as reported by Channel News Asia on 21 July 2016. There was a two year delay due to fears that the findings might cause an uproar. The Buddhist nationalist group, Ma Ba Tha, has regularly warned that a growing Muslim population is a threat to the Buddhist country.

Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: "The government feared that if the numbers showed a growth in percentage of the Muslim population, it could add to new clashes and fuel the tensions Ma Ba Tha are provoking. But according to the statistics, Muslims experienced only a slow growth, even including the "˜Rohingya", who were not counted in the census."

Thomas Muller adds: "It would be short-sighted to lay aside all fears, however. Ma Ba Tha is not just anti-Muslim, it is Buddhist nationalist. It is likely that it will increasingly focus on the Christian community since this experienced a considerable growth from 4.6 percent in 1973 to 6.2 percent in 2014, as the Myanmar Times reported on 26 July 2016. Especially when, as the Myanmar Times report says, the numbers of Christians in contested Kachin State are heavily underrated. In any case, the numbers show the religious diversity of Myanmar and that is enough of a challenge for the government to face."