ஆஸ்திரேலியாவில் இந்துமதத்தை பின்பற்றுபவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கை இருமடங்காகியிருக்கிறது என்று சென்ஸஸ் கூறுகிறது.

கிறிஸ்துவ மதத்தைபின்பற்றுபவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கை 71 சதவீதத்திலிருந்து 64 சதவீதமாக குறைந்துள்ளது. ஒரு மதத்தையும் பின்பற்றாதவர்களின் சதவீதம் 19 சதவீதமாக ஆகியிருக்கிறது.


Hindu followers doubled Down Under
27 Jun, 2007 l 1020 hrs ISTlPTI


MELBOURNE: The number of followers of Hinduism in Australia has doubled since 1996 and now they comprise 0.7 per cent of the total population, a latest census data said.

The latest data from the 2006 census, released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), confirmed this and revealed that the followers of Buddhism have also doubled to more than two per cent of the population. Islam followers accounted for 1.7 per cent and Judaism 0.4 per cent.

Christianity, however, remained the dominant religion. It grew slightly, from 12.6 million followers to 12.7 million but fell as a proportion of the population from 71 per cent to 64 per cent.

Almost 19 per cent of Australians said they had no religion.

According to the survey data, for every 100 women in Australia, there are 97 men.

Marriage is still the norm for couples, although married couples now account for a lower share of the population than they did in 1996 - down from 53.3 per cent to 49.6 per cent.

The survey conducted on 19,855,289 locals on August 8 last year also revealed that Australians are earning more, Hinduism is growing and women do more chores than men.