(According to an unidentified member of the State Council's Bureau of
Religious Affairs,
published in Beijing Review, Sept. 1-7, 1997)
| Total population | > 1,200,000,000 |
| "People claiming belief in religion" | > 100,000,000 (8.33% of total pop.) |
| Clergymen | 300,000 |
| "Religious venues" | 85,000 |
| Buddhism | |
| Monks and nuns (excluding Tibetan) | 200,000 (.016%) |
| Buddhist temples ( " " ) | 13,000 |
| Tibetan lamas and nuns | 120,000 (.010%) |
| "Living Buddhas" (tulku, or incarnate lamas) | 1,700 |
| Tibetan monasteries | 3,000 |
| Taoism | |
| Priests and nuns | 25,000 (.002%) |
| Temples | 1,500(1) |
| Provincial Taoist Associations | 15 |
| Other Taoist Associations (above county level) | 108 |
| Islam | |
| Believers | 18,000,000 (1.500%) |
| Imams | 40,000 |
| Mosques | 30,000 |
| Pilgrims to Mecca in recent years | 45,000 |
| Catholicism | |
| Believers | 4,000,000 (.333%) |
| Clergy and churches | 4,000 |
| Protestantism | |
| Believers | 10,000,000(2) (.833%) |
| Ministers and missionaries | 18,000 |
| Churches | 12,000 |
| Other meeting places | 25,000 |
1. Or 4,105 according to another article in the same issue of Beijing Review.