Jain communities


The Jains in India are the last direct representatives of the ancient Śramaṇa tradition. They follow Jainism, the religion taught by the twenty-four propagators of faith called tirthankaras. The total Jain population is estimated to be 4+ million people worldwide.

Sangha

Jainism has a fourfold order of muni, aryika, Śrāvaka and sravika. This order is known as a sangha.

Cultural influence

The Jains 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%.
Jains have the highest per capita income in India.
The sex ratio in the 0-6 age group is the second lowest for Jains.

Communities

There are about 110 different Jain communities in India. They can be divided into six groups based on historical and current residence.
Major Jain communities:
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.
The Jain population in India according to 2011 census is 0.37% i.e. 4,451,753 out of the total population of India 1,210,854,977. The tabular representation of Jain population in the major states of India as per 2011 Census data released by the government is:
S. No.StatePersons Persons Persons Male Male Male Female Female Female
1India4,451,753904,8093,546,9442,278,097467,5771,810,5202,173,656437,2321,736,424
2Maharashtra1,400,349269,9591,130,390713,157140,476572,681687,192129,483557,709
3Rajasthan622,023166,322455,701317,61484,649232,965304,40981,673222,736
4Gujarat579,65444,118535,536294,91122,357272,554284,74321,761262,982
5Madhya Pradesh567,028109,699457,329291,93757,431234,506275,09152,268222,823
6Karnataka440,280220,362219,918225,544113,598111,946214,736106,764107,972
7Uttar Pradesh213,26730,144183,123110,99415,85295,142102,27314,29287,981
8Delhi166,231192166,03985,6059485,51180,6269880,528
9Tamil Nadu89,26510,08479,18145,6055,04440,56143,6605,04038,620

It is likely that the actual population of Jains may be significantly higher than the census numbers.
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 is growing faster there.

Citations