Buddhist counts in China depend on the question
Монахи Wat Khung Taphao, Таїланд; контекст практики, не китайська демографічна вибірка й не доказ поведінки всіх монахів / Monks at Wat Khung Taphao, Thailand; practice context, not a Chinese survey sample or proof of every monk’s behavior. Credit: user:Tevaprapas ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เทวประภาส มากคล้าย; CC BY 3.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Buddhist_monk)_Meditation_in_Wat_Khung_Taphao.jpg
China’s245-million Buddhist figure should not be presented as a current count without a year and method. Pew 2023 distinguished formal identification from practices:4% of adults identified as Buddhist in a2018 survey, while a separate 2016 survey found 35% burned incense for Buddha or other deities at least annually. These are different questions and samples rather than conflicting counts of one category.