Nakhon Ratchasima
Northeastern Thailand
How Many Temples Are There in Thailand? Official 2025 Statistics
Thailand is full of temples. You wander around, basking in the glory of the country, and you see big ones, small ones, shiny ones and broken ones. The list can go on forever, so I won’t name them all. As a traveller and a lover of Thailand, I have seen an incredible number of temples throughout my time here. I started to become curious about how many temples there really are in Thailand, but the number you see often changes depending on the year and what is being counted. The clearest official answer is 44,504 Buddhist temples. That figure comes from the National Office of Buddhism’s 2025 national figures and includes 323 royal temples and 44,181 ordinary temples.
A further 5,680 abandoned temples were recorded separately. If you add the two figures, you get 50,184, but that is a combined calculation—not the official headline total.
The direct answer
How many temples are there in Thailand?
Thailand had 44,504 Buddhist temples in the National Office of Buddhism’s published 2025 figures. Abandoned temples were listed separately.
44,504
Temples nationwide
323
Royal temples
44,181
Ordinary temples
5,680
Abandoned temples listed separately
245,978
Buddhist monks
32,273
Buddhist novices
Important: The 5,680 abandoned temples are recorded separately and are not included in the 44,504 nationwide total.
Source: National Office of Buddhism, published 2025 figures.
In this article
What is included in Thailand’s temple count?
The official figures used in this article count Buddhist temples. They are not a count of every religious building in Thailand. Mosques, churches, Hindu places of worship, Chinese shrines and other religious sites sit outside this dataset. I can guarantee that would be a large number, haha. Maybe in the future I will collate those statistics, but for now, let’s stick to Buddhist temples.
What is included in Thailand’s temple count?
The National Office of Buddhism lists 5,680 abandoned temples as a separate category. The safest way to quote the data is therefore: 44,504 temples, plus 5,680 abandoned temples recorded separately.
Why official totals can differ
Different sources can produce different totals quite easily. It doesn’t mean that one is wrong. The main reasons are the reporting years, the administrative cut-off date and whether certain things are included in one count but not another, for example, abandoned Buddhist temples.
The National Statistical Office’s 2024 provincial table explicitly excludes Chinese Nikaya and Annam Nikaya temples. The later 2025 headline figure comes from a different publication, so it should not be treated as a simple continuation of the same series without checking the scope.
How many temples are there in each region of Thailand?
The most consistent regional breakdown in the official yearbook is for 2024. It counted 44,035 temples across seven statistical regions.
Thailand culture and statistics
Number of Buddhist temples in Thailand by region, 2024
Thailand recorded 44,035 Buddhist temples across seven regions in 2024. Northeastern Thailand accounted for just over half of the total.
44,035
Regional total
22,347
Northeastern Thailand
50.75%
Largest regional share
Temples by region
Number of temples
Northeastern Thailand
22,347
Northern Thailand
10,223
Southern Thailand
2,706
Eastern Thailand
2,657
Central Thailand
2,467
Western Thailand
2,310
Bangkok and surrounding provinces
1,315
Full breakdown
Regional temple figures
| Region | Temples in 2024 | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Northeastern Thailand | 22,347 | 50.75% |
| Northern Thailand | 10,223 | 23.22% |
| Southern Thailand | 2,706 | 6.15% |
| Eastern Thailand | 2,657 | 6.06% |
| Central Thailand | 2,467 | 5.60% |
| Western Thailand | 2,310 | 5.25% |
| Bangkok and surrounding provinces | 1,315 | 2.99% |
| Total | 44,035 | 100.00% |
Source: National Statistical Office, Statistical Yearbook Thailand 2025, Table 4.1. Percentages are CITTRA Collective calculations.
The standout result is the Northeast, also known as Isan. It contained 22,347 temples—50.75% of the national total. Northern and Northeastern Thailand together accounted for 73.96% of all temples in the 2024 table.
Which province in Thailand has the most temples?
Nakhon Ratchasima had the largest recorded number in the 2024 provincial data, with 2,226 temples. Nine of the ten highest-ranked provinces were in Northeastern Thailand. Chiang Mai was the only northern province in the top ten.
Thailand culture and statistics
Thai provinces with the most Buddhist temples
Nakhon Ratchasima recorded the highest provincial total in 2024, with 2,226 Buddhist temples. Eight of the ten highest-ranking provinces were in Northeastern Thailand.
2,226
Highest provincial total
8 of 10
Located in the Northeast
2024
Reporting year
Ubon Ratchathani
Northeastern Thailand
Roi Et
Northeastern Thailand
Full ranking
Top 10 provinces
| Rank | Province | Region | Temples in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nakhon Ratchasima | Northeastern Thailand |
2,226
|
| 2 | Ubon Ratchathani | Northeastern Thailand |
1,940
|
| 3 | Roi Et | Northeastern Thailand |
1,713
|
| 4 | Khon Kaen | Northeastern Thailand |
1,622
|
| 5 | Udon Thani | Northeastern Thailand |
1,611
|
| 6 | Chiang Mai | Northern Thailand |
1,486
|
| 7 | Si Sa Ket | Northeastern Thailand |
1,475
|
| 8 | Sakon Nakhon | Northeastern Thailand |
1,311
|
| 9 | Maha Sarakham | Northeastern Thailand |
1,146
|
| 10 | Buri Ram | Northeastern Thailand |
1,141
|
Source: National Statistical Office, 2024 provincial figures in Statistical Yearbook Thailand 2025, Table 4.1.
Has the number of temples in Thailand increased?
Using the two years shown side by side in the same official table, the recorded total rose from 43,522 in 2023 to 44,035 in 2024. That is an increase of 513 temples, or 1.18%.
43,522
Temples in 2023
44,035
Temples in 2024
+513
Numerical increase
+1.18%
Percentage increase
National recorded figures
| Measure | Recorded figure |
|---|---|
| Temples in 2023 | 43,522 |
| Temples in 2024 | 44,035 |
| Numerical change | +513 |
| Percentage change | +1.18% |
Provincial comparison
Largest increases in recorded temple counts, 2023–2024
Si Sa Ket
+59
Surin
+39
Prachin Buri
+36
Khon Kaen
+33
Roi Et
+26
Sakon Nakhon
+21
Udon Thani
+18
Source: National Statistical Office, Statistical Yearbook Thailand 2025, Table 4.1. Chart by CITTRA Collective.
Si Sa Ket had the biggest numerical increase, adding 59 temples. Prachin Buri had the largest percentage increase at 9.38%, rising from 384 to 420. Percentage changes should be read with the starting number in mind, because smaller totals can produce larger rates.
Bangkok, royal temples and abandoned temples
How many temples are there in Bangkok?
Bangkok recorded 450 Buddhist temples in 2024, compared with 449 in 2023. The wider “Bangkok and surrounding provinces” category contained 1,315 temples and covered Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon.
How many royal temples are there in Thailand?
Thailand recorded 323 royal temples in 2025. That is about 0.73% of the 44,504-temple headline total. The remaining 44,181 were ordinary temples.
Royal-temple status is formally granted; it is not simply a label for a temple connected with the Royal Family. Royal Gazette announcements record ordinary temples being elevated to royal-temple status.
How many abandoned temples are there in Thailand?
The National Office of Buddhism recorded 5,680 abandoned temples in 2025, separately from its headline total of 44,504 temples. Do not quote 50,184 as the official total without explaining that it is a calculation made by adding two separate categories.
Thailand’s temples, monks and novices
The same 2025 figures recorded 245,978 Buddhist monks and 32,273 novices. Dividing those totals by 44,504 gives about 5.53 monks and 0.73 novices per temple.
Those are simple calculations, not official staffing averages. Temples vary greatly in size, and monks and novices are not spread evenly across the country.
Why does Thailand have so many temples?
The official datasets count temples; they do not give one simple reason for the total. The most careful explanation is that temples are long-standing religious and local institutions. They are places for monastic life, ceremonies, funerals, festivals, merit-making and community gatherings—not just tourist attractions.
Explore Wat Arun
More than places of worship
Temples also had roles in learning and public knowledge. UNESCO’s record of the Wat Pho epigraphic archives describes 1,431 inscriptions on religious and secular subjects placed around the temple compound for public access. The collection covered areas such as medicine, literature, history and Buddhism.
That example does not explain the full national count, but it shows why a Thai temple can be more than a worship space. For a closer look at the architecture and story of one of Bangkok’s best-known temples, read our history of Wat Arun.
Read the history of Wat ArunComplete temple statistics for all 77 provinces
The table below uses the same National Statistical Office methodology for 2023 and 2024. It is sorted alphabetically so each province is easy to find. Changes and percentages are CITTRA Collective calculations.
Search, filter and sort the complete provincial figures. You can also download the selected data as a CSV spreadsheet.
77
Provinces included
43,522
Temples in 2023
44,035
Temples in 2024
+513
National change
Loading provincial data…
Swipe across to view the full table on mobile
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Source: National Statistical Office, Statistical Yearbook Thailand 2025 , Table 4.1, pages 157–159. Changes and percentages are CITTRA Collective calculations. Official figures exclude Chinese Nikaya and Anam Nikaya temples, monks and novices.
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