Hinduism is one of Sri Lanka's oldest religions, with temples dating back over 2,000 years. As of 2011, Hindus made up 12.6% of the Sri Lankan population. They are almost exclusively Tamils, except for small immigrant communities from India and Pakistan.
The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil speaking immigrants who emigrated from their native lands in the southern Indian subcontinent to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, South Africa, North America, Western Europe, and Singapore. It can be divided into two main diasporic clusters, due to geographical, historical and cultural reasons, as Indian Tamil diaspora and Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.
Ethnic groups in South Asia are ethnolinguistic groupings within the diverse populations of South Asia, including the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan is variously considered to be a part of both Central Asia and South Asia, which means Afghans are not always included among South Asians, but when they are, South Asia has a total population of about 2.04 billion.
Indo-Seychellois are inhabitants of Seychelles with Indian heritage. With about 10,000 Indo-Seychellois in a total Seychellois population of nearly 100,000, they constitute a minority ethnic group in Seychelles. According to National Bureau of Statistics Seychelles in 2022, Indian community in Seychelles representing 9.0% from Seychelles population, up from 4.4% in 2010.
The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora refers to the global diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. It can be said to be a subset of the larger Sri Lankan and Tamil diaspora.
Hinduism is the third largest religious group in the Netherlands, after Christianity and Islam; representing about 1.0% of the Dutch population in 2019. After the United Kingdom and Italy, the third largest Hindu community of Europe lives in the Netherlands. There are between 150,000 – 200,000 Hindus currently living in the Netherlands, the vast majority of who migrated from Suriname – a former Dutch colony in South America. There are also sizable populations of Hindu immigrants from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Afghanistan, as well as a smaller number of Western adherents of Hinduism-oriented new religious movements.
Hinduism is followed in Martinique by a small number of Indo-Martiniquais. As of 2007, Hinduism constituted 0.3% of the population of Martinique.
Hinduism in Réunion constitutes a significant part of the island's population. The island of Réunion is home to approximately 200,000 Indian descendants amongst the roughly 800,000 strong population. Estimates of practicing Hindus vary from 10.7% to 14.7%. Yet, uncertainty as to the exact number of Hindus in the country results from the fact that ethnic and religious questions are forbidden in French censuses and members of the Indian population sometimes cross-identify with Roman Catholic and Hindu faiths.
There are about 11,405 Hindus in Norway as of 2019. The majority of Norwegian Hindus are of South Asian descent with around 50% of those being ethnic Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka.
Hinduism is a minority faith in Denmark. There are 40,000 Hindus in Denmark as of 2020, representing 0.5% of the total population.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Sweden practised by 0.13% of the population or 13,000 people out of a population of 10.5 million. Hinduism is practised mainly by persons of Indian origin and non-resident Indians together. A majority of them are Tamils, Punjabis, Bengalis, Gujaratis, Telugu's and Kannadigas.
Karuppusamy, also known as Karuppu or Karuppannaswamy(Tamil: கருப்பண்ணசுவாமி Malayalam: കറുപ്പണ്ണസാമി ),(lit. 'Black God' or 'Black') is a Hindu god in Tamil Nadu, popular among the social groups of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and also Sri Lanka. He is one of 21 guardian deities of Ayyanar, and is one of 21 guardian deities in Dravidian folk religion.
Indo-French people or Indians in France are expatriate residents from India in France, as well as people of Indian national origin. As of 2000, there were an estimated 65,000 Indians living in metropolitan France, in addition to 300,000 Indians in the French overseas departments and regions of Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana.
Indo-Guadeloupeans are mostly descended from indentured workers who came mostly from South India in the late 19th century. There are currently about 35,617 people of Indian origin living in Guadeloupe, making it home to one of the largest South Indian populations in the Caribbean.
Indo-Martiniquais are an ethnic group of Martinique, compromising approximately 10% of the population of the island. The Indo-Martiniquais are descendants of indentured labourers of the nineteenth century from India of primarily Tamil and Telugu descent as well as other Indian peoples. They are primarily most concentrated in the northern communes of Martinique, where the main plantations are located. The Indo-Martiniquais speak Antillean a French-based creole.
Tamil Mauritians are the descendants of Tamil people who migrated, from the South Indian regions corresponding to the modern state of Tamil Nadu, to the island of Mauritius.
Tamils in France refer to the citizens as well as expatriate residents of Tamil origin living in France. Over 100,000 Tamils from both Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry now (Puducherry) and then from Sri Lanka also lives in France. This is in addition to the Indian Tamil community established in French overseas dominions of Réunion, Martinique, and French Guiana. There are approximately 220,000 people of Tamil origin in the Department of Réunion.
The Puducherry diaspora is a demographic group of people from Puducherry union territory of India who have emigrated and settled in other parts of the world, significantly in France, Réunion and the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. There are around 300,000 of them living around the world.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Guadeloupe, followed by some Indo-Guadeloupeans. According to a statistics data, Hinduism is practised by 0.5% of the people in Guadeloupe.
Caribbean Shaktism, also known as Kalimai Dharma or Madras Religion in Guyana, refers to the syncretic Shakti Kali/Mariamman worship that has evolved within the Indo-Caribbean Tamil community in countries such as Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Jamaica and Suriname. It can be found across the Caribbean and any South American country with an Indo-Caribbean community. It is a syncretic blend of Dravidian folk religion and Hinduism and has also been influenced by other cultural and religious traditions found in the Caribbean such as Catholicism, Trinidad Orisha, Comfa and Obeah. It is considered to be a form of Folk Tamil Hinduism and many attend services of Vedic Origin, more Orthodox Tamil Origin, and Madrasi origin.
