PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodia currently has 5,104 Buddhist pagodas with 70,905 monks, Ministry of Cults and Religions secretary of state Seng Somony said here on Thursday (Sept 29).
Monks comprise two sects: one is the Mohanikaya Buddhist sect and the other is the Thammayut Buddhist sect.
Speaking at a press conference, Somony said the Mohanikaya Buddhist sect has 4,843 pagodas with 68,476 monks, while the Thammayut Buddhist sect has 261 pagodas with 2,429 monks.
"A total of 95 per cent of the Cambodia's population are Buddhists," he said.
Buddhism, which is the state's religion, has played a crucial role in educating people to behave well and to walk on the right way in the society, he added.
The South-East Asian nation is also home to hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Christians, Somony said.
