Most of Thailand’s 40,000 Buddhist temples nationwide are poor and underfunded, the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) said yesterday.
NOB deputy director Kanok Saenprasert told a seminar in Prachuap Khiri Khan that a recent survey found that about 95% of temples rake in less than a few million baht in donations each year.
Around 6,000 temples were deserted, he added.
The temples with higher incomes still struggle to cover their overheads, including maintenance costs for monks and novices, building maintenance, internal management, and water and electricity bills, Mr Kanok said.
Despite this, there are plans for another 2,000 new temples to be built, he said.