This was the first statement about Buddhism on the Adherents web site:

“Tibet: I am not aware of any accurate figures regarding current adherence to Buddhism in Tibet. Prior to the Chinese invasions of 1950 the country was essentially a theocracy in which 100% of the people could be considered adherents of Tibetan Buddhism. There are estimates that up to 20% of the population were monks.”

Buddhism

A rebellion against the Chinese occupation was led by noblemen and monasteries and broke out in Amdo and eastern Kham in June 1956. It was crushed by 1959.

Large numbers of Tibetans died violent deaths due to the Cultural Revolution, and the number of intact monasteries in Tibet was reduced from thousands, to less than ten.
The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy claims that more than 11,000 monks and nuns have been expelled from Tibet since 1996 for opposing “patriotic re-education” sessions conducted at monasteries and nunneries under the “Strike Hard” campaign.
Religion and spirituality is extremely important to the Tibetans and has a strong influence over all aspects of lives; ingrained deeply into their cultural heritage. Bön is the ancient traditional religion of Tibet, but following the introduction of Tantric Buddhism into Tibet by Padmasambhava this became eclipsed by Tibetan Buddhism, a distinctive form of Vajrayana. Tibetan Buddhism is practiced not only in Tibet but also in Mongolia, parts of northern India, the Buryat Republic, the Tuva Republic, and in the Republic of Kalmykia and some other areas in China besides the Tibet region. As every where in China was undergoing Cultural Revolution, there were over 6,000 monasteries and convents in Tibet, and nearly all but a handful were ransacked and destroyed by the Red Guards, including Tibetan Red Guards.
A few monasteries have begun to rebuild since the 1980s (with limited support from the Chinese government) and greater religious freedom has been granted – although it is still limited. Monks returned to monasteries cross Tibet and monastic education resumed even though the number of monks imposed is strictly limited.

At the end of this assignment I became a member of  Tibet House. I will offered them the narrative animation I created to put on their website. I have about 5 thousand more locations to map. Tibet House is located at 22 West 15th Street.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet

http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_buddhist.html