Groups and Institutions
Confucius Institutes are non-profit public institutions that aim to promote the Chinese language and culture, support the teaching of the Chinese culture worldwide, and to exchange in cultural exchanges. They hold Chinese language and writing classes, train teachers in the history of the Chinese, as well as promote the learning on a worldwide basis. These institutions are based around the world, many of them being in American universities.
Lately, there has been some debates about the relationship between American universities. They asked them to reconsider the costs of supporting these institutions and make sure it was well worth the price compared to the amount of people who actually attended. Also, there has been discussion of an "overtaking of Chinese culture" in the Western world.
"Big China has gotten bigger on the world stage, learning about China has become a pressing goal for widening swathes of American students, teachers, and administrators."
Numbers around the World
The estimated amount of followers of Confucianism is 6.3 million people worldwide. Which is a little less than 1% of the world's population. A very small number of these 6 million are located in Canada or the US. Most don't live in North America. About 5 of the 6 million are in China with the remaining being scattered around Western Europe. Of the 6 million, there is an estimated 200 or so that live in Canada or the U.S.