how many different types of buddhism are there?

and is Buddhism considered more a religion or philosophy?

Buddhism is one of the leading world religions in terms of adherents, geographical distribution, and scion-cultural influence. While largely an ?Eastern? religion, it is becoming increasingly popular and influential in the Western world. It is a unique world religion in its own right, though it has much in common with Hinduism in that both teach Karma (cause-and-effect ethics), Maya (the illusory nature of the world), and Samsara (the cycle of reincarnation). Buddhists believe that the ultimate goal in life is to achieve ?enlightenment? as they perceive it.

http://www.gotquestions.org/Buddhism.html

I cannot answer your first question, because I found a teacher and have stuck in this tradition (I am aware of some of the different schools, but certainly not all of them).

However, Buddhism is neither a religion nor a philosophy.

- A religion is about your relationship with God. Buddhism does not teach about God, and the relationship it teaches about is with yourself.

- A philosophy is an intellectual pursuit, using logic to try to determine/find Truth. Buddhism uses experience, not intellect, and finding truth lies outside of intellectual activity, and the further you move down the path, the less concerned you are with labels of "Truth" or "not-Truth" .. only with what IS.

There are many somewhat different traditions in Buddhism, just like there are many somewhat different traditions within Christianity for example.
The most important differences in philosophy and practice are found between the Theravada tradition and the various Mahayana schools (practically spoken all others).

Your second question is hard to answer. The Buddha himself said he was not teachings a philosophy, instead he taught a path that stops suffering completely, a path that he had gone himself. In that sense, one could even argue that Buddhism is even more a practice then a religion or a philosophy.

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana and Tantrayana
Zen
These are the main schools of Buddhism. But what I believe is Theravada, very much similar to the original teachings of the Lord Buddha, 2500 years a go.