List of religious populations
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The list of religious populations article provides a comprehensive overview of the distribution and size of religious groups around the world. This article aims to present statistical information on the number of adherents to various religions, including major faiths such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others, as well as smaller religious communities. It also includes the percentage of nonreligious and atheistic populations.
Projected size of major religious groups for 2023[1] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Religion | Percent | |||
Christianity | 30.7% | |||
Islam | 24.9% | |||
Unaffiliated | 15.6% | |||
Hinduism | 15.1% | |||
Buddhism | 6.6% | |||
Folk religions | 5.6% | |||
Sikhism | 0.3% | |||
Other religions | 1.2% |
The data is primarily sourced from organizations like the Pew Research Center, global surveys, census reports, and research studies, offering insights into the demographic composition of religious affiliations across different regions and countries. The list also explores trends in religious growth, decline, and shifts, reflecting the dynamic nature of religious adherence in the global context.
Current world estimates
Pew Research Center made its "Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050"[2] based on 2010 baseline estimates. Although 2020 is already in the past, new estimates for 2020 are still work in progress.[3] Their methodology is published as an appendix.[4]
Notes
Largest religion by country
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By proportion
Summarize
Perspective
Christians
Countries and territories with the greatest proportion of Christians from Christianity by country, as of 2010[update]:
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Vatican City 100% (100% Roman Catholic)
Pitcairn Islands 100% (100% Seventh-day Adventist)[6]
East Timor 99.6%[7] (mostly Roman Catholic)
Samoa ~99.0% (mostly Protestant)[8]
Armenia 98.5% (96% Oriental Orthodox)
American Samoa 98.3% (mostly Protestant; ARDA claim)[9][better source needed]
Malta 98.1%[10] (mostly Roman Catholic)
Venezuela 98.0%[11] (71% Roman Catholic)
Greece 98.0%[12] (95% Eastern Orthodox)
Marshall Islands 97.2% (mostly Protestant)[13]
Tonga 97.2% (mostly Protestant)[14]
San Marino 97.0%[15] (~97% Roman Catholic)
Paraguay 96.9%[16] (mostly Roman Catholic)
El Salvador 96.4% (mostly Roman Catholic; ARDA claim)[17][better source needed]
Kiribati 96.0% (mostly Protestant)[18]
Federated States of Micronesia ~96.0% (mostly Protestant)[19]
Barbados 95.1% (mostly Protestant)[20]
Papua New Guinea 94.8% (mostly Protestant; ARDA claim)[21][better source needed]
Mexico 94.6% (mostly Roman Catholic)
Peru 94.5%[22] (mostly Roman Catholic)
Romania 93.0% (mostly Eastern Orthodox)[23]
Poland 92.9% (mostly Roman Catholic)[24]
Croatia 91.1% (mostly Roman Catholic)[25]
Philippines 90.0% (mostly Roman Catholic)
Muslims
Countries and territories with a considerable proportion of Muslims from Islam by country as of 2010[update], excluding foreign workers in brackets:
Data is based on the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life[26]
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Maldives 100%[27]
Mauritania 99.9%[28]
Gaza Strip 99.9%[citation needed]
Morocco 99.9%[29]
Yemen 99.8% (65% Sunni, 33.5% Zaydi, 1.5% Ismaili)[26]
Somalia 99.7%[30]
Afghanistan 99.7%[31] (90% Sunni 10% Shi'a)[26]
Iran 99.6% (95% Shi'a, 5% Sunni)[32]
Tunisia 99.5%
Azerbaijan 99.2% (Shi'a)[26]
Iraq 99.0% (67% Shi'a, 33% Sunni)[26]
Niger 99.0% (mostly Sunni)[26]
Turkey 98.6% (85% Sunni, 15% Shi’a)[33]
Comoros 98.3%[34]
Algeria 98.0%
Saudi Arabia 97.2% (90% Sunni, 10% Shi'a)[26]
Sudan 97.0%[35]
Djibouti 96.9%[26]
Libya 96.6%[36]
Pakistan 96.4% (85% Sunni 12% Shi'a 3% Other)[37]
Bangladesh 90.4% (85% Sunni 5.4% Shi'a)[38]
Egypt 89.3%[39]
Indonesia 86.7%[40]
Malaysia 61.3%
Nigeria 53.5%
Ethiopia 41.0%
Irreligious and atheists
Countries with the greatest proportion of people without religion, including agnostics and atheists, from Irreligion by country (as of 2020[update]):[41]
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Czech Republic 78.4%
North Korea 71.3%
Estonia 60.2%
Hong Kong 54.7%
China 51.8%
New Zealand 48.2%[43]
South Korea 46.6%
Latvia 45.3%
Netherlands 44.3%
Uruguay 41.5%
Mongolia 36.5%
Spain 35.5%[44]
France 31.9%
United Kingdom 31.2%
Belgium 31.0%
Vietnam 29.9%
Sweden 29.0%
Australia 28.6%
Belarus 28.6%
United States 28.0%[45]
Luxembourg 26.7%
Germany 26.3%
Canada 23.9%[46]
Cuba 23.2%
Switzerland 22.8%
Finland 20.8%
Hungary 20.0%
Slovenia 18.8%
Data is ranked by mean estimate in parentheses. Irreligious includes agnostic, atheist, secular people, and those having no formal religious adherence. It does not necessarily mean that those of this group don't belong to any religion. Some religions have harmonized with local cultures and can be seen as a cultural background rather than a formal religion. Additionally, the practice of officially associating a family or household with a religion, while not formally practicing the affiliated religion, is common in many countries. Thus, over half of this group is theistic and/or influenced by religious principles, but nonreligious/non-practicing and not true atheists or agnostics. See Spiritual but not religious.
Hindus
Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus from Hinduism by country as of 2010[update]:
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Nepal 81.3%[47]
India 79.8%[48]
Mauritius 48.54%[49]
Fiji 27.9%[50]
Bhutan 25.0%[51]
Guyana 24.8%[52]
Suriname 22.3%[53]
Trinidad and Tobago 18.2%[54]
United Arab Emirates 15.0%[55]
Sri Lanka 12.6%[56]
Kuwait 12.0%[57]
Bangladesh 9.6%[58]
Bahrain 8.1%[59]
Réunion 6.7%[60]
Malaysia 6.3%[61]
Singapore 5.1%
Oman 3.0%
New Zealand 2.6%[62]
Pakistan 2.2%[63]
Seychelles 2.1%[64]
Indonesia 1.7%[65]
United Kingdom 1.7%[66]
Canada 1.5%[67]
United States 0.7%[68]
Buddhists
Countries with the greatest proportion of Buddhists from Buddhism by country as of 2010[update]:[69]
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Chinese traditional religionists
As a spiritual practice, Taoism has made fewer inroads in the West than Buddhism and Hinduism. Despite the popularity of its great classics the I Ching and the Tao Te Ching, the practice of Taoism has not been promulgated in America with much success;[73] these religions are not ubiquitous worldwide in the way that adherents of bigger world religions are, and they remain primarily an ethnic religion. Nonetheless, Taoist ideas and symbols such as taijitu have become popular throughout the world through tai chi, qigong, and various martial arts.[74]
Taiwan 33.0–80.0%[75]
China 30.0%[76]
Hong Kong 28.0%[77]
Macau 13.9%[78]
Singapore 8.5%[79]
Malaysia 2.6%[80]
South Korea 0.2–1.0%[81]
Philippines 0.01–0.05%
Indonesia 0.05%
The Chinese traditional religion has 184,000 believers in Latin America, 250,000 believers in Europe, and 839,000 believers in North America as of 1999[update].[82][83]
Ethnic and indigenous religionists
Indigenous statistics come from the U.S. Department of State's International Religious Freedom Act (2009),[84] based on the highest estimate of people identified as indigenous or followers of indigenous religions that have been well-defined. Due to the syncretic nature of these religions, the numbers may not reflect the actual number of practitioners.
Togo 35.6%[85]
South Sudan 32.9%[86]
Guinea-Bissau 30.9%[87]
North Korea 29.5%[88]
Côte d'Ivoire 25.0%
Sudan 25.0%[89]
Burundi 20.0%
Benin 17.9%[90][better source needed]
Burkina Faso 15.0%
South Africa 15.0%[91]
Democratic Republic of the Congo 12.0%
Central African Republic 10.0%
Gabon 10.0%
Lesotho 10.0%
Nigeria 10.0%
Sierra Leone 10.0%[92]
Kenya 9.0%
Palau 9.0%[93]
Ghana 8.5%
Guinea 5.0%
Sikhs
Countries with the greatest proportion of Sikhs:
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Canada 2.12%[94][95]
India 1.72%[100]
Cyprus 1.10%[101]
United Kingdom 0.88%[102]
New Zealand 0.88%[103]
Australia 0.83%[104][105]
Oman 0.75%[106]
UAE 0.56%[107]
Italy 0.37%[121]
Singapore 0.35%[122]
The Sikh homeland is the Punjab state, in India, where Sikhs make up approximately 58% of the population. This is the only place where Sikhs are in the majority. Sikhs have emigrated to countries all over the world – especially to English-speaking and East Asian nations. In doing so they have retained, to an unusually high degree, their distinctive cultural and religious identity. Sikhs are not ubiquitous worldwide in the way that adherents of larger world religions are, and they remain primarily an ethnic religion. But they can be found in many international cities and have become an especially strong religious presence in the United Kingdom and Canada.[123] Sikhism is also the fastest growing religion in New Zealand and Australia.[124][125]
Spiritists
Cuba 10.3%
Jamaica 10.2%
Brazil 4.8%
Suriname 3.6%
Haiti 2.7%
Dominican Republic 2.2%
The Bahamas 1.9%
Nicaragua 1.5%
Trinidad and Tobago 1.4%
Guyana 1.3%
Venezuela 1.1%
Colombia 1.0%
Belize 1.0%
Honduras 0.9%
Puerto Rico 0.7%
Panama 0.5%
Iceland 0.5%
Guadeloupe 0.4%
Argentina 0.2%
Guatemala 0.2% (ARDA claim)[126][better source needed]
Spiritist estimates come from a single source, which gives a relative indication of the size of the Spiritist communities within each country.
Jews
Countries with the greatest proportion of Jews (as of 2017[update]):[127]
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Israel 73.60%
Gibraltar 2.00%
United States 1.76%
Canada 1.07%
France 0.70%
Hungary 0.485%
Uruguay 0.483%
Australia 0.47%
United Kingdom 0.44%
Argentina 0.41%
U.S. Virgin Islands 0.36%
Belgium 0.259%
Panama 0.25%
Latvia 0.24%
Switzerland 0.22%
Netherlands 0.17%
Estonia 0.154%
Bermuda 0.154%
Sweden 0.152%
Germany 0.14%
South Africa 0.124%
Ukraine 0.124%
Russia 0.122%
Denmark 0.112%
New Zealand 0.11%[62]
By population
Summarize
Perspective
Christians
Largest Christian populations (as of 2011[update]):
United States 229,157,250[128] (details)
Brazil 169,213,130[129]
Russia 114,198,444[130]
Mexico 106,204,560[131]
Nigeria 80,510,000[132]
Philippines 78,790,000[133]
China 67,070,000[132]
Democratic Republic of the Congo 63,150,000[132]
Italy 55,832,000
Ethiopia 51,477,950
Germany 50,752,580[134]
Colombia 44,502,000
Ukraine 41,973,000
South Africa 40,243,000
France 39,560,000[132]
Spain 38,568,000
Poland 36,526,000
Kenya 33,625,790
Argentina 33,497,100
United Kingdom 33,200,417
Uganda 29,943,000
Indonesia 29,403,015[135][136]
India 28,436,000
Venezuela 28,340,790
Peru 27,365,100
Muslims
Largest Muslim populations (as of 2017):
Indonesia 229,000,000[citation needed] (details)
Pakistan 215,000,000[137]
India 209,000,000[138]
Bangladesh 153,000,000[citation needed]
Nigeria 117,000,000[139]
Egypt 87,500,000[citation needed]
Iran 82,000,000[140]
Turkey 79,850,000[citation needed]
Ethiopia 48,000,000[141]
Sudan 44,000,000[citation needed]
Iraq 41,000,000[142]
Algeria 39,000,000[143]
Morocco 38,000,000[29]
Afghanistan 37,000,000[144]
Saudi Arabia 33,000,000[citation needed]
Uzbekistan 33,648,090[145]
Yemen 30,000,000[146]
China 28,000,000[citation needed]
Russia 25,000,000[147]
Tanzania 22,000,000[citation needed]
Niger 22,000,000[citation needed]
Hindus
Largest Hindu populations (as of 2020):[148]
India 1,120,000,000
Nepal 28,600,000
Bangladesh 14,274,430
Indonesia 4,640,000
Pakistan 4,400,000
Sri Lanka 3,090,000
United States 2,510,000
Malaysia 1,940,000
United Arab Emirates 1,239,610
United Kingdom 1,030,000
Myanmar 890,000[149]
South Africa 749,870
Mauritius 665,820
Canada 610,000
South Africa 540,000
Saudi Arabia 440,000
Australia 410,000
Tanzania 403,570
Singapore 380,000
Qatar 360,000
Kuwait 330,000
Trinidad and Tobago 310,000[54]
Fiji 270,000[citation needed]
Guyana 200,000[150]
Yemen 200,000[151]
Bhutan 190,000
Suriname 120,785[152]
Germany 120,000
Buddhists
Largest Buddhist populations[153]
Sikhs
Largest Sikh population (as of 2023)
India 23,786,000[154][a][155][156]
Canada 771,790[157][158]
United Kingdom 524,000[159]
United States ~280,000[180]
Australia 210,400[181][182]
Italy 210,000[191]
Malaysia 100,000[192][193][194]
Thailand 70,000[195]
United Arab Emirates 52,000[107]
Philippines 50,000[196][197]
New Zealand 40,908[198]
Oman 35,540[199]
Portugal 35,000[200]
France 30,000[201]
Spain 26,000[202]
Germany 25,000[203]
Greece 20,000[204]
Kuwait 15,000[205][206]
Hong Kong 15,000[207]
Netherlands 15,000[208]
Jews
Largest Jewish populations (as of 2017[update]):[127]
Israel 6,451,000
United States 5,700,000
France 456,000
Canada 390,000
United Kingdom 289,500
Argentina 180,500
Russia 176,000
Germany 116,500
Australia 113,200
Brazil 93,800
South Africa 69,300
Ukraine 53,000
Hungary 47,500
Mexico 40,000
Netherlands 29,800
Belgium 29,300
Italy 27,300
Switzerland 18,700
Chile 18,300
Uruguay 16,900
Turkey 15,300
Sweden 15,000
Spain 11,800
Belarus 10,000
Panama 10,000
Baháʼís
Largest Baháʼí populations (as of 2010[update]) in countries with a national population ≥200,000:[209][better source needed]
India 1,897,651
United States 512,864
Kenya 422,782
Vietnam 388,802
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 282,916
Philippines 275,069
Iran 251,127
Zambia 241,112
South Africa 238,532
Bolivia 215,359
Tanzania 190,419
Venezuela 169,811
Uganda 95,098
Chad 94,499
Pakistan 87,259
Myanmar 78,915
Colombia 70,504
Malaysia 67,549
Thailand 65,096
Papua New Guinea 59,898
Jains
As of 2005[update], per ARDA:[210][better source needed]
India 5,146,697
United States 79,459
Kenya 68,848
United Kingdom 35,000
Canada 12,101
Tanzania 9,002
Nepal 6,800
Uganda 2,663
Myanmar 2,398
Malaysia 2,052
South Africa 1,918
Fiji 1,573
Japan 1,535
Belgium 1,500
Australia 1,449
Suriname 1,217
Ireland 1,000
Réunion 981
Hong Kong 500 families[211]
Yemen 229
See also
Religions:
Notes
- Sikhs comprise 1.7% (23,786,052) of India's total population of 1,399,179,585 per 2023 estimate by the World Factbook.[154]
References
External links
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