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.

More information Projected size of major religious groups for 2023 ...
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%
Close

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

    Thumb
    A map showing the prevailing religious population by country based on the Pew Research Center's 2010 baseline estimates[2]

    By proportion

    Summarize
    Perspective

    Christians

    Countries and territories with the greatest proportion of Christians from Christianity by country, as of 2010:

    Thumb
    Christian population percentage by country, June 2014[5]
    1.  Vatican City 100% (100% Roman Catholic)
    2.  Pitcairn Islands 100% (100% Seventh-day Adventist)[6]
    3.  East Timor 99.6%[7] (mostly Roman Catholic)
    4.  Samoa ~99.0% (mostly Protestant)[8]
    5.  Armenia 98.5% (96% Oriental Orthodox)
    6.  American Samoa 98.3% (mostly Protestant; ARDA claim)[9][better source needed]
    7.  Malta 98.1%[10] (mostly Roman Catholic)
    8.  Venezuela 98.0%[11] (71% Roman Catholic)
    9.  Greece 98.0%[12] (95% Eastern Orthodox)
    10.  Marshall Islands 97.2% (mostly Protestant)[13]
    11.  Tonga 97.2% (mostly Protestant)[14]
    12.  San Marino 97.0%[15] (~97% Roman Catholic)
    13.  Paraguay 96.9%[16] (mostly Roman Catholic)
    14.  El Salvador 96.4% (mostly Roman Catholic; ARDA claim)[17][better source needed]
    15.  Kiribati 96.0% (mostly Protestant)[18]
    16.  Federated States of Micronesia ~96.0% (mostly Protestant)[19]
    17.  Barbados 95.1% (mostly Protestant)[20]
    18.  Papua New Guinea 94.8% (mostly Protestant; ARDA claim)[21][better source needed]
    19.  Mexico 94.6% (mostly Roman Catholic)
    20.  Peru 94.5%[22] (mostly Roman Catholic)
    21.  Romania 93.0% (mostly Eastern Orthodox)[23]
    22.  Poland 92.9% (mostly Roman Catholic)[24]
    23.  Croatia 91.1% (mostly Roman Catholic)[25]
    24.  Philippines 90.0% (mostly Roman Catholic)

    Muslims

    Countries and territories with a considerable proportion of Muslims from Islam by country as of 2010, excluding foreign workers in brackets:

    Data is based on the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life[26]

    Thumb
    Muslim Percentage by country, 2020
    1.  Maldives 100%[27]
    2.  Mauritania 99.9%[28]
    3. Palestine Gaza Strip 99.9%[citation needed]
    4.  Morocco 99.9%[29]
    5.  Yemen 99.8% (65% Sunni, 33.5% Zaydi, 1.5% Ismaili)[26]
    6.  Somalia 99.7%[30]
    7.  Afghanistan 99.7%[31] (90% Sunni 10% Shi'a)[26]
    8.  Iran 99.6% (95% Shi'a, 5% Sunni)[32]
    9.  Tunisia 99.5%
    10.  Azerbaijan 99.2% (Shi'a)[26]
    11.  Iraq 99.0% (67% Shi'a, 33% Sunni)[26]
    12.  Niger 99.0% (mostly Sunni)[26]
    13.  Turkey 98.6% (85% Sunni, 15% Shi’a)[33]
    14.  Comoros 98.3%[34]
    15.  Algeria 98.0%
    16.  Saudi Arabia 97.2% (90% Sunni, 10% Shi'a)[26]
    17.  Sudan 97.0%[35]
    18.  Djibouti 96.9%[26]
    19.  Libya 96.6%[36]
    20.  Pakistan 96.4% (85% Sunni 12% Shi'a 3% Other)[37]
    21.  Bangladesh 90.4% (85% Sunni 5.4% Shi'a)[38]
    22.  Egypt 89.3%[39]
    23.  Indonesia 86.7%[40]
    24.  Malaysia 61.3%
    25.  Nigeria 53.5%
    26.  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):[41]

    Thumb
    Nonreligious population by country as of 2010[42]
    1.  Czech Republic 78.4%
    2.  North Korea 71.3%
    3.  Estonia 60.2%
    4.  Hong Kong 54.7%
    5.  China 51.8%
    6.  New Zealand 48.2%[43]
    7.  South Korea 46.6%
    8.  Latvia 45.3%
    9.  Netherlands 44.3%
    10.  Uruguay 41.5%
    11.  Mongolia 36.5%
    12.  Spain 35.5%[44]
    13.  France 31.9%
    14.  United Kingdom 31.2%
    15.  Belgium 31.0%
    16.  Vietnam 29.9%
    17.  Sweden 29.0%
    18.  Australia 28.6%
    19.  Belarus 28.6%
    20.  United States 28.0%[45]
    21.  Luxembourg 26.7%
    22.  Germany 26.3%
    23.  Canada 23.9%[46]
    24.  Cuba 23.2%
    25.   Switzerland 22.8%
    26.  Finland 20.8%
    27.  Hungary 20.0%
    28.  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:

    Thumb
    Hindu population by country as of 2010
    1.    Nepal 81.3%[47]
    2.  India 79.8%[48]
    3.  Mauritius 48.54%[49]
    4.  Fiji 27.9%[50]
    5.  Bhutan 25.0%[51]
    6.  Guyana 24.8%[52]
    7.  Suriname 22.3%[53]
    8.  Trinidad and Tobago 18.2%[54]
    9.  United Arab Emirates 15.0%[55]
    10.  Sri Lanka 12.6%[56]
    11.  Kuwait 12.0%[57]
    12.  Bangladesh 9.6%[58]
    13.  Bahrain 8.1%[59]
    14.  Réunion 6.7%[60]
    15.  Malaysia 6.3%[61]
    16.  Singapore 5.1%
    17.  Oman 3.0%
    18.  New Zealand 2.6%[62]
    19.  Pakistan 2.2%[63]
    20.  Seychelles 2.1%[64]
    21.  Indonesia 1.7%[65]
    22.  United Kingdom 1.7%[66]
    23.  Canada 1.5%[67]
    24.  United States 0.7%[68]

    Buddhists

    Countries with the greatest proportion of Buddhists from Buddhism by country as of 2010:[69]

    Thumb
    Buddhist population by country as of 2010
    1.  Cambodia 96.9%
    2.  Thailand 93.2%
    3.  Myanmar 80.1%
    4.  Bhutan 74.7%
    5.  Sri Lanka 69.3%
    6.  Laos 66.0%
    7.  Mongolia 55.1%
    8.  Japan 36.2% - 66.7%[72]
    9.  Taiwan 35.1%
    10.  Singapore 33.2%
    11.  South Korea 22.9%
    12.  Malaysia 19.8%
    13.  China 18.2%
    14.  Macau 17.3%
    15.  Vietnam 16.4%
    16.  Hong Kong 13.2%
    17.    Nepal 10.3%

    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]

    1.  Taiwan 33.0–80.0%[75]
    2.  China 30.0%[76]
    3.  Hong Kong 28.0%[77]
    4.  Macau 13.9%[78]
    5.  Singapore 8.5%[79]
    6.  Malaysia 2.6%[80]
    7.  South Korea 0.2–1.0%[81]
    8.  Philippines 0.01–0.05%
    9.  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.[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.

    1.  Togo 35.6%[85]
    2.  South Sudan 32.9%[86]
    3.  Guinea-Bissau 30.9%[87]
    4.  North Korea 29.5%[88]
    5.  Côte d'Ivoire 25.0%
    6.  Sudan 25.0%[89]
    7.  Burundi 20.0%
    8.  Benin 17.9%[90][better source needed]
    9.  Burkina Faso 15.0%
    10.  South Africa 15.0%[91]
    11.  Democratic Republic of the Congo 12.0%
    12.  Central African Republic 10.0%
    13.  Gabon 10.0%
    14.  Lesotho 10.0%
    15.  Nigeria 10.0%
    16.  Sierra Leone 10.0%[92]
    17.  Kenya 9.0%
    18.  Palau 9.0%[93]
    19.  Ghana 8.5%
    20.  Guinea 5.0%

    Sikhs

    Countries with the greatest proportion of Sikhs:

    Thumb
    Sikhism by country
    1.  Canada 2.12%[94][95]
    2.  India 1.72%[100]
    3.  Cyprus 1.10%[101]
    4.  United Kingdom 0.88%[102]
    5.  New Zealand 0.88%[103]
    6.  Australia 0.83%[104][105]
    7.  Oman 0.75%[106]
    8.  UAE 0.56%[107]
    9.  Italy 0.37%[121]
    10.  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

    1.  Cuba 10.3%
    2.  Jamaica 10.2%
    3.  Brazil 4.8%
    4.  Suriname 3.6%
    5.  Haiti 2.7%
    6.  Dominican Republic 2.2%
    7.  The Bahamas 1.9%
    8.  Nicaragua 1.5%
    9.  Trinidad and Tobago 1.4%
    10.  Guyana 1.3%
    11.  Venezuela 1.1%
    12.  Colombia 1.0%
    13.  Belize 1.0%
    14.  Honduras 0.9%
    15.  Puerto Rico 0.7%
    16.  Panama 0.5%
    17.  Iceland 0.5%
    18.  Guadeloupe 0.4%
    19.  Argentina 0.2%
    20.  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):[127]

    Thumb
    Jewish population by country as of 2020
    1.  Israel 73.60%
    2.  Gibraltar 2.00%
    3.  United States 1.76%
    4.  Canada 1.07%
    5.  France 0.70%
    6.  Hungary 0.485%
    7.  Uruguay 0.483%
    8.  Australia 0.47%
    9.  United Kingdom 0.44%
    10.  Argentina 0.41%
    11.  U.S. Virgin Islands 0.36%
    12.  Belgium 0.259%
    13.  Panama 0.25%
    14.  Latvia 0.24%
    15.   Switzerland 0.22%
    16.  Netherlands 0.17%
    17.  Estonia 0.154%
    18.  Bermuda 0.154%
    19.  Sweden 0.152%
    20.  Germany 0.14%
    21.  South Africa 0.124%
    22.  Ukraine 0.124%
    23.  Russia 0.122%
    24.  Denmark 0.112%
    25.  New Zealand 0.11%[62]

    By population

    Summarize
    Perspective

    Christians

    Largest Christian populations (as of 2011):

    1.  United States 229,157,250[128] (details)
    2.  Brazil 169,213,130[129]
    3.  Russia 114,198,444[130]
    4.  Mexico 106,204,560[131]
    5.  Nigeria 80,510,000[132]
    6.  Philippines 78,790,000[133]
    7.  China 67,070,000[132]
    8.  Democratic Republic of the Congo 63,150,000[132]
    9.  Italy 55,832,000
    10.  Ethiopia 51,477,950
    11.  Germany 50,752,580[134]
    12.  Colombia 44,502,000
    13.  Ukraine 41,973,000
    14.  South Africa 40,243,000
    15.  France 39,560,000[132]
    16.  Spain 38,568,000
    17.  Poland 36,526,000
    18.  Kenya 33,625,790
    19.  Argentina 33,497,100
    20.  United Kingdom 33,200,417
    21.  Uganda 29,943,000
    22.  Indonesia 29,403,015[135][136]
    23.  India 28,436,000
    24.  Venezuela 28,340,790
    25.  Peru 27,365,100

    Muslims

    Largest Muslim populations (as of 2017):

    1.  Indonesia 229,000,000[citation needed] (details)
    2.  Pakistan 215,000,000[137]
    3.  India 209,000,000[138]
    4.  Bangladesh 153,000,000[citation needed]
    5.  Nigeria 117,000,000[139]
    6.  Egypt 87,500,000[citation needed]
    7.  Iran 82,000,000[140]
    8.  Turkey 79,850,000[citation needed]
    9.  Ethiopia 48,000,000[141]
    10.  Sudan 44,000,000[citation needed]
    11.  Iraq 41,000,000[142]
    12.  Algeria 39,000,000[143]
    13.  Morocco 38,000,000[29]
    14.  Afghanistan 37,000,000[144]
    15.  Saudi Arabia 33,000,000[citation needed]
    16.  Uzbekistan 33,648,090[145]
    17.  Yemen 30,000,000[146]
    18.  China 28,000,000[citation needed]
    19.  Russia 25,000,000[147]
    20.  Tanzania 22,000,000[citation needed]
    21.  Niger 22,000,000[citation needed]

    Hindus

    Largest Hindu populations (as of 2020):[148]

    1.  India 1,120,000,000
    2.    Nepal 28,600,000
    3.  Bangladesh 14,274,430
    4.  Indonesia 4,640,000
    5.  Pakistan 4,400,000
    6.  Sri Lanka 3,090,000
    7.  United States 2,510,000
    8.  Malaysia 1,940,000
    9.  United Arab Emirates 1,239,610
    10.  United Kingdom 1,030,000
    11.  Myanmar 890,000[149]
    12.  South Africa 749,870
    13.  Mauritius 665,820
    14.  Canada 610,000
    15.  South Africa 540,000
    16.  Saudi Arabia 440,000
    17.  Australia 410,000
    18.  Tanzania 403,570
    19.  Singapore 380,000
    20.  Qatar 360,000
    21.  Kuwait 330,000
    22.  Trinidad and Tobago 310,000[54]
    23.  Fiji 270,000[citation needed]
    24.  Guyana 200,000[150]
    25.  Yemen 200,000[151]
    26.  Bhutan 190,000
    27.  Suriname 120,785[152]
    28.  Germany 120,000

    Buddhists

    Largest Buddhist populations[153]

    1.  China 244,130,000
    2.  Thailand 64,420,000
    3.  Japan 45,820,000
    4.  Myanmar 38,410,000
    5.  Sri Lanka 14,450,000
    6.  Vietnam 14,380,000
    7.  Cambodia 13,690,000
    8.  South Korea 11,050,000
    9.  India 9,250,000
    10.  Malaysia 5,010,000
    11.  United States 3,800,023
    12.  Indonesia 2,062,000

    Sikhs

    Largest Sikh population (as of 2023)

    1.  India 23,786,000[154][a][155][156]
    2.  Canada 771,790[157][158]
    3.  United Kingdom 524,000[159]
    4.  United States ~280,000[180]
    5.  Australia 210,400[181][182]
    6.  Italy 210,000[191]
    7.  Malaysia 100,000[192][193][194]
    8.  Thailand 70,000[195]
    9.  United Arab Emirates 52,000[107]
    10.  Philippines 50,000[196][197]
    11.  New Zealand 40,908[198]
    12.  Oman 35,540[199]
    13.  Portugal 35,000[200]
    14.  France 30,000[201]
    15.  Spain 26,000[202]
    16.  Germany 25,000[203]
    17.  Greece 20,000[204]
    18.  Kuwait 15,000[205][206]
    19.  Hong Kong 15,000[207]
    20.  Netherlands 15,000[208]

    Jews

    Largest Jewish populations (as of 2017):[127]

    1.  Israel 6,451,000
    2.  United States 5,700,000
    3.  France 456,000
    4.  Canada 390,000
    5.  United Kingdom 289,500
    6.  Argentina 180,500
    7.  Russia 176,000
    8.  Germany 116,500
    9.  Australia 113,200
    10.  Brazil 93,800
    11.  South Africa 69,300
    12.  Ukraine 53,000
    13.  Hungary 47,500
    14.  Mexico 40,000
    15.  Netherlands 29,800
    16.  Belgium 29,300
    17.  Italy 27,300
    18.   Switzerland 18,700
    19.  Chile 18,300
    20.  Uruguay 16,900
    21.  Turkey 15,300
    22.  Sweden 15,000
    23.  Spain 11,800
    24.  Belarus 10,000
    25.  Panama 10,000

    Baháʼís

    Largest Baháʼí populations (as of 2010) in countries with a national population ≥200,000:[209][better source needed]

    1.  India 1,897,651
    2.  United States 512,864
    3.  Kenya 422,782
    4.  Vietnam 388,802
    5.  Congo, Democratic Republic of the 282,916
    6.  Philippines 275,069
    7.  Iran 251,127
    8.  Zambia 241,112
    9.  South Africa 238,532
    10.  Bolivia 215,359
    11.  Tanzania 190,419
    12.  Venezuela 169,811
    13.  Uganda 95,098
    14.  Chad 94,499
    15.  Pakistan 87,259
    16.  Myanmar 78,915
    17.  Colombia 70,504
    18.  Malaysia 67,549
    19.  Thailand 65,096
    20.  Papua New Guinea 59,898

    Jains

    As of 2005, per ARDA:[210][better source needed]

    1.  India 5,146,697
    2.  United States 79,459
    3.  Kenya 68,848
    4.  United Kingdom 35,000
    5.  Canada 12,101
    6.  Tanzania 9,002
    7.    Nepal 6,800
    8.  Uganda 2,663
    9.  Myanmar 2,398
    10.  Malaysia 2,052
    11.  South Africa 1,918
    12.  Fiji 1,573
    13.  Japan 1,535
    14.  Belgium 1,500
    15.  Australia 1,449
    16.  Suriname 1,217
    17.  Ireland 1,000
    18.  Réunion 981
    19.  Hong Kong 500 families[211]
    20.  Yemen 229

    See also

    Religions:

    Notes

    1. 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

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